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ARCHER WANTS $60M FOR SUPERCARS

Boost Mobile boss Peter Adderton and his highprofile consortium partners are out of the running in the Supercars ownership race.

MARK FOGARTY outlines the shifting sands as the race to buy Supercars nears the finish line...

SUPERCARS OWNER Archer Capital has put a $60 million price tag on Australia’s premier motor sport property.

The figure has emerged following the revelation that telco tycoon Peter Adderton (pictured) and his highpowered consortium is out of the running.

Archer’s price was reportedly too high even for Adderton’s cadre of multimillionaires, who wanted to buy out the teams as well.

There are now believed to be just three contenders to buy Supercars.

They are Mark Skaife’s TLA-backed bid, plus offers from rival promoter Australian Racing Group and interest from a potential overseas group.

Global sorts giant IMG has been mentioned, along with a strong recent rumer that the NASCAR-owning France family is looking to make an offer.

Also understood to be out of the running is the Peregrine Group, owner of The Bend Motorsport Park.

The two strongest bids are expected to go forward for final consideration and a decision next month.

The Supercars sale is being brokered

by Miles Advisory, headed by amateur racer Tim Miles, who arranged Archer’s $190 million takeover in 2011.

It is believed that Archer has targeted finalisation and an announcement of the sale by the showcase Bathurst 1000, currently scheduled for October 7-10.

The sale is linked to the closing of the Archer Capital fund by the end of the year.

Auto Action has learned that one of the groups that lodged a ‘non-binding indicative offer’ by the initial July 7 deadline made “a strong bid” that the others were asked to match or exceed.

This is understood to have triggered Boost Mobile boss Adderton’s decision to withdraw his syndicate’s offer, ruling Archer’s expectation as unviable.

The Adderton-led consortium also included five-time world motorcycle champion Mick Doohan, Bathurst 1000 co-winner Paul Morris, BTCC boss Alan Gow and transport mogul Peter Smith, who owns the REC that underpins his son Jack’s BJR entry.

They wanted to buy out the teams as well as Archer, but their bid didn’t match the leading offer for the controlling stake.

According to an informed source, the private equity group wants “at least $60 million” for its 65 per cent control of Supercars. The other 35 per cent is held by the teams.

AA understands the Adderton group was offering the teams financial incentives to stay after selling their shares.

The bids have reportedly caused a division between Archer and the teams, who have a virtual veto on the sale.

They have ‘tag-along’ rights that enable them to demand that their combined shareholding be bought at

the same rate as offered for Archer’s ownership.

There is a further suggestion that Archer offered to finance a buy-out by the teams, offering what are known as “vendor terms” – effectively, a loan by the seller to be paid back over time by the buyer. It did not get up because not all the teams could be convinced to agree to the deal.

Supercars sale talk was rife at Supercars’ Townsville event earlier this month.

Despite bidders supposedly being muzzled by non-disclosure agreements, there was extensive internal debate about the interested parties.

Knowledge of the principal offers was widespread.

Among teams, it was noted that Adderton’s proposal was underpinned by offering them “a significant increase” in annual financial returns on their RECs, plus an agreement to cover the costs of their changeover to Gen3.

The surviving bids are apparently all predicated on a continuing 65/35 partnership with the teams.

TLA is Australia’s leading sports marketing agency with international ties. Its bid is fronted by Mark Skaife, who is managed by TLA boss and former AFL star player Craig Kelly.

ARG is the main promoter group outside Supercars, running TCR, S5000, Trans Am and Touring Car Masters, plus the Bathurst Six Hour

and the new Bathurst International.

Backed by former Supercars team owners Garry and Barry Rogers, ARG under its previous ownership made an unsuccessful bid for Supercars in 2019.

The other ‘mystery’ bidder is thought to be global sports promoter IMG – a powerful rival to TLA and its international affiliate TGI Sport.

It would be ironic if IMG took over Supercars because its Australian arm backed Tony Cochrane’s takeover of the ATCC in late 1996.

Cochrane and SEL partner James Erskine bought out IMG to gain 25 per cent of V8 Supercars, controlling the commercial rights.

As the battle for the new ownership of Supercars intensifies, TLA and ARG are regarded as the front-runners because their proven event management expertise.

While Archer is looking for the best price for its controlling share, Supercars’ change of ownership will also be determined by the financial deal offered to the teams.

Their support is necessary for the transaction to go ahead.

Supercars’ portfolio also includes the Bathurst 12 Hour, last held in 2020 just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Regarded as one of the world’s great GT enduros, the 12 Hour didn’t happen this year because of Australia’s border closure and is doubtful for next February as well.

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FAR FROM HOME

SCOTTY ON LIFE IN AMERICA

Supercars champ tells MARK FOGARTY about the challenges and highlights of switching to IndyCar with powerhouse Penske SUPERCARS CHAMPION Scott McLaughlin is loving his new life in the USA even though he has found adapting to IndyCar combat a tough challenge.

Speaking at length and in-depth about his move across the Pacific, McLaughlin has opened up about the frustration of having to rein in his expectations in his rookie season with Team Penske.

But he is enjoying being tested at every outing as he adjusts to IndyCar open-wheelers after years of sustained success in Supercars, while also enthralled by living in the States.

In an extended interview on pages 22-25, McLaughlin talks candidly

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about his challenging change and why he sees positives amid his annoyance that he is not regularly finishing in the top 10.

As well, he discusses his ease with America’s more relaxed attitude to the COVID-19 pandemic and finally reflects on his third straight Supercars title last year, which he is yet to properly celebrate.

McLaughlin, 26, has been the stand-out rookie in the IndyCar Series after 10 of 16 rounds, driving the fourth Team Penske entry.

After early highs, including runnerup to veteran fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon at the fearsome high-banked

Texas Motor Speedway, he has had mixed results.

He reluctantly accepts that he is doing better than recent performances might suggest.

“It’s been up and down, for sure,” McLaughlin said. “I feel like I’ve had more ups that I probably don’t know about than downs. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m learning so fast.

“There are so many things I have to learn and sometimes I don’t even know that I’m learning some things when I’m out there, but I am with every lap I do. I’ve certainly been really challenged and it’s been tough at points.”

His biggest challenge has been lowering his expectations and controlling his fierce competitive instinct.

“I struggle with that because I’m very competitive and I’ve come from a spot in a sport where I was competing for wins every race over the past four years,” McLaughlin admitted. “So as a competitor, it’s hard to turn off that instinct and go ‘OK, well, a top 15’s a good result here.’ It’s something I’ve really struggled with, probably more so than anything.”

Battling wheel-to-wheel in IndyCar is even more different and difficult than he expected.

FABS OK, PADDLE SHIFT NOT SO MUCH

“I definitely feel more of an open-wheel driver and learning the proximity of the race car, which has been difficult,” he said. “I’ve been just so used to banging mirrors and bashing panels when you pass people.

You can’t do that here. So learning the racecraft again has been quite difficult.

“Realistically, I’ve only had to race the front pack over the past four years. Not being a wanker about it, but that’s just been where it’s at and now I’m finding myself in the middle of the pack.

“It’s been an eye-opening experience and completely different. There’s not even one similarity about the racing and the racecraft in the IndyCar compared with the Supercars, that’s for sure.”

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Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his Americanborn wife Karly Paone, McLaughlin is loving living in the States.

“Really enjoying it,” he enthused. “It’s not too much different to Australian life – just a whole lot bigger and a lot more things at your fingertips.”

He is looking forward to the next few rounds of the IndyCar Series, beginning next week with the new Nashville street race, aiming for results that reflect his increasing confidence.

“Just keep making progress,” he declared. “Again, I just have to keep being realistic and keep learning. I think if we can bump ourselves up into the top 10 by the end of

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the year, I think that would be exceptional, but if I can keep myself in the top 15 area every race and just be solid, I’d be pretty stoked with that personally.”

McLaughlin is still hopeful, if not optimistic, of getting back to partner Will Davison in the Bathurst 1000.

It will depend on the unlikely relaxation of the two-week hotel quarantine requirement on return or Bathurst being delayed.

“I haven’t given up hope, but it’s looking pretty difficult,” he said. “I just don’t know yet.

Ryan Story (DJR team owner) is giving me until the latest possible moment to commit to the team, so it’s really up to him when he needs to get things sorted.”

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AS WELL as debriefing his third straight Supercars title last year, Scott McLaughlin talks about former arch-rival Shane van Gisbergen’s hot form and DJR’s struggles in the interview on pages 22-25.

He also addresses former teammate Fabian Coulthard’s insinuation of favouritism at DJR Team Penske and rages against switching to paddle-shift gear changing with Gen3.

He objects more to the way Coulthard’s comments were reported, but still rejects Fab’s suggestion he didn’t have a voice at DJRTP. “I certainly felt from my end that Fabian was heard, but at the end of the day, if he feels like that, that’s how it is,” McLaughlin shrugged. “The whole Tweet I put out wasn’t really attacking Fabian as such.

It was more the way that the article was slanted.”

He praised Coulthard as a teammate despite inevitable frictions.

“Oh, we had our ups and downs, for sure,” he said. “We were just normal work colleagues. “I felt like we had a pretty solid relationship all the way through – a solid, respectful relationship that really moved the team forward.”

Asked if he would be keen to test a Gen3 Mustang on his eventual return visit, McLaughlin had just one proviso.

“If it has a gearstick!” he proclaimed.

“I’m very excited for the category to move forward and cut costs and stuff, but I just really hope it’s not a paddle-shift.

“That’d be really sad.”

His main objection is the bad visual of paddles and automatic rev-matching on downchanges.

“With the gearstick and heeling-andtoeing, it looks like you’re driving the car – it’s more exciting to watch,” he said.

“Going for the gearstick and heel-andtoeing and getting the throttle blips right, it looks awesome.

“I just think the gearstick is something that distinguishes our cars and the physical nature of our racing. Some people are saying the paddle shift will appeal to a younger audience, but I just don’t buy that excuse.

“As a purist, I don’t agree with it.” MF

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FORGET THE SHAKE AND BAKE! No Farewell Tour for Whincup

By BRUCE NEWTON RETIRING SUPERCARS champion Jamie Whincup will not be offered any symbolic ‘shake and bake’ victories by the Triple Eight team in his farewell season.

That’s the commitment made by T8 team manager Mark Dutton as the seven-time champion closes in on the end of the career.

Whincup runs a strong second in the championship, but has recorded just a single win in 2021 compared to his title-leading team-mate Shane van Gisbergen’s 11.

The two of them staged a series of fierce duels across the Townsville double-header, with van Gisbergen emerging the victor in the dice and the race each time.

At one stage van Gisbergen was even ordered by Dutton to make way for his faster team-mate, but was able to pull away and therefore ignore the instruction.

Dutton says there’s no chance of Whincup’s farewell tour being taken into account in these close situations and the veteran being handed the win.

“There is no ‘mate this is your finale season, we are going to give you a bit of ‘shake and bake’ and be your rear gunner’,” Dutton told AUTO ACTION. “Jamie is a true racer – he wouldn’t want that; he has earned very win. Even

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when we have been out in the front in the past … with our cars, whether it’s Shane or Jamie, you earn every single win and that’s what makes it so special.”

‘Shake and bake’ is a reference to the NASCAR racing movie Talladega Nights where driver Cal Naughton Junior is Shake, and Ricky Bobby is Bake. Shake acts as Bake’s support act, providing him with the draft to slingshot to victory.

Dutton explained that bolstering Whincup’s win count – already at a record 123 for his career – with a bit of ‘shake and bake’ would potentially costs victories.

“If you start pulling that back that little bit, then when do you do it? Do you do it in practice, do you do it qualifying, do you do it in the races? What if something happens?” he said.

“We are not even looking for halfpercenters and nor is anyone else in pitlane. It’s such minute detail you are looking at.

“It’s so tight in pitlane ... if you said to your teammate just throttle back a little bit for me then you’d get pounced on by everyone.

“We are only strong because there is no quarter given. You just build off each other; you push, he pushes, you push,

he pushes. Shane’s pushing Jamie and Jamie’s pushing Shane. That’s why we are going fast.

“And the engineers are pushing each other as well. And JJ (Jeromy Moore) is obviously technical director here and he is orchestrating them.

“They are actually working better than ever and hence that is why we are getting such good results.”

After the second race of Townsville 2 , where Dutton ordered the change of lead that never actually happened, attempts by Fox’s Garth Tander to see if there were any sore spots for Whincup were immediately shut down.

“I guess the whole pitlane wants us to have a blue but it’s not going to happen,” Whincup declared.

Dutton ordered the position swap after the two Red Bull Ampol Holden Commodore drivers dropped two seconds to third-placed Chaz Mostert in a single lap to leave the gap at about four seconds.

They also hit each other at Turn 13 as Whincup fought to regain the lead he lost through the pit stop sequence by taking three fresh Dunlops to van Gisbergen’s two.

It was at this point Dutton made the decision to swap positions, based on

DANE INSISTS HE’LL ABDICATE T8 boss says he won’t become “the power behind the throne”

By BRUCE NEWTON HE’S ARGUABLY been the most consistently influential figure in Supercars racing for nearly two decades, but Roland Dane insists he won’t be the power behind the throne when he steps back from Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2022.

Dane hands over his roles as managing director of Triple Eight and team principal of its hugely successful race team to retiring driver Jamie Whincup next year, with daughter Jessica Dane also in a senior role.

Because of the political skills and relentless lobbying he is renowned for, there are plenty of people in the Supercars pitlane who are convinced Dane will still be ‘pulling the strings’

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at T8 and in Supercars even after he retires.

But Dane himself insists none of that is true.

“These remarks, as usual, are made by people who have no idea what goes on in my life or Triple Eight, or know me,” he told AUTO ACTION. “The people that take the trouble to know me recognise that when I say I am dialling out of Triple Eight, I am dialling out of Triple Eight.

“I will be a landlord and I will be around next year if I am asked.

“I think there’s a very good team of people [at T8] so I am not fussed about that. It’s time to step back and enjoy some other aspects of the sport as a whole.

“As soon as people are allowed to

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travel freely I want to go and do some of those things, that’s for sure.”

Irish-born Dane entered Australian Supercars in 2003 with the purchase of Briggs Motor Sport. Since 2006, the team has won eight drivers’ championships, nine teams’ championships and eight Bathurst 1000s.

Shane van Gisbergen leads Whincup in the 2021 drivers’ championship and T8 has a dominant lead in the teams’

both the diminishing time gap and the two drivers hitting each other.

He stressed it was his call and did not come at the request of Whincup’s engineer Wes McDougall.

“I felt in the garage the level of contact between our two cars and the single lap loss was putting us under threat from opposition,” Dutton explained.

“If you (Van Gisbergen) can’t drive away then you need to let your teammate past and work together to get fresh air. There was 20 laps to go.

“Fight later – we don’t care – just make sure we are protected from opposition.”

But Dutton said even as the instruction to swap positions was made it was becoming redundant, because van Gisbergen was gapping Whincup.

“Effectively, there was a gap not long after that,” Dutton confirmed. “We didn’t want Shane to slow down to let Jamie past. That wasn’t the call, the call was let’s stop slowing down and losing time.”

Despite playing down the issue, Dutton said it would be debriefed in detail.

“One hundred per cent – you have got to discuss it. You only learn and improve how we could have handled it better.” championship. It has scored a total 215 Supercars race wins.

T8 has also become a manufacturing force, building complete Supercars and components. This year it pitched a new junior openwheeler concept to Motorsport Australia.

Dane says he has already started fading into the background of race team operations, missing both the Sandown and Tasmanian events in 2021.

“I am enjoying seeing the team operating well with bugger-all involvement from me at the track,” he said. “I am just a spectator here.

“I am really enjoying seeing the team operate without my input. That’s been positive, no question.”

Dane has been earning his keep though, focussing on the constantly evolving pandemic and its impact on his team and the championship.

“Like everyone else here [Supercars pitlane], we’re trying to second-guess what’s going on, which produces a pressure on everyone and which is unique really in my experience of life.

“So that’s the only side I am not enjoying. But I am not the Lone Ranger.

Half the country is having to cope with that.”

HOW TICKFORD TURNED IT AROUND Chief engineer Nathaniel Osborne explains Waters’ Townsville 2 triumph

By BRUCE NEWTON TICKFORD RACING went back to the future to resurrect its Townsville fortunes.

After Cameron Waters and Co were blasted off the track by the dominant Triple Eight Holden Commodores of Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup during the Townsville 500, the Tickford Ford Mustangs returned with much better form the following weekend.

Waters won two out of three races in the SuperSprint, while James Courtney also scored two top 10s from three starts, leaving only Jack Le Brocq to strike misfortune and battle through an indifferent weekend.

Long-time Tickford chief engineer Nathan Osborne told AUTO ACTION the pace turnaround came after an intense week for the engineering team, back at its Melbourne home base between Townsville 1 and 2.

Osborne himself also came off the bench for Townsville 2 because Waters’ engineer, Sam Potter, had to stay in Melbourne recovering from leg surgery.

“We sat down and worked out where we had been and also where we had been before,” Osborne said. “This is not a new team and we have been [to Townsville] and we have won before, so sometimes you have to sit back and have a look at what we did in 2015 and 2016 when we had good form [in Townsville] and use some of that data.”

Mark Winterbottom won both Townsville races for the team (then known as Prodrive Racing Australia) in 2015, his championship year. He backed that up the following year with two third places. He was driving the new Ford Falcon FG X, of which Osborne had led the design, which debuted in 2015.

“We definitely did pull on some of the old data from the old days because sometimes you get a little bit

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down that path and you’ve got to come back a bit,” Osborne said.

Osborne said a key Tickford T2 achievement was having cars with both qualifying and race pace, something he admitted the team has struggled with for much of the season.

“You go up and down the lane you hear the stories ‘we have a good race car but we can’t qualify, we can qualify well but can’t race’. And we have been that guy; we can qualify well but we can’t race,” he explained.

“We had to do something about that. We had to work on our race car. We took it that we might end up qualifying not where we normally do, but we were able to come up with some qually tricks that came up with quite a decent time out of the green tyres.

“So we’ve managed to get both this weekend but it’s really not easy I can tell you that much.”

The advantage of a bad first weekend in Townsville this year was the team knew avenues not to explore for T2, Osborne explained.

“We just treated it as a four day race meeting basically. We knew the track wasn’t going to change much, we knew the conditions weren’t going to

change much, we knew we were taking the same cars and the same crew, so we just tried to pick up where we left off.

“It’s pretty easy to look bad in this series and get it wrong. We knew we didn’t have to do a whole heap to just turn it around.

“On a track where the degradation is high, if your balance has shifted toward the rear of the car, or loose in the rear, you look real bad real quick.

“So we knew we just had to take a break, have a look at what we had done. Everything the guys had tried on the weekend prior set the direction. Even a wrong move set the direction.

“So we were able to [go back to Townsville] and capitalise on the work they had done prior and actually make the gains we needed.”

While the team could have stayed in Townsville, Osborne said it was the right decision both professionally and personally to fly the engineers back to Melbourne between races.

“It’s always good to be in your own surroundings and own office. It just calmed everything down a bit because you can get a bit excited at times, throw everything out and start again. You don’t really need to do that.

“It’s just a bit of a calmer environment for everyone to work in and that’s where we work all day every day, sit around all day, the ideas flow and the conversations flow quite easily in the office environment.”

While Waters’ T2 Saturday win was aided by penalties handed out to both T8 drivers, his Sunday win was scored under immense pressure from van Gisbergen. Combined weekend results elevated him into third place in the championship chase.

Osborne played a key role in Waters having the lead over van Gisbergen in the Sunday afternoon race, as he punted on the Monster Mustang driver beating the Safety Car to the control line when a caution was called. The risk played off and ensured Waters would retake the lead of the race.

“He’s a good talent,” Osborne said of Waters. “We love having with him and I have worked with him a long time.

“I’ve been at the team longer than he’s been at the team and when he came through the door we knew he was good. He’s tipped a lot into us and we’ve tipped a lot into him.

“I like working with him and the team love having him around, he’s a good guy, he’s a good talent and we’ve just got to give him the right stuff.”

Nathaniel Osborne has been chief engineer at Tickford since 2015. He was David Reynolds’ engineer in 2013-14 and data engineer for Will Davison in 2011-12.

DJR: NO NEED FOR SCOTTY’S DATA

By BRUCE NEWTON SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN’S wealth of Supercars championship-winning data is proving of limited value for DJR in 2022 with new recruits Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison.

The team’s engineering guru Ludo Lacroix says a new year, new challenges and new drivers mean new solutions are required.

McLaughlin, now racing IndyCars for Roger Penske in the USA, won three consecutive drivers’ championships for DJR Team Penske and took 48 race victories.

Lacroix engineered McLaughlin with Richard Harris during the Kiwi’s four years with the team and is now paired with Anton De Pasquale. Harris is engineering Davison.

“There is no point in looking at what we are doing last year on a different

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track weather-wise, tyre-wise etcetera,” explained Lacroix.

“I have got to fix his [De Pasquale’s] problem not Scotty’s problem, or try to mimic Scotty into him.

“The game keeps changing and you

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can’t do that in my opinion.”

But Lacroix made it clear all that McLaughlin knowledge hadn’t just been thrown away.

“What helps is the lap time and where he puts his wheel and all the video that

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we have got, because he did it in a way that is not silly,” Lacroix explained.

“When I come [to the track] on Friday I have one lap of Scotty as a reference lap in my Motec data and that lap is gone by Friday night and I am working with that guy I have got [De Pasquale].”

Lacroix praised the level of progress De Pasquale was making in his first year with DJR and his third in the championship, having previously spent two years at Erebus Motorsport.

“That young boy is learning his race craft … give him some credit he has only been two years there with a B-team. I love Erebus, but they are a B-team. A B-team doesn’t teach these guys.

“The two drivers we have got, one is as quick as Jamie [Whincup] in my opinion and that is Will.

“The other one is a young Scotty.”

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THE SUPERCARS Eseries will return in 2021 with a second category added for Supercars and Super2 drivers. This year’s season will consist of a six-round Eseries in the new format, running from September 15-November 24. Events will be held fortnightly on the iRacing platform. The new ‘All Stars Championship’ category will be complemented by the ‘Pro Series’, filled with professional gamers representing Supercars teams. The top prize for the Pro Series will be more than $20,000. JN

TRIPLE EIGHT Race Engineering driver Shane van Gisbergen enjoyed his battle with Cameron Waters in Townsville despite coming up just short. The two went head-to-head in the final race of the Townsville SuperSprint, drawing SVG’s praise. “Coming second is never that good, but when you do it after a battle like that it’s pretty cool,” the title leader said. The New Zealander won three of the five races over the Townville doubleheader. JN

WILL DAVISON believes the Safety Car in the final Townsville race cost him a chance at the race victory. The Dick Johnson Racing driver pitted early to undercut both Shane van Gisbergen and Cameron Waters ahead but ended up stuck in a jam. “We should have been a long way up the road with the undercut,” Davison explained post-race. “I cruised behind the Safety Car… but both Shane and I lost a good six seven seconds, which was disappointing.” JN

SUPERCARS IS planning to hold a round at Queensland Raceway to fill the gap left by the postponement of next month’s Sydney SuperNight. A two-day, three-race event has been scheduled for Queensland Raceway from August 21-22. The Sydney SuperNight at Sydney Motorsport Park was postponed due to renewed spread of COVID-19, locking down the city. If confirmed, the QR round will mark the track’s return after missing out last year. JN

Tim Slade was overjoyed after driving his way to fourth in the first race at Townsville, the best finish for Blanchard Racing Team.

Despite qualifying back in 19th in his #3 Ford Mustang, Slade climbed to finish just shy of the podium. Slade utilised the undercut strategy to perfection, using clear track to churn out consistently quick laps. “I’m so happy – that’s awesome. Obviously, no trophy, but definitely the next best thing,” Slade said. JN

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KELLY GROVE RACING NO MORE THE KELLY brothers have elected to sell their 50% stake in Kelly Grove Racing to the Grove family, ending the partnership after less than a year.

The team will be rebranded Grove Racing from 2022.

It marks the end of 23 years involvement in Supercars for the Kellys, 13 of which were as team owners across three different manufacturers.

“Racing has been our life since Rick and I were around eight years old,” said Todd Kelly.

“We have been very fortunate to have been part of the premier category in the country for such a long period.

“Being part of such an intense business is something that I will genuinely miss.

But now is the time to hand over the reins to Stephen and Brenton Grove.”

The team has gone through multiple such transitions over the years, branded as Kelly Racing, Nissan Motorsport, and Kelly Grove Racing since its inception in 2009.

“We have always had pride in doing everything in house ourselves and doing the best possible job of designing and producing our equipment,” Kelly said.

“I’m genuinely excited to watch the team grow with the firepower and resources of the Groves behind it.”

Rick Kelly is also proud of the legacy and relationships built over a decade of work.

“I’m very grateful for my time in Supercars, both as a driver and Team owner,” Rick Kelly said.

“I have appreciated working with such a great bunch of guys and girls, building TICKFORD RACING driver Cameron Waters describes the second race meeting at Townsville as a relief and feels that he and the team have learnt a lot from the double-header which they will be able to take forwards.

The first weekend at Townsville was a disaster for the #6 Tickford Racing driver who was lapped in the opening encounter.

However, the man from Mildura and the Tickford team turned it around to win two of the three races at the same venue the following week.

“Obviously it’s a massive relief, the car was totally different to what it was last week and does a lot of things totally different,” Waters said after the final race.

“The boys definitely influenced what we were struggling with last week, I think now we just need to take a bit of time to work out what we did and go through all the data.

“There could be a few things that we did wrong this weekend, we obviously detuned it in this morning’s race (when he finished 11th), so there is still a lot to learn.

“The car made it a lot easier for me this weekend – our outright pace wasn’t too bad last week, but the tyre deg was appalling.

“We did a really great job to pinpoint what that was and we definitely influenced it which was nice, so massive, massive relief.”

Waters has claimed that the championship has not been run despite sitting 412 behind the reigning Bathurst

many great working relationships and friendships along the way.

“I’d like to thank our fans and supporters for being a part of the journey with us.”

In a statement released on Monday, Todd Kelly clarified some of the finer details of the handover, with the Kelly’s hanging on to some of the team assets.

“Kelly Racing will retain full ownership of the team CNC machine shop, the engine department and all production departments as well as the current Mustangs,” Todd Kelly said.

“I will still be working hard in the background in 2022 to continue maintaining and developing the current package for the team.”

Kelly Grove Racing co-owner Stephen Grove shared his gratitude to the Kelly

brothers for their contributions to the team.

“It is an honour to continue the journey of Kelly Grove Racing and to build upon the foundations built by Todd and Rick,” said Grove.

“Grove Motorsport looks forward to taking the mantle forward and competing at the highest level of Australian Motorsport.

“I’d like to thank Todd and Rick for their commitment and contribution in building Kelly Grove Racing to what it is today.”

Kelly Grove Racing are campaigning two Ford Mustang’s in 2021.

Andrew Heimgartner and David Reynolds have driven the team to 12th and 15th in the drivers’ standings, respectively. Josh Nevett

WATERS BOOSTED BY TOWNSVILLE TURNAROUND

1000 winner van Gisbergen in the championship.

He believes anything can still happen, particularly if they continue to challenge Triple Eight Race Engineering on a regular basis.

“I said to the boys before this weekend, let’s have a big swing at it because we were fifth (in the standings) and to make inroads and win the championship, you need a very fast car,” he said.

“Obviously that’s what Shane has had, and they have done a really good job of engineering it and driving it.

“For us it’s all about trying to have a fast race car, qualify up the front and hopefully we can have a few more cool battles with Shane… and you never

know when he might have a bit of bad luck ...”

When asked, Waters is positive that in the first half of the season, he has been van Gisbergen’s biggest threat after taking the fight and getting the better of the Kiwi on occasions.

“I think so – we’ve had a bit of bad luck,” he recalled. “We probably should have been a little bit further up the order; we’ve had a couple of bad rounds from genuine pace, but we’ve had a lot of rounds where we’ve been able to go head-to-head with Shane.

“I’ve had some pretty cool battles with Shane this year – haven’t really seen anyone else able to do that yet so yeah I probably am (the main threat).”

Dan McCarthy

ICONIC TASMAN SERIES TO RETURN THIS SUMMER WITH S5000

THE ICONIC Tasman Series will return in 2021 as a new seven-race series, contested by S5000 this Summer.

Four groundbreaking races at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International at Mount Panorama on 26-28 November, will be followed by three races around the streets of Surfers Paradise at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on 3-5 December.

The winner will claim the Tasman Cup, a globally recognised prize first awarded in 1964 and one of the most iconic and renowned trophies in Australian and New Zealand Motorsport.

The schedule will also include a pair of test days prior to the back-to-back events. The second will be an exclusive twilight test session, open to the public, at Sydney Motorsport Park, from 6pm on Wednesday 24 November.

The return of the iconic Tasman Series and awarding of the Tasman Cup has the full backing of Motorsport Australia and Motorsport New Zealand and replaces the previously announced Triple Crown following the cancellation of the 2021 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

While current conditions restrict the series to the two high-profile Australian events this year, S5000 category managers Australian Racing Group plan to expand the series to include New Zealand circuits in the future.

Originally held between 1964 and 1975, the Tasman Series was an iconic part of the Australian and New Zealand racing landscape as a host of global motorsport heroes travelled down under to take on the best from the local scene. Winners included Formula 1 legends Jackie Stewart, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and Jim Clark and local Gold Star heroes like Graham McRae and Warwick Brown.

“When the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled it forced us into looking into different ways to stage a prestigious S5000 competition that included the

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Bathurst International and Extremely competitively priced Gold Coast events,” said vehicle lease arrangements for the ARG CEO Matt Braid. test programme and two events “With growing New have been put in place by S5000 Zealand interest in S5000 vehicle constructor, Garry Rogers and two high-profile Motorsport. events that serve as a Both rounds will include live TV launching pad, bringing coverage, including free-to-air coverage back the Tasman Series of the Bathurst International event on title was a no-brainer.

Channel 7 in Australia. Sky Sports “Introducing an New Zealand will also broadcast both international component rounds while the Bathurst International to S5000 has always been in the will include live streaming around the plan, but the changing landscape this world. year has encouraged us to do something different and innovate CHRIS LAMBDEN, who originally now. conceived the S5000 concept, is ARG’s “The awarding of the Tasman S5000 Category Development Manager, Cup for the first time in two He spoke to AA: decades comes with the full blessing of Motorsport Australia AA: I guess it was the GP cancellation and Motorsport New Zealand and which brought about this news. it is absolutely our plan to build CL: Of course – no AGP knocked a hole this into a full Trans-Tasman series in the Triple Crown that was planned for S5000 in the future.”

– but it, along with the current Covid Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene outburst affecting us, did start ARG Arocca is thrilled to see the title of looking even further ahead. The Bathurst the Tasman Series return: International is four months away, by “Motorsport Australia is delighted which time the view is that Covid will be to throw its support behind the back under control. So ARG has decided re-introduction of the Tasman to focus its S5000 programme entirely on Series at Bathurst and on the Gold those two events, which will stand alone, Coast,” Arocca said. not part of the Gold Star Championship.

“S5000 has already proven to be a real fan favourite, and a AA: But now it is going to carry the category that is certainly turning Tasman Series title. heads as it grows in stature. It is a CL: Yup. My personal ambition has worthy recipient of the Motorsport always been that S5000 would grow Australia Gold Star and this to provide a full-on Tasman Series, as rebooted Tasman Series is a terrific everyone remembers from earlier times. addition to the calendar.

So I’m personally thrilled that Motorsport “There are so many motorsport Australia and NZ are supporting what is legends who have made a name the first step in that direction. This time for themselves in previous Tasman round it’s confined to Australia, but it’s Series from years ago. We have very clear that the aim is to then expand no doubt there are plenty more that to NZ. In the meantime, we’re very talented individuals ready to etch much hoping to have a few Kiwi hottheir own name in Australian shots on the grid in November. motorsport history in the months ahead.

AA: Any wider overseas interest?

A substantial prize money fund, CL: Yes. The three-event Triple Crown with full details to be announced had resulted in a good level of interest soon, will be on offer to the series from potential overseas entrants – even winner and top drivers from with the likelihood of having to do 14 Australia and New Zealand.

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2021 TASMAN SERIES CALENDAR

Teams Test: Teams to coordinate test day prior to pre-event official test Tasman Series Twighlight Test Sydney Motorsport Park, Wednesday, November 24th (6:3010:30pm) Tasman Series Round 1 (4 Races) Supercheap Auto Bathurst International, Mount Panorama, Bathurst (November 26-28) Tasman Series Round 2 (3 Races) Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, Surfers Paradise (December 3-5) days in quarantine on the way in. The Sydney Twilight Test is an attractive addition. Obviously, it’s our hope that (a) that interest remains, and (b) that the current Covid ‘relapse’ will be well and truly brought under control in the next month or so. I think they’re learning lessons every time and so am hopeful that’ll be the case.

AA: What has been the wash-up from the first series? Any changes going forward?

CL: Car-wise, not really. We were able to get the first domestic series done, which was great, and so have primarily been looking to grow the number of teams and individuals on the grid. One bi-product of the current situation is that the second S5000 Australian Drivers Championship series will follow the normal calendar year scheduling (rather than across Summer as we had hoped), with a likely six round championship kicking off in late January in Tas, through to September/October, with the second Tasman Series to follow separately at the end of the year.

There are some upsides to accepting the calendar year structure – in particular it removes potential ‘overlap’ issues with other current category championships that don’t finish until later in the year, so we can more easily offer competitors an easy transition to S5000 in 2022 – which now, as recently confirmed, offers the same ‘Superlicence’ points as Super2, and so provides a strong pathway option for those looking in that (Supercars) direction, as well as the opportunity to compete for the prestigious Gold Star.

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9

LATEST NEWS

SLADE TARGETS PODIUMS Fourth place and Waters form prompts confidence

Auto Action understands that Mark Skaife’s HRT VX Golden Child will soon be on the market. With two Bathurst 1000 scalps to its credit – Skaife and Tony Longhurst in 2001 and Jim Richards in 2002 – HRT chassis 045 is one of two cars with multiple Bathurst wins. Skaife raced it as a VX in 2001-2, and as a Project Blueprint VY in 2003.

The job-lot includes Australia’s best collection of Holden/HSV memorabilia. MB

THE MOTORSPORT Australia Australian Rally Championship calendar has been expanded for 2022. The championship will visit all states and territories beside the Northern Territory. The 2022 season will commence with the National Capital Rally in Canberra from March 26-27. The championship will then visit Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and then the season finale in New South Wales from November 18-20. JN

AUSTRALIAN TOP Fuel teams have announced the creation of a new national drag racing championship. Four of the current Australian Top Fuel teams will compete, Jim Read Racing, Lamattina Top Fuel Racing, PremiAir Racing and Rapisarda Autosport International. The Australian Top Fuel Championship will include six rounds across four states and territo-ries in 2022. The season will take in the first half of 2022, with the ‘Grand Finale’ set to take place in June. JN THE GIPPSLAND Rally has been cancelled due to COVID-19 related ongoing border restriction uncertainty. What was meant to be the Victorian round of the Australia Rally Championship intends to continue as a round of the Victorian Rally Championship. Motorsport Australia is exploring options for a replacement round later this year at a location that has yet to be confirmed. JN

THE WINNER of New Zealand’s Toyota 86 Championship will win a Supercar test with Triple Eight Race Engineering. The prize has been made available by the Tony Quinn Foundation to help aspirational Kiwi drivers who want to race overseas. Tony Quin, who himself is now a major stakeholder in Triple Eight, got the deal over the line. The new prize will complement a current driver development programme at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. JN

AN INVESTIGATORY Tribunal which has been established to investigate the deaths in this year’s Targa Tasmania is now seeking public submissions. The Tribunal aims to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the three tragic deaths in April, and then make recommendations for the future. A submissions portal has now been opened for people who have competed or officiated in the Tasmania event, or have participated in other tarmac events elsewhere. JN

10 AutoAction

By BRUCE NEWTON PODIUMS ARE the next step for the rookie Blanchard Racing Team after a season-high fourth place in Townsville last time out, says driver Tim Slade.

Encouraged by bursts of solid race pace, Slade says he and Cooldrive Ford Mustang have the potential to finish in the top three before the 2021 Supercars championship season is over.

But he also concedes the inevitable challenges facing a small one-car team in a highly competitive championship mean a podium is by no means guaranteed.

Slade runs 17th in the championship, his position also buoyed across the Townsville double-header by sixth and eighth places in the two 250km that formed the first outing.

He is encouraged by that and also the race-winning pace of Cameron Waters in a similar Tickford Racing-built Mustang to the one he is racing.

“For sure there is that opportunity because essentially we have the same equipment as Cam and he’s won a few races,” said Slade.

“It’s always tough with DJR, Triple, Eight, Cam, Chaz (Mostert), so you just have to have your own ducks lined up.

That’s all we can concentrate on really, doing the best job we can.”

The flipside of all that is the Tickford Mustang is a new experience for both Slade and his engineer Mirko De Rosa and they are also new to each other.

Slade had a year out of the championship in 2020 after 11 years full-time with the likes of BJR and

Walkinshaw Racing, while De Rosa joined BRT from Erebus.

“Cam and his guys are doing a really good job, they are just extracting every little bit out of it as a whole, and they obviously understand the package very well, given they have had that Tickford package for a long time between them.

“The car for us is very different for myself and Mirko, what we have come from, it’s both of us understanding it from a driving and set-up point of view, but also developing that driver-engineer relationship as well.”

Of course, Slade might have scored that podium in BRT’s very first race in The Mount Panorama 500, if not for a crash caused by a gearshift issue. Slade says he’s over the trauma of that now.

“You don’t dwell on that stuff, you take what you can from it but it was pretty heartbreaking,” he said.

Slade admits BRT also has to sharpen up its pit stop act to contend in SuperSprint races where stop times are shorter and dictated by the time it takes to change tyres rather than fuel flow.

BRT and the Tickford Racing Boost Mustang customer entry for James Courtney share a boom, but much of the Cooldrive crew is part-time and not

based in Melbourne, which makes it harder to practice stops.

“That just comes with a new team, you can’t expect all of that to happen straightaway.”

The lack of full-time staff has also been exposed a couple of time this year when wheels have fallen off. Most recently, it was Sunday morning qualifying in Townsville when the left-rear departed.

Slade says the impact of part-time staff is felt more widely than that.

“In the last two three-day race meetings those guys haven’t been able to be here on the Friday so it affects session planning and changes with the car because there are literally not enough people to be able to make quick changes to the car in small, short practice sessions.

“Having said that everyone has done an awesome job. There has always been a lot of potential every single race weekend we have had.

“We have never gone away from a race meeting scratching our heads, even if the result sheet doesn’t look that great.

“There has always been a lot of potential and a reason why it hasn’t looked that great. There are still things we need to iron out, but overall I think everyone is doing a pretty good job.”

MSR FINALISING DRIVERS

TEAM OWNER and founder of Matt Stone Racing, Matt Stone, plans to sign both current drivers Zane Goddard and Jake Kostecki for another year and revealed the enduro pairings will be revealed soon.

Queenslander Zane Goddard and West Australian Jake Kostecki are both competing at the team for a second season.

Last year the duo shared car #34 as part of the Superlite program before stepping up to take a ZB Commodore each in 2021.

Stone has been impressed by the progress of both Super2 Series graduates and intends to re-sign them for 2022.

“That’s certainly where we’re looking in terms of the two cars that we will definitely run,” he told Auto Action.

“We put our focus on a third car option – we just obviously need a REC to progress any further. But, certainly from a two-car point of view, that’s the way we’re looking.”

MSR plans to run a Superlite car again and when asked by AA if there was anytime timeframe on getting that over the line with Supercars, Stone confessed that he did not know.

“I wish I could answer that,” he said.

“I think the biggest hurdle with all of

these things now is the current state of the east coast and everything being shut down has made everything go a bit slower.

“We would have liked to have been further along on all of this already.

But we’re certainly going through the motions. I think with everything going on in Sydney there’s a bit of a slowdown from that side of it.

“We’re attempting to open a discussion about what is required for us to get that REC and keep the dialogue going so that we can put that to bed and can get on with it.”

MSR is one of just two teams yet to confirm its co-driver line-up (the other being Team Sydney), Auto Action understands that Jake Kostecki is likely to be joined by his brother Kurt.

Stone did not deny the claims.

He explained that they are looking at the current Super2 field for Goddard’s co-driver.

“For car #35 we are essentially evaluating the weekends just gone at Townsville, so that we can further our decision-making process and hopefully make a decision in the coming weeks.”

Dan McCarthy

HAZELWOOD: QUALIFYING GAINS KEY TO SUCCESS

THE LATEST round of the Supercars Championship saw Todd Hazelwood score his best two results of the season, a fifth and then a fourth and is optimistic the newfound qualifying pace will remain going forwards.

The Brad Jones Racing driver has been incredibly unlucky this season this season not to get some better results, but from the opening practice of the doubleheader Hazelwood was on the pace.

“We’ve been fast in practice at times and we’ve always had a fast race car, it’s just literally has been qualifying has been our only hinderance,” Hazelwood told Auto Action. “I knew that we had a fast package, it was only a matter of time.”

“Townsville showed once we got the one lap performance right everything else took care of itself.

“I felt like we made some good ground at the Winton test day just leading into Darwin.

“Darwin showed signs the qualifying speed could be there, we just didn’t quite maximise it.”

Hazelwood said it was all about lining everything up to get that result, and in Townsville that is what happened.

Only once did the South Australian finish outside the top 10, and that was when his power steering failed in Race 1 of the opening weekend.

“We made a few componentry changes in the car for Townsville, reverting back to more something that I prefer in the car,” Hazelwood explained.

HAZELWOOD WANTS to remain with Brad Jones Racing for the foreseeable future.

He joined the Albury based team at the start of last season, after two years with Matt Stone Racing. Since joining the team Hazelwood has scored his maiden podium, pole position and countless top 10 finishes and as a result is confident he and team owner Brad Jones will come to an agreement.

“It would be good to keep that continuation going,” Hazelwood said to Auto Action.

“From Brad and my point of view we haven’t really rushed into having those contract conversations yet because we probably haven’t done enough racing (this year).

“Brad and I are pretty honest about how we operate with each other, we are very much more on the basis of a handshake, I’ve got full faith in Brad that when the time’s right we’ll sit down and go through it and bring on more years to come in Supercars together.”

Motorsport Australia officials backdated the race order to lap 13 to give Jayden Ojeda his first win, but then updated it to lap 14, handing the victory to Broc Feeney.

Declaring the order of a red-flagged race on the basis of a backdated order has long been the motorsport rule, but with electronic timing and track segmentation, Morris questions why it

should be so.

“If you look at that red flag rule, why does that still exist?” asked Morris, whose son Nash won the Super3 class in the race.

“That was from 1980 when we had people timing by hand and writing the times down and the only way you could work out where everyone was to go back a lap.

“The technology has moved on, they (Motorsport Australia) haven’t and Supercars is their biggest customer.”

Supercars race director Tim Schenken agreed basing results off the most recently completed track segment was feasible but not legal under the current rules.

RED FLAG QUESTIONED WHY, IN this age of electronic timing loops and sector times should a red flagged race result be called based on the running order backdated to a completed lap?

That’s the question posed by former Supercars driverand team owner Paul Morris in the wake of the recent red-flagged Super2/3 race at the Townsville SuperSprint.

The race was put under Safety Car on lap 15, then red flagged and declared because of a major melee at Reid Park’s third turn.

SEEKING MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT

“I think a combination of running something that we knew worked and getting back to basics, rather than trying to get too creative.

“It’s a combination of things that all clicked and came together and hopefully we can continue that form – my biggest thing is I hate being a one-hit wonder, I want to do that consistently and ultimately put a strong championship campaign.

“I’d love to try and get a few podiums by the end of the season.

“Like anything, when you’ve got pace you go from strength to strength and when you are consistently at the pointy end of the field, it’s only a matter of time.

“I felt Townsville was a good steppingstone, a step in the right direction and now we just need to back up.”

In the final encounter Hazelwood suffered from power steering heaviness, however he was able to work around the problem., and finish a strong fourth.Dan McCarthy

PIASTRI SET FOR MONZA F1 TEST

AUSSIE FORMULA 2 Championship leader Oscar Piastri has revealed in the latest edition of his AA column (on page 13) that he is set to complete his third Formula 1 test.

The Alpine junior driver will test the Alpine F1 car for the full day at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ Monza in Italy on Monday.

Previously Piastri has tested at the Bahrain International Circuit and Silverstone, Monza will prove to be another new challenge for the 20-yearold.

Piastri currently sits at the top of the Formula 2 drivers’ standings after a solid points-scoring weekend at Silverstone circuit.

He recorded finishes of sixth, fourth and third across the British Grand Prix weekend, taking him five points clear of Chinese title rival and fellow Alpine Academy member Guanyu Zhou.

Piastri has been a member of the Alpine Academy for two years now, currently joined by Dane Christian Lundgaard, Brazilian Caio Collet, Zhou and Frenchman Victor Martins.

Piastri is the reigning Formula 3 champion and won Race 2 in his first F2 round at Bahrain.

AA will bring you the latest from the test on our website.

Josh Nevett and Dan McCarthy

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INDYCAR SERIES legend Helio Castroneves will return to the series full-time in 2022 with Meyer Shank Racing. After a winning Indy 500 with the team this season, Castroneves will transition from part-time to drive the #6 Honda permanently, in pursuit of a record fifth Indy 500 victory. Meyer Shank also revealed that Jack Harvey will not reprise his driving role with the team next season, despite having two full-time positions available. JN

AUSTIN CINDRIC will replace 2012 NASCAR Cup Series winner Brad Keselowski in the legendary Team Penske #2 Ford Mustang from 2022. Cindric is the son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric and is the reigning second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series winner.

Keselowski meanwhile has announced that he will buy into and race for Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the year. Cindric will team up with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney for Penske in 2022. JN

COVID IMPACTS SUPERCARS CALENDAR THE COVID pandemic is set to have major impacts on the Supercars championship calendar.

A board meeting on Tuesday July 26 – the day after this issue of AA closed for press – was set to address the issue and its potential consequences.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer was scheduled to address the media after that meeting (so for the latest updates head to autoaction.com.au).

The essential requirement contractually is for Supercars to deliver 12 championship events in 2021. At this stage, it’s seven down and five to go.

Since the last issue of AA hit the streets two weeks ago, the Sydney SuperNight has been postponed to a date to be fixed and a SuperSprint at Queensland Raceway tentatively added on August 21-22.

Further out, the Perth SuperNight on September 11-12 and the Auckland SuperSprint in New Zealand on November 6-7 continue to be in serious doubt as quarantines, lockdowns and

border closures change situations regularly.

Because the cars are sea-freighted to New Zealand, a decision on the Pukekohe race must be made by midSeptember.

Running the Bathurst 1000 on October 7-10 is also now in question, as the Delta variant continues to run rampant in NSW. There are suggestions the state’s lockdown could be extended until at least September 17.

Supercars team sponsor Peter Adderton has already publicly suggested the 1000 should be postponed until late October or early November to ensure a proper crowd can attend.

Whatever happens to the date, Supercars will be determined to get its blue ribbon event run and won.

Finishing off the season with the Gold Coast 500 (currently scheduled for December 3-5) is also a must-do.

With the COVID situation starting to look healthier in Victoria, where the

majority of Supercars teams are based, it’s possible a significant amount of action could happen down south in the next few months.

Winton has been promised a round (which could grow to a ‘double’) and Phillip Island could return to the calendar for the first time since 2019.

With the October 22-24 MotoGP cancelled the seaside circuit has a vacancy in its schedule to fill.

“Phillip Island is a really popular race track and we’d love to head back there,” Supercars told AA in an emailed response to questions.

“We can’t comment on the likelihood of an event there at this stage as it will all come down to the situation in Victoria, not to mention the other states in the next few months, but certainly it’s an event we would be open to if restrictions allowed our teams to travel.Daniel Kalisz “Further information will be provided in coming days once the full viability of the rest of the year’s calendar is discussed by the board.”BN

SUPERCARS IS COVID-SAFE MODEL

By MARK FOGARTY AUDI HAS revealed their new Dakar Rally challenger, the Audi RS Q e-tron, which has commenced testing ahead of its competitive debut in January 2022. Audi aspires to have the electrified drivetrain compete for overall victory against conventionally powered competitors in the world’s toughest rally. JN

THE 2021 Thai MotoGP has been cancelled.

Scheduled to take place at the Chang International Circuit from October 15-17, the event has been abandoned due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports are in discussions about a possible replacement event for the MotoGP schedule.

This comes less than a month after the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix. JN AN UPDATED version of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 will enter competition from later this year. The car has claimed Australian GT Championship titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and is one of the most popular GT cars globally. The Evo II model of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 will feature revised aerodynamics, engine characteristics, air conditioning, suspension and traction control. JN

12 AutoAction

SUPERCARS HAS been a model of COVID control, avoiding outbreaks at every event since resuming midpandemic last year.

Along with Motorsport Australia, Supercars has imposed effective health protocols to allow racing to happen safely.

Despite local racing’s success in conducting safe events, it is at the end of the queue for concessions from state health authorities.

AFL and NRL are allowed much more leeway.

Motor sport is now challenged by the Delta variant of COVID-19, threatening major events in the next couple of months.

NSW is in the grip of a rampant outbreak, while Victoria is trying to come out of a related eruption. Other states remain vulnerable.

Large-scale crowds at sports events are in doubt until full vaccination is widespread, which is months away.

But according to leading

Ross Gibb Photography

motor sport medico Dr Carl Le, Supercars is at the forefront of sports health protocols to protect competitors, personnel and spectators.

Dr Le is the chief medical officer of Supercars, as well as a leading private practitioner in Melbourne.

“Supercars has strong, effective protocols,” he said. “They have a robust management plan.”

Speaking in his private capacity, Dr Le warns that the Delta strain of the

coronavirus poses tough new challenges compared with 2020.

“Last year was more black and white,” he said. “Now things are very uncertain.

“The Delta variant spreads so quickly. It’s scary. It’s changed the game.

“If you act quick and hard, you have a good chance of getting on top of it.”

Dr Le advised that medical evidence pointed to widespread vaccination being a protection that would limit the spread of COVID-19

to a manageable level.

He makes no claims about immunity.

The recent Townsville Supercars events went ahead under two levels of personal protection.

Requirements for masks were relaxed at the second event, mandated only inside and in close confines.

TV presenters didn’t have to wear masks to aid understanding for the hearing impaired. No masks for hosts or in interviews allowed lip reading.

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LATEST NEWS

KOSTECKI: NO HARD FEELINGS

TOWNSVILLE WAS a roller-coaster couple of weekends fro Brodie Kostecki. Coming away with a sole top 10 finish, he notably had a coming together with Shane van Gisbergen but has no hard feelings over the incident.

The collision occurred in the weekend’s opening encounter, when early in the race van Gisbergen fired up the inside, the two made awkward contact which spat Kostecki into the fence.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver felt that Kostecki kept banging into his right rear which forced him van Gisbergen to run wide, Kostecki tells a different story.

“I mean that’s the secondary effect of what happened at the start of the corner,” he told AA. “He went in there and hit me at a 45-degree angle going into the corner, so of course I was going to be tapping his rear corner, not obviously on purpose but when you barge your way in that’s what happens.

“I don’t really have a problem with it – we would have made the corner fine if the wheels didn’t interlock, unfortunately sometimes you get a bit unlucky with that ... the spokes that stick out quite far on the wheel sometimes interlock and spit out, I was a bit unlucky with that.

“Obviously there was further controversy with the start, a lot of stuff was said that I really couldn’t care about to be honest.”

The West Australian is confident that if they can turn the qualifying performance around there is no reason why he can’t fight for podiums in the second half of the season.

“We just haven’t been able to execute in qualifying unfortunately with the Supersprint format, you have to qualify well,” he explained.

with Oscar Piastri

Ross Gibb Photography

“It’s something that I thought that we got on top of throughout the second Townsville.”

“If we can work out these small struggles that we’ve been having with just being able to qualify better, the car getting a little bit better on its tyres and also myself as a rookie.

“There’s no reason why we can’t finish on the podium.”

AND CONTRACTED FOR TWO YEARS

DESPITE THE circulating Triple Eight rumours, Brodie Kostecki has told Auto Action that he is already locked into a two-year deal with Erebus Motorsport.

The multiple-time Super2 round winner explained that he has a two year with the Melbourne based Erebus Motorsport operation.

“I’ve definitely enjoyed my time at Erebus and I’ve got a two year contract with them,” he said to AA. “So (we’re) just working on trying to work out what car we’ll be racing next year (whether it be Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang) and just trying to try to get as much data and everything that we can as possible, and just try to try to move up through the grid, that is our plan.”

Kostecki was adamant he had no contract clause allowing him to move to Triple Eight should the championship leading team come knocking on the door.

“I don’t have any clauses or anything like that,” he said.

Dan McCarthy

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA COMPLETES TOWNSVILLE REVIEW MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA has released its conclusions regarding the incidents in Townsville involving Shane van Gisbergen’s compromised Top 10 Shootout lap and Jack Perkins’ car fire.

Van Gisbergen was about to begin his sole flying lap in Supercars Top 10 Shootout qualifying when Zane Goddard crashed ahead.

Still on his warm-up lap, van Gisbergen was told to slow down by officials.

Just before van Gisbergen was going to enter the pitlane Goddard was able to refire his ZB Commodore, prompting race control to tell van Gisbergen to go ahead with his lap.

The incident prevented the Triple Eight Race Engineering driver from adequately warming his cars tyres, hindering performance on the flying lap.

The championship leader could only qualify in sixth, 0.605s off Anton de Pasquale’s pole time.

Motorsport Australia released a statement explaining that correct procedure was followed.

“Van Gisbergen was required to complete his timed lap once the track was cleared,” the statement said.

“While this decision was made late in car 97’s out lap, the correct procedure was followed by Race Control as the rules are currently written.”

However, the organisation also agreed that the outcome was far from ideal for the integrity of a competitive qualifying session.

“Motorsport Australia will now work closely with Supercars and the Supercars Commission to determine the best process to be implemented for future Top 10 Shootouts

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to minimise a drivers timed lap being compromised by a similar incident.”

The review of Jack Perkins’ car fire in the Super2 and Super3 race has seen Motorsport Australia reinforce its focus on circuit safety.

The incident occurred in Saturday’s race after Zak Best was nudged sideways by Tyler Everingham at Turn 3.

Perkins’ #88 Holden Commodore was one of multiple cars that were caught in a consequent smash, and shortly after a fire begun to take hold under his bonnet. Live coverage showed the driver urgently signalling to marshals that assistance was required.

In a statement, Motorsport Australia explained why it took 41s for the fire response team to arrive at the scene.

“Car 88 stopped at an infield access gate not used or manned during competition and it is not a marshal’s post,” the statement read.

“There was a marshal post approximately 60m from this incident on the opposite side of the circuit. It is a well-established protocol that our officials cannot cross a ‘hot track’ until given approval from Race Control once it is safe to do so.”

The first race of the weekend was brought to a halt with six laps left because of the incident.

Josh Nevett

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IF SOMEONE told me at the start of the year that we’d be leading the championship at the halfway mark of my rookie Formula 2 season, I’d have smiled, but I honestly don’t think I would have believed them.

I came into the year without any expectations, knowing how competitive the category is, but here we are, after four of eight rounds, on top of the points table.

In the 12 races to date, we’ve been able to win one race, proudly fly the Aussie flag on the podium five times, claim three fastest laps, and score points in all but two races. Not bad so far…

We went into the latest round at Silverstone believing we could fight for race wins with my HP Tuners PREMA Racing Dallara, and our car was fast from the start of the weekend.

We were second quickest in practice, then fast enough for pole in qualifying while, thankfully, my first qually run was more than good enough as I made a big mistake on the second set of tyres.

My Alpine Academy team-mate and title rival, Guanyu Zhou, made a better run on the second set but still ended up just over 2/10ths behind, such was the speed we had.

It was great to get a pole; it was my first in two years (Hungary, FRenault 2019) and, surprisingly, PREMA’s first F2 pole since Nyck de Vries’ scored at Sochi in 2018.

Pole doesn’t help with the Sprint races, with the top 10 reversed for Race 1, then that race’s top 10 finishing order flipped for Race 2, but it still means

you’re ahead of mid-field and capable of fighting for points (awarded to top eight finishers).

I had a bit of everything in the Sprint races; a good start in Race 1 and an average start in the next, but I was able to make up four spots in the first and another in the second while also setting the fastest lap of the race in both races to score vital bonus points.

Sunday’s Feature race was the one we hoped to score big in, but, unfortunately, we just didn’t have the same pace as the day before, and third was what we were able to salvage.

Over a couple of spectacular closing laps, I had to put my defensive skills to the test to hold off Richard Verschoor, and we were able to do that to walk away with another trophy and the championship lead.

While Suday didn’t finish as we’d hoped, we showed as a team what we are truly capable of and that we’re aiming high.

We’ve got six weeks until Round 5 at Monza (10-12 September), but being PREMA’s home round, it’s important we do well so there’s plenty of fitness and sim work to do to make sure we come out fighting.

Before then, I’m excited to be back in the Alpine F1 car for a full day’s testing scheduled at Monza early next week, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks to everyone back home for your awesome support, it is very much appreciated.

Hopefully I’m doing you proud flying the Aussie flag.

Cheers, Oscar

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LATEST NEWS

DOUBLE ROUND OF RACING TO HIT THE BEND SOUTH AUSTRALIA will host a packed fortnight of racing in October as both Australian Racing Group and Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships categories descend upon The Bend Motorsport Park.

Two separate events will now be hosted. The originally scheduled round from October 15-17 will be partnered with a second from October 22-24, both hosted by Shannons.

The first weekend will feature ARG categories consisting of GT World Challenge Australia, TCR Australia, Touring Car Masters and the National Trans Am Series.

This represents a replacement round for TCR, TCM and Trans AM, who were meant to race at Morgan Park in August. The round was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, Radical Australia Cup and the GC Marine Australian Prototype Series will hold their Shannons Motorsport

Daniel Kalisz

Australia Championships round on the same weekend.

To complete the frenetic fortnight of action, Shannons categories including the Australian Production Car Series, National Sports Sedans Series, Porsche 944 and Bullrush Rally will complement a second round of the Radical Australia Cup. Aussie Racing Cars are also expected to feature as part of the double header, but the date is yet to be confirmed.

Motorsport Australia Director of Motorsport & Commercial Operations Michael Smith believed the scheduling was a huge win for competitors and South Australian motor sport fans.

“This back-to-back weekend of motorsport is a real treat for fans and competitors alike,” Smith said.

“Given the interruptions to our calendar in 2021, this double header provides a fantastic opportunity for so

many teams and categories to enjoy two huge weekends of racing.

“Being joined by other disciplines in the region is also an exciting prospect and allows everyone to experience plenty of different action on asphalt and dirt.

“We’re thrilled to be able to host this double header with plenty of different categories and disciplines, along with our unique development programs, at a world-class venue.”

Matt Braid, CEO of Australian Racing Group, was also thrilled with the scheduling outcome.

“ARG is excited to bring our racing categories back to The Bend in October this year,” Braid said.

“We visited The Bend twice in our first year of TCR racing in 2019, and it proved popular amongst fans and competitors alike.

“The facilities are second to none in Australia, the events are always well promoted and supported, and

we look forward to seeing our huge variety of categories tackle The Bend’s impressive layout.”

Racing at The Bend will be a new experience for the TCM and Trans Am categories. TCR Australia has visited the venue twice, both times during its opening 2019 season.

The GT World Challenge Australia round will be the first of two endurance events, the second scheduled for the Bathurst International from November 26-28.

As well as the feature categories, Motorsport Australia’s FIA ‘Girls On Track’ program will be present for the first weekend, as well as junior development program Ricciardo’s Racers.

Before the packed double header, the next Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships round will be held at Sandown International Raceway from September 17-19 .Josh Nevett

RICHARDS: IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT FORMER FORMULA Ford champion and now car owner Steven Richards is calling for the series to remain the same, albeit with some minor safety improvements if necessary.

Richards now successfully fields a Formula Ford for his son Clay Richards in the state and national series’, and expressed the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

The future of Formula Ford is currently being considered, with concepts on the table including a sole manufacturer new model which would likely consist of some carbon fibre elements rather than the current tubular chassis.

It is also hoped that Formula Ford will return to championship status in 2023, a title it held from 1993-2013.

However Richards, amongst many Formula Ford competitors, does not want this at the expense of a hefty price tag.

He believes this will turn people away from the open-wheel series which is currently boasting its largest grid sizes for many years.

“If we’re going to have to spend $100,000 to run in the national series, because you’ve got to have a certain car, to me that is not the right answer,” Steven Richards told Auto Action.

14 AutoAction

“The cars may need some tweaking, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The engines last for three years, you rebuild them and if you run them properly, you shouldn’t have any problems and at the end of three years, you spent about $7500 on a rebuild.

“Well, I mean that’s great money – there’s not a category in Australia that you can do that in other than probably the Toyota 86 series.”

Not only is the series strong in numbers but strong in quality with different Formula Ford chassis and drivers capable of winning week in and week out.

“At the moment, if you buy a Spectrum, in my experience Mike Borland gives you a setup, you put it in and you drive it and it’s perfect.”

Richards believes that if safety can be improved it should, but not at a ludicrous cost.

“If Mike Borland can find a way to put a Halo on a Formula Ford I’m all for it,” he said “If it’s just a case of changing the rollover hoop, it doesn’t cost a lot of money and it’s safer, then that’s the way to go.

“I don’t want Clay accidentally clipping wheels with someone and he ends up rolling over and his head can hit the ground, that’s not what we want.

“Motorsport Australia will support it if it is safer, but if it’s going to cost $40,000 to do it, forget about it.

“There’s a risk versus reward thing in everything you do and we want the safest cars but we don’t want the expensive of having to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do it.”

The five-time Bathurst 1000 winner expressed that if this all about championship status, then this isn’t the answer.

“Formula Ford is in a good place at the moment – there is absolutely no need to rush this,” he believes.

“Some of these guys running national series, would say ‘it would be nice to get some Super Licence points – maybe we are on the wrong show’.

“Well that’s a decision for Formula Ford Australia to fix, not Motorsport Australia.” Dan McCarthy

th Luke West iith wit Daniel Kalisz

HANSON SIGNS WITH MPC IN TCR SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Jay Hanson has announced a move to front-running TCR Australia outfit Melbourne Performance Centre.

The TCR rookie began the season with Ash Seward Motorsport in his own Alfa Romeo Giulietta, but after the fourth round at Sydney Motorsport Park the two parties elected to go their separate ways.

Hanson has confirmed to AA that he has signed with MPC and is excited to be joining the professional outfit.

“To be joining such a professional and experienced team should be an eye opener for myself and my family,” he told AA. “To be working with the likes of Chaz Mostert, a current Supercars driver and Luke King, who has been keeping up with Mostert out there, is great.

“To be joining such a great team with great drivers, and a really good history of experiences, I think it’s going to be really good for me.”

The Victorian, who has scored a season-high fourth, explained he would remain in his Alfa Romeo this year, only now it’ll be run by MPC. Hanson is not expecting miracles over the next couple of rounds – he simply wants to get settled into his new team before a full crack with MPC in 2022.

“MPC are more of an Audi team, they’ve always worked with Audi’s,” he recalled. “We’re not really expecting a whole lot from the team running a different branded car.

“The next few rounds we’re justAAN_250721__ going to use as a big learning experience, trying to get a bit of track mileage around the circuits that we will most likely be racing on next year.

“It was always going to be a learning year for myself, and that’s how we’re going to keep on treating it, as a learning year.

“Next year we’re going to come back firing, ready to have a good crack at a big year.”

MPC currently run Audis for Mostert and King, and the duo sit first and second in the series respectively with three rounds remaining.

Hanson and his family plan to purchase a 2021 spec Audi RS 3 LMS TCR to run in the series next season and is hopeful of a top 10 series finish.

“It’ll be really cool to jump into a different car and experience a different brand and model in TCR and see how it behaves differently.

“As long as we can be consistent next year, I think we should be running inside top 10, if not top five.

“I guess trying to be around whoever my teammate is next year, trying to be around them and working together to get the best results possible.

“I’m looking forward building the relationship with new team, drivers, mechanic, managers doing whatever it takes and whatever they ask of me to keep this team at the number one spot.”

MPC team owner Troy Russell sees great talent in Hanson and is looking forward to seeing him in an Audi next year.

“He’s definitely got potential there is no doubt about that,” Russell told AA. “If we can get him into an Audi that is hopefully reliable enough to finish every race and he keeps his head screwed I think he will be there or there abouts in the series next year.”

Dan McCarthy

ROOKIE SOUTAR CONFIDENT IN TCR IMPROVEMENT VICTORIAN TCR driver Zac Soutar is confident that better results are just around the corner despite sitting 18th in the standings.

In his first season at the helm of a tin top racing car, Soutar has taken time to adapt to his Honda Civic Type R. Phillip Island provided his best results of the season so far, finishing eighth in the second race.

Soutar told Auto Action (see Young Guns, page 32) that his family-run team Soutar Motorsport, aided by Brett Francis, had turned the corner.

“I’m very confident going forward for the last three rounds of the championship that we found a bit of a direction,” Soutar said.

“We had a really successful test day recently – we learnt quite a lot and we got the car at quite a good balance, and everything was feeling quite good.”

“I’m starting to be able to come in from a session afterwards and talk to Brett about what I want.

“I definitely think that there’s scope to improve in the second half of the season.”

The racing gods have not been with Soutar during his rookie season, producing some misleading results in his eyes.

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Daniel Kalisz

“I don’t think 18th is representative of how hard our teams worked and how hard I’ve worked, trying to make this happen,” Soutar explained.

“Unfortunately, in the last race we got close to the top 10 and I had a steering arm basically let go so I had to retire from that race.”

“At Philip Island we were in the top 10 In all three races but, unfortunately, in the last race I think I was in seventh and got a bit of youthful exuberance, driving off the track ...

“I don’t want to sit here and make excuses but there’s just been quite a few little things that haven’t quite fallen our way – it makes for not the best championship standings at the moment.”

Soutar made the move into TCR after finishing second in the 2019 Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars driver Chaz Mostert leads the TCR drivers’ standings currently on 452 points, ahead of Luke King and Josh Buchan Josh Nevett

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AA’s long-time columnist highlights a major positive for Supercars in 2021 SUPERCARS’ GENERALS continue to fight battles on many fronts right now, yet there’s one theatre of war where news from the frontline is good. While commanders have their hands full dealing with COVID and Gen3’s troubled rollout – among other major challenges – they would be at least be buoyed by the category’s impressive television figures in 2021.

The first year of Supercars’ current TV rights deal with new free-to-air partner Seven has delivered a significant audience increase so far in 2021 for three events shown ‘live and free’.

In round terms, Seven’s 2021 Hidden Valley audience was up approximately 25 percent on the corresponding round’s free-to-air figures for TEN last year. In Townsville, where Seven broadcast the first of two back-to-back Reid Park weekends, over two days the audience was up over 75 percent on TEN’s viewership of the same event 12 months earlier. Impressive!

I don’t want to get too bogged down in the individual figures, but it’s worth examining one particular day, Saturday July 10, when Race 15 was won by Shane van Gisbergen.

Some 453,000 tuned in on Seven, a further 121,000 on Fox, for a combined national audience of 574,000. The corresponding day in 2020 had a total national audience 316,000, comprising 210,000 on TEN and 106,000 on Fox. In other words, more than a quarter of a million more viewers tuned in on July 10 across both free-to-air and subscription television than the corresponding day in 2020.

True, the boost in audience was aided by Sydney being in lockdown, but it’s an impressive jump regardless.

These figures do not include numbers for FOX Sport’s streaming service Kayo nor Seven’s streaming platform 7Plus, which are becoming increasingly important as Aussie viewing habits shift. I would hazard a guess that Kayo has far more Supercars viewers this year compared to last. My family being a case in point.

The much-improved television figures overall come at a perfect time for Archer Capital, which is eager to sell its 65 percent ownership stake in the category. Attracting top dollar for its share will be that much easier with audiences on the rise. Credit where credit’s due for Supercars.

MEANTIME, it has been left to popular Aussie motorsport media identity Lachlan Mansell to fly the flag for our sport in primetime in his starring role on Channel Nine’s Beauty and the Geek.

The former Auto Action work experience boy and long-time owner of PR company Chequered Flag Media has won the hearts of reality television audiences with his quest to find love. He’s also won the admiration of his racing colleagues.

Lachie, now 32, was in Year 10 at high school when our paths first crossed. I was working as a part-time sub-editor at AA in the mid-noughties when the magazine was owned by ACP Magazines and located at 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney.

As an ex-teacher, schoolboy Lachie was my assigned sidekick a couple of days a week when he joined us. I knew this super enthusiastic racing fan was going places, I just didn’t realise he would one day become Australian television royalty. Give him the Gold Logie now, I say!

Seriously, this all-round genuine and likeable character has been a wonderful ambassador for motorsport in front of BATG’s massive audiences. If Lachie doesn’t win Supercars’ and Motorsport Australia’s 2021 media awards it will be a travesty. In the very least, he should have his own show on television or radio. Go get ‘em, Tiger… both the media opportunities and the girls ...

Luke West wrote his first Auto Action column in 2000. Today Revved Up surveys motorsport’s changing landscape. Contact via @Luke_West (Twitter) & aarevvedup@hotmail.com

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with Dan Knutson

IT HAS been confirmed that the Italian Grand Prix timetable will include a sprint race, in a format identical to Silverstone. Formula 1 have released the schedule for the round at Monza in September, featuring a sprint race qualifying for the second time this season. As seen in the British Grand Prix, the event will begin with practice and qualifying on Friday. The 100km F1 Sprint will take place on Saturday afternoon

ALFA ROMEO and Sauber Motorsport have extended their partnership, in a multi-year deal subject to yearly assessments. The sponsorship began in 2018 when Alfa Romeo made its return to Formula 1. Tightening budget caps in Formula 1 have made the sport more feasible for the manufacturer. Alfa Romeo is currently eighth in the Constructors’ World Championship, sitting on two points. JN

MICK SCHUMACHER had the chance to turn back the clock at Silverstone, driving his father Michael’s first Formula 1 car – The Jordan 191 – around the circuit. Schumacher did several laps in the 30-year-old car for a Sky Sports feature, which will be broadcast during the Belgian Grand Prix. Mick, who debuted in F1 this year, finished 18th in the British Grand Prix. Schumacher has also driven the historic Benetton B194 and F2004 cars that Michael competed in. JN

CHARLES LECLERC has described former teammate Sebastian Vettel as an ‘older brother’ during their time together at Ferrari. While there were on-track incidents between the pair, Leclerc was full of praise for Vettel. “In his good days, he was just incredible, and just incredibly difficult to beat, if not impossible,” Leclerc said. The Monegasque driver sits sixth in the standings and Vettel is 10th for his new team Aston Martin. JN

PRIOR TO the British Grand Prix English Formula 1 driver Lando Norris was mugged shortly after the conclusion of the 2021 Euros soccer final at Wembley Stadium. His watch was stolen in the attack, leaving him shaken and sore. Norris managed to put the ordeal behind him and did not let it affect his performance – he finished the race in fourth after running third until a slow pitstop. JN

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TAKES TWO TO TANGO

RACING DRIVERS rarely admit blame after having an accident with another driver. About the closest they will come to that is saying “it was a racing incident.”

A crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen was inevitable this season, and it finally happened on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix.

Heading through the 290km/h Copse corner, Hamilton aimed his Mercedes to the inside of Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Hamilton’s left-front tyre snagged Verstappen’s right-rear tyre. Verstappen went heavily into the barriers at 51G, and then to the hospital. Hamilton went on to win and then on to the podium to celebrate.

Neither driver accepted blame for the accident.

The race stewards, including sports car ace Emmanuele Pirro, reviewed video and telemetry evidence and ruled

that Hamilton “was on a line that did not reach the apex of the corner, with room available to the inside,” and that when Verstappen turned into the corner Hamilton did not avoid contact. So Hamilton was “judged predominantly at fault” and given a 10-second penalty.

Hamilton’s view: “I was fully alongside him, and he didn’t leave me space.”

The hospitalised Verstappen did not appreciate Hamilton’s joyous celebrations after the race.

“Obviously very disappointed with being taken out like this,” Verstappen posted on social media. “The penalty given does not help us in any way and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track. Watching the celebrations after the race while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour but we move on.”

Verstappen was released from the hospital that night after doctors gave him the all-clear.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner did not appreciate his driver being put in danger, plus the team having to writeoff a car at the cost of over one million euros.

“Putting a wheel up the inside at Copse, one of the fastest corners in this world championship, was ill-judged and a huge risk by Lewis to both drivers,” Horner said. “He was not significantly alongside Max as you can see from the point of contact.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff saw things from a different angle.

“It’s a high-speed corner and that’s why these things are nasty to look at,” he said. “But there is a clear regulation that is black and white on paper: if the front axle is over the

Alain Prost feud which became lethally dangerous at times.

The 2019 Austrian Grand Prix was the scene of a fabulous duel with some bumping and shoving between eventual winner Verstappen and Charles Leclerc who ended up second. A “let them race” philosophy was adopted by the FIA. But this year that has changed.

“There is a clear point: the first lap is treated in a much lighter way under the ‘let them race’ principles than the rest of the race, no doubt about that,” Masi said. “It’s letting drivers find their own balance. But the drivers have clearly said, as have the teams, that they felt the elbows were out a bit too far last year, and they needed to be tucked back in a little bit.”

Red Bull was incensed that the stewards only gave Hamilton a 10-second penalty for the incident with Verstappen that resulted in a wrecked car and a trip to the hospital for Verstappen. As the race director, Masi refers incidents to the stewards but he plays no role in their decisions. But he concurs with their opinion in this case.

“One of the big parts that has been a mainstay for many, many years,” he explained, “and this came through discussions prior to my time between all teams, the FIA, Formula 1 and team principals, was that they were all quite adamant that you should not consider the consequences in an incident.

“So when they (the stewards) are judging incidents they judge the incident itself and the merits of the incident, not what happened after as a consequence.

“That’s been something the stewards have done for many years and have been advised to do from the top down, and I’m talking team involvement and so forth – that’s the way the stewards judge it. Because if you start taking consequences into account there’s so many variables rather than judging the incident itself on its merit.”

FIA WILL INTERVENE THE FIA’S race director, Australian Michael Masi, will intervene if the on track relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen gets out of control in the wake of their accident at Silverstone. And that is the same for any of the 20 F1 drivers. But Masi and the FIA will keep talks with the drivers confidential.

“There are various discussions that happen with drivers individually, those will happen behind closed doors and from an FIA perspective will remain that way,” Massi said. “How I deal with that one-on-one with drivers will remain between me and the drivers and the teams.”

Asked if he would bring in both Verstappen and Hamilton at the same time for a talk, Masi’s response was the same.

One thing everybody can be certain of: Masi will not allow things to deteriorate to the low levels of the Ayrton Senna/

DON’T BACK DOWN & WORK HARDER middle of the car on the outside, it is your corner.”

Opinions in the F1 paddock varied, with many people saying it was a “racing accident.”

“They are racing for the championship and they are racing so hard,” Daniel Ricciardo said.

“When you come so close in these high-speed corners you lose downforce. Obviously nothing was intentional.”

This is not the first time two great drivers have collided.

“When nobody is prepared to give in, then these kinds of situations can happen,” Wolff said. “But for me it takes two to tango.”

This definitely won’t be the last time that Verstappen and Hamilton tango…and tangle.

LEWIS HAMILTON made his point with his clash with Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix.

“I will never back down from anyone,” Hamilton said, “and I naturally would not be bullied into being less aggressive.”

Actually, Hamilton has backed his Mercedes off three times this season – in Portugal, Spain and Italy – to avoid a collision with a charging Verstappen in the Red Bull. The season, Hamilton says, is a marathon not a sprint.

Hamilton’s 2021 season started well with three wins and a second place in the first four races. But then he didn’t stand on the top step of the podium for five consecutive races for the first time since the 2016 season. That was also the last time Hamilton didn’t win the world championship. The 2016 crown went to his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by a mere five points.

The duo infamously knocked each other out of the race on the first lap of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. And the

benefactor was Red Bull’s Verstappen who scored his first grand prix victory.

Hamilton did not take it easy from 2017 through 2020, but he could afford to play it safe if needed. That has changed in 2021 with the Red Bull having a slight advantage over the Mercedes, and with Verstappen hitting his peak.

Hamilton has never been a big fan of driving the simulator. But on the Friday morning of the British Grand Prix weekend he spent time in the Mercedes simulator at the team factory before heading to Silverstone for practice and qualifying.

“I’ve been giving it absolutely everything trying to uncover performance with this car,” he said after winning at Silverstone. “I am just putting in the time to give absolutely everything. Leave no stone unturned.”

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone recently told the Press Association that he feels Hamilton has lost his edge.

“I have spoken to lots of people about this and perhaps Lewis is not quite the

fighter that he was,” Ecclestone said.

“There are lots of occasions this year where he could have done better and he hasn’t. Before he hasn’t had any competition, the equipment has always been super, and he hasn’t really had to make the effort. But now maybe he is thinking that he better take it a bit easier.

“At the beginning of the year I thought he would look to win the championship and then retire. But it appears not, even though I wouldn’t rely too much on contracts. He can escape from that.”

Hamilton, naturally, disagrees.

“I’m definitely not the driver I was when I started,” he said. “I think I’m better and I know myself way more than I ever did.”

It remains to be seen if Hamilton does not win the world championship for the first time since 2016, but if that happens it won’t be due to him not working harder, or due to him backing off.

of the British Grand Prix sharpened Ricciardo’s learning curve.

“Defending forced me to drive on the limit the whole race,” Ricciardo said.

“Being forced to drive a little bit out of my comfort zone allowed me to feel the car a bit more, and I actually took some confidence from that. So it was good to have the pressure.”

Ricciardo has yet to finish ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.

“Daniel is definitely getting closer

and his race pace is stronger than his qualifying pace at the moment,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown noted. “It shows how good Lando is. He’s an awesome racing driver, so Daniel is up against tough competition.

“We are surprised; he’s surprised that he’s not nearer Lando’s pace, but the good news is everyone’s working very hard, everyone knows where we need to improve. Daniel knows where he needs to improve, so there’s no excuses, just hard work ahead of us. I hope he gets on top of it because we need two cars constantly in the front if we’re going to hold onto third in the constructors’ championship.”

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl echoed Brown’s opinion.

“There are still things Daniel needs to improve to match Lando,” Seidl said. “But the important thing is he’s making steps, feeling more comfortable in the car in both (Silverstone) qualifying and the race.

It was a big step forward compared to previous races which was good.

“The Silverstone track layout suited him to feel comfortable to push at the limit. It’s important to show the same again in Hungary.”

ANOTHER STEP FOR RICCIARDO THE BRITISH Grand Prix was another race and another step forward for Daniel Ricciardo as the Aussie gets acclimated with the McLaren. He finished fifth, his best result so far this year, but he acknowledged that it took him 10 races – nearly half of the 2021 season to get there.

Ricciardo is confident that he made a significant step in Britain, but he said he needs to get confirmation at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. Silverstone is a fast, flowing circuit. The Hungaroring is twisty and has some slow corners, so it places different demands on the car and driver.

The Perth native really enjoys driving around the Budapest track; he won there in 2014 and later added two more podium finishes.

“I definitely need to have a few races in a row to really know if I have that consistency now,” he said. “I do feel better in the car, but there is definitely some time on the table that I need to find.

“If I can have a strong weekend in Hungary, that would give me some confidence to think that this is now an upward trend.”

Having to keep the fleet Ferrari of Carlos Sainz at bay in the latter stages

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S W E N A R T EX

By DAN KNUTSON FORMULA 1 unveiled a full-size model of its 2022 car at Silverstone on 15 July, the Thursday of the British Grand Prix weekend.

“It feels like a very long time ago the FIA officially unveiled the regulations for the future of the sport,” said Ross Brawn, Formula 1’s managing director of motorsport, “but after the one-year delay due to the pandemic it’s only 170 days to go until the start of 2022 when we will see the next generation of F1 cars take to the track.

“There is huge excitement ahead of this new era and, while 2021 has been a great battle, we still have cars struggling to follow each other during the race. The regulations for 2022 will address this problem and create an opportunity for closer battles and more wheel-to-wheel racing. The combined effect of the new aerodynamic regulations and financial rules, in the form of the cost cap, will create the conditions for a more balanced championship and for the gaps across the grid to close.”

The current F1 cars lose 45 per cent of their total downforce when they are within a car’s length of the car in front.

This makes following a car closely, especially in fast corners, and overtaking very difficult. The 2022 cars will lose only 15 per cent of their downforce in those situations.

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s SingleSeater technical director, said: “2022 Perhaps the biggest visual difference in profile is the lack of complex barge boards.

18 AutoAction

THE FUTURE

will herald a new era for the FIA Formula One World Championship, with the introduction of one of the biggest changes in regulations in the history of the sport. The FIA has led a superb collaborative effort with Formula 1 and the teams to identify the areas we feel will have the biggest impact on the ability of the cars to race each other closely on the track, and in combination with the financial regulations that are already in place, these new technical regulations should have a great positive impact on the spectacle but also on the sustainability of our sport.”

THE DETAILS

THE 2022 mock-up car was on display in the Silverstone F1 paddock.

“It is a representation of the 2022 car,” McLaren’s technical director James Key said. “It is actually quite basic compared to what the teams will bring out next year.

But it is an accurate representation, for example, of the front wing geometry, the rear diffuser and the floor. And they will be similar proportions to that. But it is sort-of a baseline car, an undeveloped car.

“What is lacking is the approach an F1 team would take, which is to come up with various solutions based on a lot of time on development. So we will see differences, refinements and detailing.”

All the teams are well advanced in designing and developing their 2022 cars.

“I’ve seen what ours looks like and it’s subtly different,” McLaren boss Zak

Brown, referring to the mockup, said. “It is a pretty good representation if you’re going to be looking at the car from 50 feet away. Like all the F1 cars, when you start looking into the detail you start to see all the differences. Hopefully it is a better race car and it does what it is intended to do in terms of making racing closer.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner commented: “The regulations are so tight now that the variance between the cars will really be quite minimal, and the differences will no doubt be under the skin of the car. It is a kind of a shame, that we are going down a route where the shape is so constrained, and it will be the livery that will be the biggest differentiator between the cars. They are kind of retro looking. It sort of looks like a ‘90s IndyCar. I think the car looks pretty cool, but it looks pretty retro.”

KEY OBJECTIVES

AMONG THE key objectives for 2022 are: Raceability: enable and facilitate close racing. Competitive grids: reduce gaps between the cars. Financial sustainability: improve the financial health of the sport – create sustainable business model – reduce costs.

Environmental sustainability: contribute to a technological progress in road-relevant areas. Aesthetics/passion: create greatlooking, exciting cars.

The aims of the aerodynamic regulations are: Wake performance – close racing.

Simplification of the car. De-sensitisation

of certain areas – leading to lower performance differentials. Simpler front wing with weaker vortices – less able to control front wheel wake. No barge boards.

Ground effect car – long diffuser under side pod. Certain prescribed components in areas of great sensitivity.

Some of the areas where the 2022 cars will differ visually from the 2021 models are: nose, front wing and endplates, engine intake, sidepod intake shape, sidepod coke shape and engine cover spine, brake ducts, rear wing and endplates.

F1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds revealed that the simulations used to create the final 2022 concept were the equivalent to 471 years’ worth of computing on older, less advanced computer simulators.

Fans should not, however, expect an “overnight” improvement to the racing in 2022.

OF F1 UNVEILED

Described as the biggest change to F1 specs for years, the 2022 cars have a cleaner, almost retro look. Front aero is all about directing clean air to the under-car ‘ground-effect’ downforce generation. Complex rear wing shape is said to significantly reduced the ‘dirty air’ wake – which in turn should allow cars to follow closer.

The entire F1 grid was on hand, in race suits, to add gravitas to the unveiling ...

DRIVERS’ VIEWS

“I LIKE the rear of it,” Aussie Daniel Ricciardo said after examining the ‘22 mockup. “The rear looks pretty old-school – it reminds me of 2008, with that style which is cool. The front is very different but, like all things, the more you stare at it, the more normal it will start to look.”

“It’s interesting, very different to what we are used to,” said Ricciardo’s former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. “The most important thing is that we improve the racing and can race closer. If this is the way forward then I’m all for that.”

One of the reasons that Lewis Hamilton signed a two-year contract extension was because he wanted to take on the challenge of developing and racing the new car.

“It’ll be amazing for the fans and the sport if it leads to better racing,” he said.

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George Russell might be Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate in 2022.

“I’m excited,” Russell said of the new car. “The idea behind the changes is the right idea and I guess we just have to wait and see when it hits the track if it performs as we all hope. But it’s definitely the first time the sport’s ever had a working group towards making racing better and that, as a driver, is all we want.

“There’s been a lot of interest in making the cars just faster and faster and faster and the racing side of things has been secondary. Now, everyone is really pushing to have a car that allows us to race, allows us to push, and I really think this will provide that. Obviously we are still six months away until we will hit the road in winter testing, but I think overall, it is really exciting and the sport and the future is looking great.”

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19

LATEST NEWS

LIKELY GEN3 ENGINE TEST MULE SPOTTED ON TRACK Auto Action understands that a unique sounding TA2 race car which cut laps at Queensland Raceway on Tuesday, was powered by a new Gen3 Chevrolet Supercars development test engine.

While Triple Eight Engineering were performing a ride day, along with fellow Supercars Championship team Dick Johnson Racing, one observant punter saw the TA2 car on circuit and noted that many KRE engineers were taking a very keen interest in the car.

KRE, who build the Supercar engines for Triple Eight, have been working to develop the Gen3 spec engine for some time and it is believed that a development mule engine was being run for the first time on a circuit.

Fitted to an Asian based Mercedes bodied TA2 car, which ran in a camouflage colour scheme, the TA2 car was reportedly driven by Triple Eight

lead drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.

The engine sound was described as something similar to that made by a Ford-powered MARC car, a little raspier and throatier than a current Gen2 Supercar.

It is unknown at this stage if the final Gen3 engine will sound like this or whether it was just the test mule being used to develop and test components Several weeks ago, the introduction of the Gen3

regulations was delayed until the second half of the Supercars Championship next year.

This means that Triple Eight have around 12 months to test and iron out any bugs that the new engine may have. Dan McCarthy

conference which included AA. “(As well as) Delivering the best possible Bathurst 1000 that we can, last year was less than ideal.

“But all options are on the table (for the event) and like I said, we’re focused on delivering the best experience possible.

“The Bathurst 1000 is always nonnegotiable. For the fans, our partners and for the sport, for all of those reasons, we all are committed to making the 1000 happen.”

He explained that while last year during the height of the pandemic it was all about rolling out rounds, this year Seamer wants to deliver the best events possible for spectators.

“We want to do it (the championship) in a way whereby we are delivering the best possible experience to fans,” he said.

“We know that it is not just about having the event, it’s about creating a positive experience for the fans, for our sponsors and partners as well, whereas last year we were just trying to get the rounds away.

“What we learned was, that was great, but you can only really do that for one year.

“Making sure we give ourselves every opportunity to get the fans back and deliver the best possible experience is critical to our planning, and that’s why there are a range of

different options on the table that we’re working through right now.”

Seamer explained that the championship will avoid forcing teams to quarantine under any circumstances and wants to treat the Victorian and Queensland based teams differently.

“We’re trying to avoid that (quarantining teams) at all costs,” he said. “But like I say, should that eventuality or should that become a possibility in the future between now and the end of the year, that’s something that we’ll work through with all the teams to make sure that they’re being treated fairly.”

Dan McCarthy

REVISED SUPERCARS CALENDAR EXPECTED SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP CEO Sean Seamer has stated that the 2021 Supercars calendar must consist of at least 12 rounds and the Bathurst 1000 before the season is concluded as Auto Action understands a revised calendar is expected.

AA understands that a radically revised Supercars Championship calendar will be unveiled later on this week without the New Zealand and Western Australian rounds.

It is expected that at least one round will take place in Victoria as the state today has come out of its strict lockdown.

Seamer would not go into much detail about the calendar, but did confirm that the championship must complete 12 events including the legendary Bathurst 1000.

“We are making sure that we deliver the 12 rounds, that is obviously priority number one,” Seamer said in a media

DAVISON BELIEVES SAFETY CAR COST HIM SHOT AT VICTORY DICK JOHNSON Racing driver Will Davison believes the safety car in the final race cost him a real likely shot at the final race victory in Townsville.

In the final race, Will Davison pitted early to undercut both Shane van Gisbergen and Cameron Waters ahead.

With strong pace after the pitstop this would have paid dividends, however the safety car was called when Macauley Jones crashed out of the race.

Not only did the safety car take away the margin that Davison would have had, but the safety car picked him up rather than leader Waters who completed another lap before pitting under the safety car.

This mix up cost Davison several seconds and subsequently the lead, however he is confident that the safety car deployment itself cost him the win.

“We should have been a long way up the road with the undercut,

it (would’ve) worked really well,” Davison explained post-race.

“I cruised behind the safety car, the green lights weren’t on, I was down in first and second gear, both Shane and I lost a good six seven seconds, which was disappointing, but that’s the way it goes.

“Hasn’t been any safety cars lately, so the one race we had a bit of a crack, went early and took a bit of a punt.

“I think it could have worked well, because as we saw at the end my tyres were quite a lot older, but we still had good pace, so just thank you to

the team they’ve certainly done a great job with the car today.

“It’s been a battle at times (the last two weekends in Townsville) and to give them a trophy, as a thank you for the hard work.

“But the race could have certainly been different I feel without the safety car, so I am a bit disappointed as well.”

Although it was a tough couple of events for the Dick Johnson Racing team, particularly on Davison’s side of the garage – scoring just the single podium – he takes positives from what the team learned.

“It’s been a real battle,” he said. “I mean we haven’t really been off the second row in qualifying, we’ve got good one-lap speed, but the races have certainly been challenging.

“It’s been frustrating, but I’ve just got to thank them (the team) because we’ve never thrown more changes at both cars over the course of two weekends.

“It’s been good in a way, we’ve learned a lot, certainly got some weaknesses, and we’ve got a lot of strengths in our package, it’s all about just trying to understand that.”

Dan McCarthy

SUV body styles.

The test track and proving ground in Victoria’s southeast on the Bass Highway near Phillip Island spans over 877ha.

It includes a high-speed oval for performance testing, a road system combining both sealed and unsealed roads as well as a laboratory.

It was opened in 1957, used to test

Holden’s road cars ever since.

The facility received a $16m upgrade to its track and emissions lab in 2018.

GM continues to employ people in Australia under the Holden Aftersales, GM Specialty Vehicles and ACDelco banners.

VinFast opened a research and development centre in Melbourne but announced its temporary

closure in May. The Valuer General also reported a secondary major automotive facility sale last year.

Alongside the Holden Lang Lang test facility, Heathcote Park Raceway near Bendigo also found a new owner last year when Melbourne drag racer Lance Warren bought the racetrack.

Josh Nevett

FORMER HOLDEN TEST TRACK LANG LANG SOLD A PIECE of Australian motoring history has traded hands, the former Holden Lang Lang test track and proving ground sold by General Motors to Vietnamese automakers VinFast.

US-based GM generated $36.3m from the sale as it continues to reallocate resources in the wake of retiring the iconic Australian brand in 2020.

Given the business of the buyer the site is set to retain its original purpose in the future, used by VinFast to test their own vehicles as well as opening it up to external manufacturers.

The property was put up for sale in the middle of last year after Holden brand operations ceased in February.

Vinfast, who are looking to produce a wide range of road cars as part of their future operations, made the purchase a few months on from this.

The company’s offerings will include both electric and petrol powertrains, in small, mid-sized and

LATEST NEWS

RED BULL REQUEST FIA REVIEW RED BULL Racing have requested an FIA review of Lewis Hamilton’s 10s penalty received for the incident with Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix.

Red Bull lodged their petition for review on Friday July 23, the same day that team boss Christian Horner made accusatory post-race comments.

The ‘petition for review’ is warranted by the FIA’s International Sporting Code permits when “a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.”

Vying for the title, the two drivers collided at Copse corner on lap 1 when Hamilton attempted an inside pass, sending Verstappen out of control and into the barriers at 290km/h and 51G. Hamilton was unimpacted by the contact, leading for the rest of the race to claim a win in his home event.

Verstappen was taken to hospital for a check-up in the aftermath but was released shortly after.

The FIA has now issued summons to both Red Bull and Hamilton’s team Mercedes to appear at a video

conference on Thursday night at midnight AEST. The Team Manager from each team and up to two additional team representatives respectively must attend the meeting with stewards.

If Red Bull do not meet the criteria requiring significant new evidence, then their request for an investigation will be rejected.

If, on the other hand, the evidence is admissible then the investigation will be reopened.

Commenting on the incident, Verstappen held Hamilton responsible.

“Obviously very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us in any way and

doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track,” the 23-year-old said.

“Watching the celebrations after the race while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour but we move on.”

Verstappen’s Team Principal Horner was also outspoken in his condemnation of the Brit post-race.

“Putting a fellow driver in hospital, writing off the car, and receiving a menial penalty and winning the grand prix doesn’t feel like much of a penalty,” Horner said.

Hamilton defended his involvement in the race-defining clash.

“I don’t agree with stewards, but I take my penalty on the chin and get

on with my job. I’m not going to whine about it,” Hamilton said.

“Everyone’s going to have a different opinion. I don’t really particularly care what people think.”

The last team to use their right to review was Alfa Romeo, who successfully reopened an investigation into Kimi Raikkonen’s 30-second time penalty at Imola.

They did not manage to overturn the penalty.

Both Hamilton and Verstappen will resume hostilities this weekend in the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring from July 30- August 1.

Verstappen leads Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ standings, 185 points to 177. Josh Nevett

where we would want them to be right now,” Lowes conceded.

“We have a lot of potential, and I am still in the top four of the Championship; close to the top three, which is the target for this year.

“I will be working hard for the next few weeks to make that next step to be regularly challenging for the podium.”

“Honestly, I feel like it is close, so with this team and all these guys around me - with the relationships we

have been building - everything is in place now to push things forward.”

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK team manager Guim Roda welcomed the new deal, indicating his satisfaction with Lowes’ performances during a challenging time in world racing.

“We are so happy to have Alex and he is highly motivated to continue with the KRT project. With this twoyear agreement we are convinced that we will now build on these firm foundations,” Roda said.

“Alex started with KRT during the COVID-19 pandemic. He needed to learn quickly and concentrate on making Championship points in those first three months; not easy.

“For 2021, he started the season strongly and we are all working to make those important steps to improve the performance of the overall package.”

Lowes has been a full-time WorldSBK rider since 2014, consistently improving across the stretch.

Since finishing 11th in his debut season, he climbed the ranks to a career-best third in 2019 riding for Yamaha.

The seat at KRT is one of several that have been filled for 2022 recently, including Toprak Razgatlioglu signing on with Pata Yamaha and Garrett Gerloff with GRT Yamaha.

Josh Nevett

LOWES RE-SIGNS WITH KRT ALEX LOWES has signed a multiyear deal to remain with Kawasaki Racing in the FIM Superbike World Championship.

The British rider has been at the team since 2020, finishing sixth in last year’s WorldSBK standings.

Lowes currently sits fourth in the 2021 season and will have ridden for KRT for three years by the time this deal ends.

Commenting on the new deal, Lowes was overjoyed with the extension.

“I’m really happy to have signed once more with the Kawasaki Racing Team, the most successful team in the current era of WorldSBK,” Lowes said.

“I am really thankful to stay in the team next year, and proud of the faith that Kawasaki has shown in me.”

The 30-year-old began his time at KRT in fine fashion, finishing second in Race 1 of 2020 at Phillip Island before going one better to win in Race 2.

At that early point of his Kawasaki career, he was top of the championship, above legendary

teammate Jonathan Rea who currently sits at the top of the 2021 standings.

Lowes has been consistently at the front of the field since, recording seven podiums including three this year to date.

The WorldSBK rider of seven years was looking to make strong progress on this foundation over the next two seasons.

“It has also been slightly frustrating this year because I feel like we started strongly but the results are not quite

WEC BAHRAIN DOUBLE HEADER EXPLAINED THE FORMAT for the FIA World Endurance Championship Bahrain double-header has been revealed, the first consecutive weekends of racing in championship history.

The Kingdom of Bahrain will host both Round 5 and Round 6 on October 30 and November 6 respectively, bringing the season to an action-packed climax.

Round 5, the 6 Hours of Bahrain, will be held in the daytime between 11am local time and 5pm.

The sixth and final WEC round, the 8 hours of Bahrain, will take place the following weekend on Saturday as a day/night event.

The race is scheduled to begin at 2pm local time, running through the change of light to finish in complete darkness at 10pm.

Bahrain’s traditional 5.4km Grand Prix circuit, the agreed track, will throw up a raft of challenges for drivers who will have to combat changes in track temperature, fading daylight and an abrasive surface.

A total of 63 points will be available across both weekends (25 points for round 5 and 38 points for the seasonfinale), leaving the title race open for late drama.

The 2021 WEC Champion will be crowned at the conclusion of Round 6.

FIA WEC CEO Frederic Lequien was looking forward to the prospect of a

strategy-filled fortnight.

“It will be interesting to see the different strategies that teams adopt for the double-header,” Lequien said.

“It’s certainly going to provide two different types of races by having one run completely in daylight and the season-finale finishing much later at night.

“We’re very much looking forward to returning to the Kingdom with Sheikh Salman and his team and to crowning our new World Champions at the end of our first ever double-header.”

Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain International Circuit, was likewise anticipating entertaining racing.

“These two contrasting races should offer a variety of challenges to the teams and drivers. We look forward to welcoming all participants to Bahrain,

for what we hope will be a hugely exciting conclusion to the season,” Sheikh Salman said.

On November 7 there will be an official rookie test for all teams in the WEC who would like to test drivers in the Hypercar, LMP or GTE categories.

The Bahrain double-header came to be as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which ruled out the 6 Hours of Fuji originally scheduled.

The next round of competition is the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sebastian Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley currently lead the Hypercar category for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The GTE Drivers’ Championship is led by Kevin Estre and Neel Jani from the Porsche GT Team.

Josh Nevett

WOOD RETURNS TO W SERIES

AUSTRALIAN CAITLIN Wood will return to the W Series competition for this weekend’s round as part of the Hungary Grand Prix.

The now 24-year-old took part in the inaugural season back in 2019 after having been one of 20 selected following an intense testing process of more than 60 women from around the globe.

So far in 2021, Wood has been one of five reserve drivers registered to the series and will get her turn to line up on the grid in the second Puma W Series Team car alongside Spaniard Marta Garcia at the Hungaroring.

“I am super excited for the weekend because it’s a great opportunity,” said Wood.

“It’s going to be a tricky round because it’s halfway through the season, but I am going in with a positive attitude and will grab this opportunity with both hands.

“Right now, Hungary is the only round locked in but if I can perform well and take a lot away from the weekend, then there could be a chance for something further down the track.

“Unfortunately I haven’t been in the car since pre-season, but I have been watching and learning for this moment, so I want to get in there and give it a good go.

“I think wanting to come away with

some points and to enjoy myself are good goals. I also want to represent Australia well on the international stage.”

The New South Wales-born driver is looking forward to racing again and getting the chance to show her development as a driver following a string of unfortunate luck during her debut in the series back in 2019.

“Ultimately I have been a reserve driver for the first three rounds this year, but I have been going to all the races and treating the week leading

up to them by preparing as if I am driving,” explained Wood.

“I’ve had good preparation for each round and although it wasn’t my turn to get in the car, I put in just as much effort as the others so I will continue with that same preparation method for this week.

“I have also really worked on myself with my driving and mental coaches so I could tick all the boxes and do a good job for when the time for me to race did come.

“I can’t change the fact that I haven’t done the first three rounds or been in the car since pre-season testing, but I do feel far more comfortable and confident in my abilities since 2019.

“That year wasn’t the best for me as I was a bit unlucky in a very up and down season. So to be given that chance where I can have another go and try and prove myself is the most important thing and I am looking forward to it.”

Wood has some recent seat time in the W Series car having completed demonstration runs at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This weekend will see the W Series on the Formula 1 support card, with one 30-minute practice session and qualifying on Friday before the 30-minute race on Saturday following Formula 1’s official qualifying session.

Rhys Vandersyde

TAYLOR FIFTH IN CROSS COUNTRY AUSTRALIAN MOLLY Taylor finished fifth in class in a successful FIA Cross Country World Cup debut.

Competing for South Racing Can-Am in a CanAm off road buggy, Taylor impressed throughout the 580km Baja Aragon event in Spain alongside German co-driver Dennis Zenz.

The 33-year-old achieved the result over two official timed sections in her first ever drive in a Can-Am Maverick X3.

Saturday morning provided Taylor with her best section result, crossing the line second fastest.

The current Extreme E Series leader relished the challenge of a new category and was looking forward to the next round of competition.

“I had a great time in Baja Aragon.

It’s my first ever race doing Baja so I didn’t really know what to expect but we just loved every minute off road,” Taylor said.

“We loved the roads and the challenge. To work with the South Racing Crew was awesome as well – we are very happy.”

Saudi Arabian driver Yasir Seaidan currently leads the drivers’ championship.

Taylor made her return to WRC3 in Estonia earlier this month, but unfortunately crashed out early.

Her car ended up on its roof after the 2016 Australian Rally Champion misjudged a fast corner, but thankfully Taylor and her co-driver Sebastian Marshall were not harmed.

Born in Sydney, Taylor is the only female driver to win the Australian Rally Championship and was the youngest of all drivers at the time to claim the title.

Josh Nevett

Publisher Bruce Williams bruce@autoaction.com.au 0418 349 555 Editorial Director

Bruce Williams

Editor-At-Large

Mark Fogarty

Deputy Editor

Dan McCarthy

Staff Journalist

Josh Nevett

Production

with Dan Knutson

THE FANS WILL DECIDE

Jason Crowe

Special Contributor

Bruce Newton

National Editor

Garry O’Brien

Historic Contributor Online Editor

F1 INSIDER

Mark Bisset Rhys Vandersyde

Contributing Writers Australia Garry O’Brien, Mark Fogarty, Bruce Newton, Mark Bisset, Geoffrey Harris, David Hassall, Bob Watson, Bruce Moxon, Gary Hill, Craig O’Brien, Mick Oliver, Martin Agatyn. Paris Charles Formula 1 US Correspondent

Dan Knutson Mike Brudenell

Photographers Australia Ross Gibb, Rebecca Hind, Mick Oliver, David Batchelor, Randall Kilner, Rhys Vandersyde, Richard Hathaway, MTR Images, Bruce Moxon, Ray Ritter International Motorsport Images Advertising Manager Bruce Williams All Advertising inquiries Bruce@autoaction.com.au (0418) 349 555 Editorial contributions may be sent to Auto Action. No responsibility will be accepted for their safety. If you require the return of any sent item or items, please attach a separate, stamped and fully addressed envelope

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20 AutoAction

ONE F1 Sprint Qualifying ‘event’ is not enough to judge if it is a good or bad concept, and how it much it needs tweaking. There certainly were mixed reactions from the drivers and the rest of the F1 fraternity after the debut during the British Grand Prix weekend.

The format, which will only be used three times this season, sees qualifying moved from Saturday to Friday. That qualifying created the grid for Saturday’s 100km Sprint Qualifying, 17 laps at Silverstone, and those results created the grid for Sunday’s 300km, 51 laps, grand prix.

The FIA and Formula 1 insist that Saturday’s event was not a race, calling it Sprint Qualifying or the F1 Sprint.

It was, of course, a race, but was it a good one?

“I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it too much,” Lewis Hamilton said, “but it’s nice to have more races for sure.”

Hamilton put his Mercedes on pole, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who qualified second, grabbed the lead at

the start and led all the way.

Hamilton finished second, ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. It was a procession out front.

Fortunately, Fernando Alonso, whose Alpine was fitted with the soft compound Pirelli slicks, created entertainment in the middle of the pack, battling McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo and others, most of whom had opted for the mediums.

The record books will show that Verstappen earned the pole for the 2021 British Grand Prix.

“For me personally qualifying is where you should get pole position,” Verstappen said, “and of course Lewis was ahead there. It (winning the 17-lapper) does mean something but not the real hype of: I nailed the lap and I put it on pole!”

A number of drivers liked the new format.

“What I enjoy most is racing, when the lights go out you get that feeling of battling and

competition,” Perth native Ricciardo said after finishing sixth. “I know they don’t call it a race, but it is like a race!

It is cool to have two race battles on one weekend. For sure it is different. I know some people always hesitate with change, but so far it has been a fun weekend.”

Leclerc is also a fan of the format.

“I enjoyed it, Sprint Qualifying is cool – you get to push for 17 laps straight,” he said. “But I think what I enjoyed the most is the Friday change – having the qualifying on Friday makes it a lot more exciting for us drivers.”

I agree with Norris that, in the end, it will be the fans who make the final judgment about Sprint Qualifying.

“We are not doing this solely for us to have more fun,” Norris said after finishing fifth. “We are doing it for the fans. For us it does not really matter. I enjoyed the old format, and it is not like we have this format every single weekend now. We’re still going back to the old one.

WHAT’S IN THE NEXT ISSUE ON SALE AUGUST 12

“I like the build-up, I liked Friday with one practice and one qualifying session. But it is not about me – it is for the fans, and if the fans loved it then I’m happy to do it.”

The next Sprint Qualifying will be 10-12 September on the Italian Grand Prix weekend. The third will be at a race weekend outside of Europe.

“We’ll let the dust settle on the weekend, spend some time with the FIA and the teams, try and understand if there’s some evolutions we want,” Formula 1’s Ross Brawn said. “But we won’t be changing the fundamental format this year. After the three races we can sit down and see where we go from here. But so far, very positive.”

“At the end of the day that’s a crucial thing,” Brawn said of fan input. “We’re already getting massive feedback, positive, from the fans, on social media – they love it.

But there will be fans who make some comments, on what they didn’t understand or appreciate and we’ll take that into account as well.”

HUGE Porsche 917 feature, Le Mans 24hrs preview, F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Young Gun – Luke Vanna, Racing Together – Supercar heavies backing indigenous racing program.

with Mark Fogarty

THE FOGES FILE AA’s perplexed pundit wonders why motor sport isn’t getting a better deal amid the latest COVID crisis THIS WASN’T supposed to have happened. By now, 18 months after the pandemic sped across the world, we expected to be over the worst, with life almost back to normal.

It isn’t – and now won’t be for some time. In Australia, hopes of freedom from COVID-19 have been dashed by the Delta variant. The more virulent strain is rampant in Sydney and surrounds, and a serious concern in Melbourne.

State borders have been slammed shut again and international travel other than to and from NZ is off the agenda until well into next year.

Isolation is here to stay for some time.

As the USA and most of Europe gets on with life, Australia has withdrawn into crippling defensive mode. Until the vast majority are fully vaccinated, sporadic or extended lockdowns are likely to continue.

The social and economic cost of shutting down NSW and Victoria is immense. The impact on local motorsport is a microcosm of the hardships across the nation.

After a relatively normal first few months of the season, there are severe doubts that racing will resume any time soon. If NSW remains heavily restricted until well into September, the ramifications will be widespread.

Even if Victoria eases restrictions, it will still be vulnerable to snap lockdowns. As will Queensland and the smaller states. The situation is arguably more perilous for professional sports than it was a year ago.

Supercars and Motorsport Australia are trying to salvage a season thrown into unexpected disarray. The irony is that their health protocols and events are among the most robust.

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There have been no reported cases of coronavirus transmissions in Australian racing. To my knowledge, from Supercars down, no competitor, official, worker or spectator has contracted the disease.

Yet while the AFL, NRL and other major ball sports receive waivers to continue their competitions, despite on- and off-field cases, motor sport gets little credit for operating so safely.

The situation is so uncertain that there are genuine concerns about whether the Bathurst 1000 will – or can – happen as scheduled from October 7-10.

Seems like a long way off, but NSW’s dire straights remain a long-term threat.

Outspoken Boost Mobile boss Peter Adderton has already called for the Bathurst 1000 to be postponed until the end of October or early November.

He posted on social media that the risk of running the race without a big crowd wasn’t worth it, citing lack of atmosphere and consequent sponsor disinterest.

Adderton has a point. Delay now to give our biggest race the best chance of happening in front of a big, if not capacity, crowd.

But that would be a big call at this stage. Yes, it would be more likely the Bathurst 1000 would be unrestricted very late in the season. However, upending the calendar now would be

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premature.

I don’t think fans would object, but the fact is that any date is uncertain.

With a contingency plan, Supercars would be better to wait until September to make a call on Bathurst.

Adderton is not wrong. Running the Bathurst 1000 in front of only 4000 spectators a day, like last year, would be a waste. Despite the trends, though, it’s way too soon to panic.

Be prepared, sure, but let’s not jump the gun. Things could be so different either way in three months.

Adderton’s view is typically controversial. The telco tycoon thrives on stirring things up.

Yet, he is an enigma. He is expressing concern about the Bathurst 1000 while reportedly ‘over’ Supercars.

The rejection of his consortium’s bid for Supercars has left him disinterested and resolved to end Boost’s association. He is feeling disaffected and unwanted.

To be fair, he is a passionate rogue.

But he is so mercurial that most Supercars team owners shudder at the thought of him running the show.

Although he makes a lot of sense, Adderton’s fatal flaw is that he believes Supercars can be run like a conventional business. If only.

It is driven by emotion and egos, which often over-ride common sense.

He is as guilty of this failing as anyone in the sport, believing his own rhetoric.

In my view, having known him on and off for almost 30 years, Peter Adderton is an asset to Supercars as a sponsor and agitator.

But as an owner/boss of the sport, he is too uncompromising. And, perhaps, simplistic.

His call to postpone the Bathurst 1000 is well-intentioned and logical, but simply too soon. It creates debate, which is good, absent mainstream media interest in Supercars.

While the evening TV news is full of angst about how AFL or NRL will get through this latest COVID crisis, there is nothing about Supercars having to cope. Not even on Seven, the free-toair rights holder.

Adderton may well be vindicated in the end, but, unfortunately, he is too ‘loose’ to be taken seriously.

Not going to happen, but I’d give him control because he would shake things up. Give Supercars a new popular direction, make it consumer friendly.

He is too much of a renegade, more’s the pity.

Adderton’s call to postpone the Bathurst 1000 makes sense.

If it happens, though, he won’t get credit. But remember that he foresaw the problems looming and advocated action.

It’s the sort of decisiveness Supercars needs, especially as it disappears into the rabbit hole of Gen3.

Don’t even start me on that…

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livin’ in amer Scott McLaughlin candidly reviews his rookie IndyCar season so far and finally reflects on his Supercars title three-peat last year

IT’S BEEN such a big change. V8 tin-tops to V6 turbo single-seaters. Panel-banging to precision. Champion to rookie. Australia to the USA. Scott McLaughlin’s life could hardly be more different. His jump from Supercars to IndyCar is almost unprecedented. Hulking touring car to ballistic open wheeler. Biffo versus ballet.

It’s been a difficult yet promising transition. McLaughlin has impressed in IndyCar with solid results, sheer application and surprising adaptability.

He has been especially strong on ovals, which are completely foreign to him.

IndyCar is challenging the gifted NZ-born, Australianraised racer like nothing before. And he’s loving every minute of it, even being thrown into life in a COVIDrampant America.

Based in NASCAR stronghold Charlotte, North Carolina, near where Team Penske’s expansive cross-categories operation is based, 28-year-old McLaughlin and his American wife Karly Paone are embracing life and the future.

As the fourth member Team Penske’s IndyCar Series squadron – teammate to Indy 500 winners Will Power and Simon Pagenaud and twice champion Josef Newgarden – and a clear favourite of Roger Penske, he is being prepared for future stardom.

McLaughlin’s results after 10 of 16 races es s establish him as the leading rookie. He is ts, 13th in points after a mixed bag of results, nd highlighted by a second to fellow Kiwi and defending champion Scott Dixon in the first of two races at the fearsome, highbanked Texas Motor Speedway. or Another standout was qualifying fifth for g the Indianapolis Grand Prix and finishing eighth on the famed Speedway’s road course. He was Rookie Of The Year in g the Indy 500, contending until exceeding the pit lane speed limit.

It’s been a struggle lately, but he is looking forward to the upcoming three-week run of street (Nashville GP), road course (Indy) and oval (Gateway) races.

McLaughlin rushed to the States immediately after sealing his third straight Supercars crown at Bathurst last st year for his IndyCar ace debut at the season-ending St Petersburg GP, unable to return since.

We finally got the chance to review his critics-quietening triumph last year and discuss his progress in IndyCar – and he was back to his best as the open Scotty of old.

We’re past halfway, so how do you rate your rookie season so far?

It’s been up and down, for sure. I feel like I’ve had more ups that I probably don’t know about than downs. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m learning so fast. There are so many things I have to learn and sometimes I don’t even know that I’m learning some things when I’m out there, but I am with every lap I do.

I’ve certainly been really challenged and it’s been tough at points. For instance, Detroit was one race where it was just really difficult – but before I started this, I was under no illusion that I’d have days like that. So it’s just about me getting through it and working hard and trusting my talent that eventually things will end up on the brighter side more often than not.

I certainly think we’re on our way there. I feel the last couple of events, although they haven’t been astounding results, I feel like we’ve really turned a corner in terms of what I want from the car. It’s now just putting it together on the red tyres and getting it right in qualifying, and I’m slowly getting better at that. It’s a matter of getting better at everything.

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enjoyable because I’ve done that and I’ve really just focused on my growth and development, and it’s been really enjoyable from the start of the weekend to the end of the weekend, seeing my progress across the whole of the event.

What’s been the highlight so far? On the surface, it would have to be that second at Texas, wouldn’t it?

McLaughlin has taken to the ovals way better than even he expected to.

It must, to a certain extent, be about controlling or containing expectations. Don’t you have to be realistic at this stage?

Yes, but I struggle with that because I’m very competitive and I’ve come from a spot in a sport where I was competing for wins every race over the past four years. So as a competitor it’s hard to turn off that instinct and go “OK, well, a top 15’s a good result here”.

It’s something I’ve really struggled with, probably more so than anything.

Tim Cindric (Team Penske president) and Roger have been really open with me in terms of what they expect of me and this year for us is a massive learning year, basically to set us up for the next few years. But every race I go into I’m, like, if my teammates are there, I have to be there – if Josef (Newgarden) is winning a race, I have to be winning. But like you said, I’ve had to really calm myself down and bring back my expectations of myself a fair bit. And I think the last two or three races have probably been my most

Yeah, Texas would be hard to go past. That was just really cool. I think another one, although we were out of contention, was the Indy 500. That was a highlight, not only being there and competing, but actually being competitive. We were in a genuine spot there for a little bit to really contend to be in that front pack before my mistake.

It was absolutely a highlight to be competitive on an oval again.

And then probably the other one was making the Fast Six at the Indianapolis road course – a track that I hadn’t been to before and had one practice and put it in the Fast Six and nearly be the fastest Penske car. That was a really cool feeling for me. I’ve really just enjoyed the growth from my very first race in St Pete in October last year. I’m

rica r The two key men in Scott’s US life (below): Roger Penske and Team Penske President Tim Cindric.

a completely different driver. I definitely feel more of an open-wheel driver and learning the proximity of the race car, which has been difficult.

I’ve been just so used to banging mirrors and bashing panels when you pass people. You can’t do that here. So learning the racecraft again has been quite difficult. Realistically, I’ve only had to race the front pack over the past four years. Not being a wanker about it, but that’s just been where it’s at and now I’m finding myself in the middle of the pack. I’ve had to relearn a bit of racecraft again and that’s just being realistic. I’ve enjoyed that, but I’ve also figured out that I did lose a little bit of it, for sure, and it’s been really enjoyable learning again.

You seem to have taken to the ovals very quickly and comfortably. Have you?

Yeah, I love the ovals. I wish there were more of them. I think it’s because the way the tyres degrade is very similar to Supercars. You really have to look after everything and really think about your next move, not overheat the tyre and sort of wash off in the dirty air.

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I’ve really enjoyed that, but I’ve also had one of the best of all time on the ovals in my corner and that’s Rick Mears, obviously. I’ve really just been soaking up everything from him like a sponge and really enjoying his presence around my pit and on my radio. So I’ve really enjoyed the ovals, more than I thought I would. I knew I would, but I didn’t think I’d enjoy them as much as I do now. Indy just came naturally to me and the mistake I made was just a rookie error, but I felt like I drove a solid race and found myself passing people naturally and just on instinct, and that’s exactly what you want to feel. You don’t want to be second-guessing yourself. I back my ability and my car, and it feels really good. I’m lucky that I’ve been with a team that’s exceptional with the oval cars and know how to set them up for a rookie and build up your confidence.

That certainly helps as well.

As you touched on, it must be just so different racing in IndyCar compared with Supercars.

Yeah, it’s definitely more different than I thought it was going to be, 100 per

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cent. The way you can pass in an IndyCar is very different. Like I said before, you can’t make contact like you can in certain areas in a Supercar because you knock your front wing off or you knock your bodywork off that affects the aerodynamics, which is crucial. So you have to really think about it a lot more. But you can also do that when you’re attacking people and put people in different situations, and I didn’t really think of that before I joined the category.

I think for me it hasn’t really been until, say, Mid-Ohio really where I stuck my elbows out a bit more – or even Road America – and sort of held my own a bit more. I was getting passed by people

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when I didn’t think they could pass me. So it’s been an eye-opening experience and completely different.

There’s not even one similarity about the racing and the racecraft in the IndyCar compared with the Supercars, that’s for sure.

How is life for you at Team Penske, one of the most storied outfits in all of racing? You’re getting to see the inside of a huge operation.

It’s been awesome. I train at the workshop nearly every day. There’s a gym there and a trainer there full-time, so he’s been my coach and I feel the

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fittest I’ve ever been due to just being able to train in a world-class gym.

And then on top of that you have a four-car operation in IndyCar and then you have your NASCAR Cup cars and Xfinity cars. I think there’s more than 500 people there now.

Certainly, in the early stages, when COVID was fully happening in America and it was going pretty crazy, it was a little difficult, but now with everything opening up, I’m able to roam pretty freely around the workshop and get to meet a lot more people. You realise just how much of a well-oiled machine it is. You ask for something and normally that sort of stuff takes months in Australia to get done – and that’s just due to a lack of resources – whereas here I ask for a little grip change on my steering wheel and, bang, I have it the next race or the next time I’m on track or I have moulds the next day to test and try on the pit stop car. It’s really impressive and you can see why it’s been one of the best teams in world motor sport for a very long time.

But then we have struggled as a team in IndyCar with a lack of pace or a lack of luck in some ways. We’ve had the package, we just haven’t delivered. But you can see they’ll get there. There’s no stopping the juggernaut in terms of the resources and they’ll do what needs to be done to improve the performance.

It’s really awesome to see and to be a part of.

And how have you settled into life in the USA? How is it living there in these very strange times?

Like I said, initially it was very different and quite difficult to get your bearings because you simply just couldn’t really go anywhere. You had a mask on and it was 50 per cent capacity at most restaurants and stuff, so you really didn’t get to feel the vibe of the place, and sporting events were closed to the public.

But since May it’s been almost fully open – going out to bars and restaurants and going to NBA games

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Above and left: The Indy 500 has been the year highlight to date – until the unfortunate pit entry brake issue, Scott was right in amongst it. He’s joined on the famous bricks by wife Karly. satisfying was that third straight title?

and baseball games. The only place you really need to wear a mask now is the airports.

That’s been really nice and certainly Karly and I have settled in really well in Charlotte and really enjoying it. It’s not too much different to Australian life – just a whole lot bigger and a lot more things at your fingertips. Like if you want to go somewhere, you can go to Denver to the mountains or you can go to LA for the beaches or Florida. Every state you go to, it’s all different, whereas in Australia you can go down all the east coast and everything seems very similar.

Here, the regions are so different and so are the accents and the way they go about life. In Chicago, for instance, it’s a completely different way of life to New York and then New York’s completely different to, say, the South – places like Charlotte and Atlanta. Getting my head around going between different states that seem like different countries has been very weird.

No sense of unease, even though the COVID numbers are still extraordinarily high?

No, basically I think because the ability to get vaccinated is there for everyone.

Everyone who wants it has had a vaccine. It’s the best the authorities can do and they’re encouraging everyone to get vaccinated to help the cause. So the unease has gone now. We’ve just got to get on with it.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

Very similar to what they have been – just keep making progress. I’m looking forward to Nashville (street race) and also Indy (road course) again.

Nashville I haven’t been to, but nobody has, and then Indy – I’ve raced there before, which will be nice.

Gateway is another new track, but I’ll have a test there before, as well as a test at Laguna Seca so I can learn the track there. Again, I just have to keep being realistic and keep learning. I think if we can bump ourselves up into the top 10 by the end of the year, I think that would be exceptional, but if I can keep myself in the top 15 area every race and just be solid, I’d be pretty stoked with that personally.

Have you pretty much given up hope of being able to get back for the Bathurst 1000?

I haven’t given up hope, but it’s looking pretty difficult. If quarantine doesn’t go away, I’m pretty much screwed. But if they delay Bathurst, I could be in luck.

I just don’t know yet. Ryan Story (DJR team owner) is giving me until the latest possible moment to commit to the team, so it’s really up to him when he needs to get things sorted.

We didn’t get to debrief your Supercars championship last year because you had to go to the States straight after Bathurst. So how

Apart from my first one, that was my favourite. It answered the critics who said we had the best car and a few other things in the year prior. As a team, we all had some adversity at some point. Certainly, when we came out at the start of the year, we didn’t feel like we had the best car. We felt like Triple Eight had really stepped up, so we had to get better.

And then to come back from the long break when we were all in lockdown after the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix and to be as strong as we were was a testament to the effort that the team put in. I was really proud of that run that we went on after the lockdown. It was a really special thing to be part of.

Was it a more difficult year for you to win the title?

Obviously, at the end, we had a reasonable buffer, especially with Jamie not finishing Bathurst. But, for me, it was a lot, lot tougher battle, although I still felt like we had belief in ourselves that we knew we could get it done.

We just had to be solid and know when to fight battles and when not to. I think having the experience of winning the two previous years and understanding what it took to win a championship certainly helped, especially when we were going into battle. And whether it came down to the wire like it did in 2017, I still backed ourselves to get it done.

We won the teams’ championship by keeping the pressure on T8 and that was the main goal. We learned a lot across the four years with DJR Team Penske and we certainly learned a lot within ourselves over 2020, and that’s what really made me proud of our

Yeah, Fabian couldn’t drive a loose car and there was a lot of evidence that he couldn’t, so I went my way and he went his way, and obviously my way felt pretty fast.

I debate him saying he’s now at a team that listens to him because I know for a fact that he had engineering group under Mark Fenning that worked very hard and very well together. I certainly felt from my end that Fabian was hard, but at the end of the day, if he feels like that, that’s how it is. The whole Tweet I put out wasn’t really attacking Fabian as such. It was more the way that the article was slanted.

Was their friction between you two?

Oh, we had our ups and downs, for sure. Especially making contact at Winton (in 2019) and a couple of other times. Yeah, we definitely had ups and downs. We were just normal work colleagues. He was the longest teammate I ever had (four years) and I felt like we had a pretty solid relationship all the way through – a solid, respectful relationship that really moved the team forward.

There were times when if we h had to get out of the way of each o other or whatever, we would just d do it and he would do the same, a and that’s all you can ask of your te teammate.

There’s been little time to reflect or celebrate the 2020 championship win ... and there’s been a bit of media banter between the former teammates ... group, the way we got on with things.

What we went through is a bond that you’ll never shake now. I’m still very heavily tied to those guys and talk to them all the time. The winning was great, but I think the adversity we went through brought us all together.

You hope to get back for the Yo Bathurst Ba 1000, but would you also als be keen to try out the Gen3 Mustang M at some stage?

You really didn’t get to celebrate the championship because, as I said, you had to disappear so quickly.

I had a beer with the guys on the Sunday evening at Bathurst, but that was it. It was quite sad, actually. It was quite emotional leaving all the guys and jetting off. I flew out of Bathurst at nine o’clock that night to go to Sydney for all the media stuff on the Monday morning and then head off to the States later in the day. I had about two hours to savour the moment. We were all pretty disappointed with not being able to win Bathurst even though we won the championship.

So I guess that when you can finally get back, you’ll have a proper celebration?

Oh, yeah. It’s going to be a big party.

As soon as I can get home, I can’t wait to see everyone. That’s why I really want to be at Bathurst because I just want to race with those guys again. It’d just be nice to go there and have some fun.

Have you been following the series this year?

Initially, yes, I was watching it live over here. But the last few events, because of the bigger time difference at this time of year, I haven’t seen the races, I’ve only really seen qualifying and then I watch the highlights the week after.

But the writing’s pretty much on the wall – you can see who’s going to win

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the title. Obviously, Shane’s been very dominant and he’s just on the form of his life right now. You can see that before you even turn on the race. It’s been a tough one I know for the DJR guys. I think they’re still learning the car. They started at tracks that weren’t amazing for us. Yes, at Bathurst we were a little bit better than others, but going to Tassie and a few other places it’s been difficult and the team’s been trying to get their mojo back a little bit.

You mentioned SVG’s hot form.

Makes you wonder what it would’ve been like if you were still around.

Yeah, but I’ve done what I wanted to do, Foges, and I had plenty of times batting Shane. We battled pretty hard in 2018 and for many years there were pretty good battles between everyone at or near the front of the field. But, yeah, certainly it would have been interesting to see what it would’ve been like, although it wouldn’t have been so new like what you’ve seen with Anton and Will. I’m glad everyone’s been pretty patient with them and they’re starting to get the results that they deserve now.

Progress is being made, but are you at all surprised at their slow start?

At the end of the day, between each team the cars are very different. Anton’s come from a Holden to a Ford and while

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Will went from a Ford to a Ford, I know those Tickford cars are very different to drive and very different set up-wise compared with our cars at DJR. So, no, I wasn’t surprised. And at the same time, you have two new engineering groups that have to work with these two new drivers and that has to gel as well. I know how hard that is to get going quickly. So I think at a place like Bathurst, where the car wasn’t fantastic last year, even for me, I knew that was going to be a difficult one.

For Anton to get a provisional pole and right there be pretty impressive, but then Sandown was always a hard track for us. We’ve never been great there.

So the jury was out for me until they got to places like Darwin and Townsville, and they’ve been decent at the recent events.

I think what you’re seeing now is what should be happening and I think they should be doing a good job.

It didn’t seem like you were impressed with Fabian Coulthard’s suggestion that he didn’t get equal treatment as your teammate. How disappointing was that?

To be honest, it was probably more the article. The way it was written was a little bit annoying. There was a little blurb in there that said the DJR Team Penske cars were known to be set up predominantly for me and that pissed me off because it wasn’t like that.

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If it has a gearstick! I’m very excited for the category to move forward and cut costs and stuff, but I just really hop hope it’s not a paddle shift, Foges.

That’d be really sad.

You’re not alone. What’s your objection?

With the gearstick and heeling-andtoeing, it looks like you’re driving the car, it’s more exciting to watch.

If you look at an on-board of Cam Waters’ pole lap at Bathurst last year, coming down the hill it looks extraordinary. Going for the gearstick and heel-and-toeing and getting the throttle blips right, it looks awesome.

It looks like he’s really driving the car.

If you show that to someone down at the local milk bar and tell them that’s what you do for a living, it looks pretty impressive. It certainly looks like they couldn’t do it if they just jumped in our cars.

Whereas if you watch a TCR or a GT3 lap around Bathurst with paddle shifts, it just not the same.

Personally, I think it looks a lot more like a computer game. I just think the gearstick is something that distinguishes our cars and the physical nature of our racing.

NASCAR is very traditional and they’re changing to a sequential shift with the new cars, but they’re keeping the gearstick.

Some people are saying the paddle shift will appeal to a younger audience, but I just don’t buy that excuse. As a purist, I don’t agree with it.

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There are those who describe Carlos Reutemann as one of the greatestt Formula 1 drivers to never win the championship. DAN McCARTHY lookss into the roller-coaster career of the mysterious Argentine.

IMAGES: Motorsport images FORMER F1 star Carlos Reutemann passed away on July 7, in Argentina, at the age of 79.

Reutemann had two successful careers, one as a racing driver, and latterly as an Argentinian politician.

Down-under, Reutemann is bestremembered as the arch rival and teammate of Aussie Alan Jones at Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Reutemann’s results spoke for themselves – he finished in the top three of the Drivers’ Championship on four occasions and second in 1981 when he missed out on the title by a solitary point.

Over the course of his successful Formula 1 career Reutemann made 146 Grand Prix starts, going on to win a total of 12 Grands Prix and earning 45 podiums. He drove for some of the most famous teams in F1 history between 1972 and 1982, including Ferrari, Williams, Lotus and Brabham.

On his day Reutemann was simply unbeatable, Williams co-founder Patrick Head describing him as an artist in a Formula 1 car. Equally, though, Reutemann was known to have lacklustre days where he would simply languish off the pace in the mid-pack.

This summed up Reutemann, often described as an ‘enigmatic’ character both on and off the circuit.

Carlos began his career in 1965, racing a Fiat in saloon car racing, but

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Reutemann drove for several leading teams – at Dijon in a Ferrari 312TB in 1977 (top), and getting air at ‘Green Hell’ (Nurburgring) in 1975 when racing for Brabham (above). quickly moved into open-wheelers, contesting the Argentinian Formula 2 championship for several seasons.

In 1970 “Lole,’ as he was known, took the plunge and moved to Europe to contest the European Formula 2 Championship for the Automobile Club of Argentina Team.

The following year he contested the full season and finished a close second to Ronnie Peterson.

After successfully driving a Brabham for two years in Formula 2, it was only fitting that Reutemann would be signed up by then Brabham owner Bernie Ecclestone to race for his Formula 1 team.

Reutemann made his debut in front of his home crowd in Argentina and shocked the world. He didn’t just outqualify his two-time championship winning teammate Graham Hill. No, he put it on pole! Only Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve in the modern era have achieved this debut/pole feat.

Reutemann finished just outside the points in seventh the following day, but made a lasting impact.

The Argentine would go on to score his first points in Canada later that season with a fourth-place finish.

In 1973, a switch from the outdated BT37 to the BT42 after three races

saw a major upturn in results. In the second half of the season he finished inside the (top six in those days) points on six occasions and bagged his first two podiums.

In 1973 Reutemann made his sole appearance in the Le Mans 24 Hours, racing alongside Australian Tim Schenken. The pair drove for the factory Ferrari team in a 312PB but would retire from the race after completing 182 laps.

Despite this, Reutemann described the experience as one of the highlights of his career – it has also impressed Ferrari and planted the seeds with the Italian manufacturer going forwards.

The 1974 F1 season would prove even more successful for the Argentine with the introduction of the BT44. In the third race of the season in South Africa Reutemann broke through to take his first career victory, a dominant 33s win.

The car may have been quick, but it proved unreliable – this would be his only points score in the first nine races of the season, although he would win a further two races in Austria and the

Reutemann getting sideways in the 1977 South African Grand Prix driving for Ferrari (above) and (below) pressing on in a Brabham in the 1971 European Formula 2 Championship.

Carlos at the wheel of the Williams FW07C on his way to third place in the 1981 Italian Grand Prix (below). season-ending Watkins Glen round in America.

A solid 1975 saw him score a further six podiums, including another career win, this time at the legendary 22.835km Nurburgring circuit, winning by a staggering 97.7s that day. He went on to finish third in the championship that year.

Moving from Cosworth to Alfa Romeo power in 1976, the new Brabham proved incredibly unsuccessful and by the 13th race of the season Reutemann had negotiated his way out of the drive to sign for Ferrari as a replacement for the injured Niki Lauda.

That 13th round was at Monza, when Lauda made his incredible return Reutemann did race, finishing ninth in a third Ferrari.

He would sit out the remainder of the year, but was signed to drive alongside Lauda, replacing veteran Clay Regazzoni, for 1977 On debut for the Scuderia, Reutemann took a podium in his home grand prix and followed that up with a win in Brazil. However, the Argentine failed to keep up the momentum and would eventually finish fourth in the championship, which Lauda won.

With the departure of Lauda at the end of the season, Reutemann was promoted to team leader for 1978, joined by a young Gilles Villeneuve.

The Argentine would win four races that season on his way to third in the championship.

However, he suffered a mid-season slump, which many believe was caused by rumours Ferrari had signed Jody Scheckter to replace him for 1979.

The rumours were true – Ferrari had indeed signed Scheckter, and the Italian manufacturer would go on to dominate that year with the South African winning the title from Villeneuve.

Reutemann now joined reigning Team and Drivers’ champions, Lotus. He scored four podiums in the first seven races, but would then fail to score any points in the final eight races.

A career-defining move came in 1980 when Reutemann signed to race for Williams, replacing Regazzoni once again.

Aussie Jones was his teammate and, although things started harmoniously, relations were to turn terminally sour between the pair.

It was an emotional, albeit successful (for Williams) first year for Reutemann.

An engine failure while leading his home Grand Prix, something he was

desperate to do, was followed by victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, by over 73s. This would be his sole win that season – he scored a further eight podiums and again finished third in the championship, while teammate Jones won the title.

1981 was a roller-coaster. In just the second race of the season, relations with Jones deteriorated when Reutemann ignored team orders to let the contracted Number 1 past to win.

He then put together a consistent season, taking seven podiums and two wins to lead the championship heading into the final round at Caesars Palace.

Reutemann took pole by nearly 0.2s, however appeared lost come race day. Jones won the race, lapping Reutemann, who languished down the field in eighth position.

Title rival Nelson Piquet finished fifth, enough to steal the title from Reutemann’s grasp by a single point.

Carlos’ love for the sport faded and, looking to pursue a career in politics back home in Argentina, and did not plan to return in 1982.

However, Alan Jones retired, and Frank Williams persuaded Reutemann to make a reluctant return in 1982, to partner new teammate Keke Rosberg.

Reutemann’s heart wasn’t in it and, after just two races he gave it away. Rosberg would win the title that year ...

Reutemann was talented on tarmac and on gravel – in 1980 and again, several years after retiring from F1 in 1985, he finished on the podium in the Argentinian round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Reutemann had a very successful career as a politician and even served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1991-1995 and again from 1999-2003.

He continued to serve in the Argentine Senate until his admission to hospital in May.

In 1979, Reutemann drove for Lotus, below contesting the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, his final race for the team before moving to Williams.

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THE MASSOLA RACERS:

CARLO AND SILVIO

An immigrant Italian family was among the first to bring European motorsport style to Australia, in 1925. It heralded the start of an intriguing period in Australian racing.

Mark Bisset delved into the history books ...

CARLO MASSOLA raced worksDiattos in Europe and Australia in the 1920s. Silvio, his son, followed in his footsteps, racing an HRG, coconstructing the 1950’s MM Holden special and Merlin Holden sportscars.

Imagine current Alfa Romeo F1 test and reserve driver, Robert Kubica, emigrating to Australia to live and race Alfas from 2022. It seems highly unlikely. But that’s exactly what Diatto

works driver, Carlo Massola did a century ago.

He contested the 1922 Targa Florio then departed for Melbourne at the end of the year to sell and race Diattos on tracks of far less demanding nature.

Carlo joined F.I.A.T. (Fiat) in 1905 as a mechanic, and later test driver, staying for about 15 years. He drove some fearsome beasts including the 14-litre, four-cylinder Gordon Bennett Cup

Massola and mechanic in a posed central-Bendigo shot. Amilcar GCSS - Image Vincent Kelly

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racer, the S74. He entered local events in Fiats at a variety of venues including Monza, even then famous. Later, he joined Diatto as a test driver, becoming a friend of Giuseppe Coda, celebrated Isotta-Fraschini engineer, and Alfieri Maserati, Silvio Massola recalled.

Carlo and Erminia Vaccaneo married and had two sons soon after – Aldo, born in 1910 and Silvio.

“I was born in Torino in June 1913.

My grandparents had 18 children – my father, Carlo was the 16th of that huge family. We moved to France when Dad worked for Cottin & Desgouttes, a Lyon based car company. The Diatto opportunity resulted in a return to Torino.”

The Societa Anonima Autocostruzioni Diatto was formed as a coach builder in 1835. The company commenced manufacture of Clement-Bayard cars under licence in 1905. A major company, employing over 500 staff, they built their own designs from 1910, including cars which were exported globally.

Massola contested some national events in 1921, including the SusaMoncenisio hill-climb – he finished seventh in a four-cylinder 3-litre.

Diatto’s 1922 racer, the Type 20S, was powered by a 2-litre SOHC, two-valve four, producing 75bhp @ 4,500rpm.

Its top speed was 155km/h. Drivers were Alfieri Maserati, Guido Meregalli, Domenico Gamboni and Massola – all but Maserati contested the Targa Florio.

The perils of road racing were laid bare in practice when Meregalli left the road at high speed and rolled, killing his mechanic. It was Targa’s first fatality.

Massola reflected on the Italian motorsport psyche to Australia’s Sporting Globe in 1924, “Over in Italy the people like to be lifted off by the feats of the competitors. And the faster a man goes, the more the public likes it.”

Targa was run over four laps of the 108km Medium Madonie circuit – both Diattos retired, Massola after one lap and Gamboni two. Giulio Masetti’s 1914 Mercedes GP 18/100 won.

“Carlo was happy with an Italian win, but he didn’t like the Germans! Italy had been at war with them not long before,” Carlo junior recalled.

Massola’s future then took him to Australia to market Diattos from their McKillop Street, Melbourne premises.

Carlo arlo Massola and mechanic Poldo before the April 1922 Targa Florio (main) (main), Diatto Type 20 #18 is the Giulio Foresti Ballot 2LS – he visited Maroubra in 1925. (Bibliotheque nationale de France). Massola aboard the mammoth 14-litre four cylinder 75bhp 1912 F.I.A.T. S74 outside the Turin factory (above).

Massola, mechanic and admirers with his Targa Diatto T20 at Aspendale circa 1925 (left) (Massola Collection) The Great Brown Land “Dad was employed by the Ongarello Brothers, wine merchants, who held the Diatto agency. He brought his Targa racer with him on the 12-month assignment, and later he decided to make Australia home.”

“The family arrived in 1925, when I was 12. Dad started a garage close to our home, in 452 High Street, Northcote,” Silvio recalled.

Road racing hadn’t quite commenced in Australia. It started with the first Phillip Island Australian Grand Prix meetings in 1928.

There was a meeting at Richmond Racecourse pre-war, but its two-cars-ata-time format wasn’t a spectacle – nor were speeds of 45mph – so it closed as quickly as it opened.

Aspendale Speedway was the start of

regular racing in Melbourne. Massola became one of its stars, contesting the first meeting in March, 1924.

12,000 spectators thrilled to the sight and sound of cars racing at high-speed on the one-mile, concrete banked layout, 25km south of Melbourne. Stars of the six-car, blue-riband Aspendale Park Handicap feature were later AGP winner Arthur Terdich, Essex, and Massola’s Diatto; they finished first and second after a good dice.

“Massola drove with great skill, maintaining an even pace throughout” The Argus reported. Carlo placed a Darracq second in the stock car handicap, and third in the lightning handicap.

“Dad spent most of his life repairing and selling cars and racing. I often saw him in action, especially at Aspendale.

He raced the Diatto, Amilcar and a Type 23 Brescia. He was second in the 1924 Australian Championship in the Diatto.”

Massola finished behind Sydney driver – arguably Australia’s best at the time – AV Turner’s Itala, dominant in trans-continental record breaking, in the hills and on track.

In June he raced the Bugatti, and in November won the final aboard his Amilcar GCSS, from Hal Cooper’s 2-litre Ballot 2LS, the quickest Aspendale combination.

The family settled into Melbourne life, where Aldo and Silvio were educated at the Christian Brothers St Thomas School in North Fitzroy.

Silvio was interested in all things mechanical, aided and abetted by his father.

“We lived in Northcote, then moved to Bendigo, where Dad opened an Amilcar agency.” Carlo made the papers in March 1925 when charged with speeding. One of the local gendarmes clocked him doing a sinful 40mph testing the Amilcar, stripped of its body, on the Bendigo-Kangaroo Flat Road ... His protestations to the magistrate that “Your law is all wrong”, didn’t sit well with the judicial systems finest, and so a £2 penalty ensued.

“Once, Dad crashed at Aspendale after a rear wheel came off the Amilcar.

He suffered a punctured lung and his riding mechanic, Bob Gregory, lost an ear.” Earlier that April 1925 day, Carlo won the 2-litre handicap – the crash occurred during the 50-mile scratch.

The family returned from Bendigo to Melbourne, setting up Massola Bros, to

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Aspendale grid, March 1924 feature: note the massive crowd –horses also raced there. Arthur Terdich (Essex), Massola (Diatto), J Morgan (Ford T) and Keith Riordan (Fiat). Terdich won from Massola (image, Massola Collection). Right: The MM-Holden sans body. Twin-tube Massola chassis, Triple Stromberg fed Holden Grey, HRG ‘box and rear axle – note the drum-brake-bell-housing (image, Greg Smith Collection). Left: Silvio Massola (HRG) at Fisherman’s Bend, March 1954 (image: State Library Victoria)..

sell and service new Fiats and Lancias, and used cars at 66 Little Bourke Street. Later, a Fiat dealership was added on the corner of Swanston and Queensberry streets.

While Massola continued to contest minor country events, he didn’t enjoy good health after the Aspendale crash – he smoked heavily and had ongoing lung problems. He loved Australia, taking citizenship in April 1929 – the family then resided at 2 McCutcheon Street, Northcote.

Severely ill, the older racer was admitted to Alfred Hospital where he died of pneumonia on October 6, 1935, aged just 49.

Silvio stepped up to the plate at 22 to run three dealerships and nurse his first wife, Christina, who contracted fatal cancer while they were engaged.

“I studied to be a mechanical draftsman at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, then worked as a mechanic before joining the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) at Fishermans Bend as a draftsman. I worked on the design of several aircraft, including Sir Lawrence Wackett’s famous Wirraway plane.

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“Sil’s work at the CAC was a protected job so he avoided being interned as an enemy-alien, a fate which befell many Italians and Germans at the time,” Carlo junior ruefully explained.

As a youth, Silvio jockeyed cars around the environs of Carlo’s city dealerships. After being stopped by a policeman, Carlo had a friend at the Italian Consulate provide a birth certificate which allowed Sil to get a licence a tad early; problem solved!

“At 18 I built a Fiat 509 special by turning the chassis back-to-front, and upside down to lower it. I had dozens of cars; buying, doing them up and reselling them,” Silvio recalled.

After marrying Antoinette Triaca in 1945, he left the CAC and bought a Williamstown grocery business, and later a hairdresser/tobacconist, out of which he made a fortune selling scarce ciggies, “My father always had great entrepreneurial skill!” Carlo reflected.

“We moved house to Black Rock, I wrecked Holdens and clapped-out taxis with straight bodywork, then transferred the good parts, reselling them,” said

Sil. Funds from his various enterprises provided the means to race.

HRG War hero and racer, FAO ‘Tony’ Gaze was also an entrepreneur. He imported a number of light, nimble 1.5-litre HRGs to Australia via Melbourne’s Brown and Dureau in the late 1940s.

In 1951 Sil bought an accidentdamaged HRG originally raced with success by Stan Jones. He repaired the monoposto and modified it by fitment of Lancia Lambda front suspension, then raced it continually until 1954.

He was 17th in the ’52 AGP at Mount Panorama. Late that year he had a splendid Fishermans Bend’s October meeting, winning a preliminary, and the blue-riband, handicap, Victorian Trophy.

Sil was quick in the hills too, taking under-1500cc class wins at Rob Roy, and Templestowe in March 1953.

Greg McEwin’s quicker HRG triumphed in the October ’53 Victorian Trophy at the Bend, with Massola second. In November, Silvio was an Albert Park AGP reserve, but won the

handicap section of the Albert Park Trophy support race.

His final HRG outings in Melbourne’s west were made under pressure, “My mother told Sil if he didn’t stop racing she would leave him. He stopped racing ...” He had a win and two seconds at Altona and won the Fishermans Bend Trophy race in March 1954, and that was it until the historic era.

Another HRG racer was Massola’s lifelong (putting aside a two-decade spat!) friend, Lou Molina. Molina’s parents arrived from Italy in 1910, a bit before the Massolas.

The Molinas, prominent members of Melbourne’s Spaghetti Mafia, helped change local eating habits from the Anglo-stodge familiar to most ‘skips!

“I met Lou when we were kids – our fathers, Carlo and Ernesto, were good friends, and Lou and I became great mates as kids,” Silvio recalled.

MM Holden Massola and Molina raced their HRGs at Rob Roy in the November 1951 Australian Hillclimb Championship. Lou rolled his car, damaging it badly.

The duo decided to build a Holden-

The MM-Holden at Fishermans Bend 1955. (above, Greg Smith Collection). Beautiful lines of Dean Standish’ Merlin-Holden near Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley late 1950s (below, image Robert Jones). Right: the brothers Massola, Aldo and Silvio outside the Northcote servo. Bottom: The family business in the Melbourne CBD.

engined special around the good bits of the dead HRG. Massola designed and constructed a ladder-frame chassis which incorporated Peugeot/Standard Flying 15 suspension at the front, while, at the back, quarter-elliptic springs and radius rods located the HRG rear axle together with a Panhard rod. A Morris Minor donated its rack and pinion steering.

The HRG gearbox was mated to a Holden-six via a compact bell-housing machined from a brake-drum!

Repco Research chief Charlie Dean modified the Holden 2290cc pushrod OHV engine to produce an initial 100bhp with a mix of threecarburettors, cylinder head and exhaust modifications. A more powerful Phil Irving designed Repco Hi-power head came later.

“Lou wasn’t mechanically minded – I did much of his mechanical work, especially when we were younger. I built his Holden-engined MM Special.”

Massola styled and made a onepiece, lift-off fibreglass body which was attached to the chassis by six-bolts.

Depending on the race, Formula Libre or sportscars, it used cycle guards and headlights, which pivoted into the nosecone when not required.

The MM Holden debuted at Fishermans Bend in October 1953 in a shakedown run for the November AGP at Albert Park; there Molina was fifth.

The adventurous Lou entered the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix, held on the RNZAF Ardmore airfield outside Auckland. Despite being blown sideways and deafened by Ken Wharton’s BRM P15 V16, Molina, left with only top gear, was 10th;

Stan Jones’ Charlie Dean-built Maybach won.

After much success, Lou sold the MM in 1955.

Merlin-Holden “In the mid-50s, Sil established Merlin Fibreglass together with Tom Hollindrake in South Yarra,” wrote Carlo junior. They made dinghies, cruisers and swimming pools.

Carlo recalls his father bringing a boat/trailer home for sale on weekends, then leaving it out front before decamping, leaving The Age classified ad-phone answering-sale process to he and his mother!

Using his considerable engineering skills, Silvio built the limited production Merlin Holden sportscar.

It used a tubular steel chassis based on MM Holden lessons, while the engine, gearbox, suspension and wheels were Holden derived. The whole kit and caboodle was clad in a curvaceous fibreglass body styled by Sil. “Displayed at the 1955 Australian Industries Fair, it looked magnificent! I sold 10 of them,” Silvio recalled in the mid-1990s.

Later Life After closing Merlin, Sil bought the first of three service stations on the Nepean Highway in East Brighton; others followed in North Brighton and Moorabbin. The Friday lunches for which Massola and Molina were famous took place in the East Brighton lube-bay!

When the highway was duplicated, the family home and servo was sold to Vic Roads, while Silvio continued his career, restoring/rebuilding 13 Bugattis!

In his twilight years Silvio lived with Carlo junior’s family at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula. He died in April 2011, a few weeks short of his 98th birthday.

Postscript Some Massola racers survive; Carlo’s Diatto 20S parts are in Canberra; the Bugatti is in Sydney; so too Sil’s HRG bits, while the MM Special was recreated 20 years ago.

Carlo Massola is a member of an elite group of Australians who raced for Italian car manufacturer factory teams – ok, he was Italian at the time! Paul Hawkins did a sportscar race or two for Ferrari in 1967, Tim Schenken raced 312PBs for the Scuderia in 1972-1973 and Lucio Cesario raced Lancia LC2 Ferraris in 1985.

Special Thanks and Credits Bob King, Carlo Massola Junior and James Massola, Pedr Davis, Stephen Dalton, Greg Smith, Brian Lear and David Zeunert ...

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A FAMILY

It has been beeen a rollercoaster ride so far in motorsport for Zac Soutar, who discussed discuss sed his road to TCR and overseas ambitions with JOSH NEVETT HE IS a busy man, man Zac Soutar. So m talking over zoom in busy in fact, that tha at ta delivery van during lunch the back of a d eliv break was his best bes opportunity to chat. b his family’s printing Soutar works at h business, but h he is better known to us Soutar has been for his racing exploits. exxpl Formula Ford podiums a mainstay of F Form over the last few w yyears and has made TCR the switch to TC CR this season. categories may come The choice of ca those close to Soutar, as a surprise to o th the who inherited th he love of racing from Shane, his father Shan e, a prominent sidecar rider in the 1 1990s.

199 “My passion pa assi for racing definitely defin nitel started through my dad. dad d

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From the moment I was born, I was thrown into the motorsport scene through him,” he recalled to Auto Action.

Indeed, Soutar did start on two wheels, and he might have followed in his fathers’ footsteps if not for strong motherly intervention.

“I started off in on two wheelers ... did a bit of motocross,” says Soutar.

“But I got injured a couple of times.

Mum jumped in and said it was time to look towards something a bit safer.”

That safer route into the sport was a kart, which Soutar took to like a duck to water. He raced karts from the age of 11 right up until his late teenage years, excelling locally before graduating to national b competitions. c “Karting was really good to me,” he h fondly remembers.

“I won a fair bit of the local stuff such as the Victorian Country Series and a few other open meetings.

“Later in my karting career I finished in the top five of the Australian Kart Championships for three consecutive years.”

Even at that point, Soutar was far from wedded to a future in car racing.

The journey has been a whirlwind for the Victorian, who transitioned into cars to race on the tracks of his childhood.

Tackling the likes of Phillip Island, Eastern Creek and Queensland Raceway, just like dad, was the main appeal.

“There was never any expectation of being a racing car driver,” he confirms.

“I wanted to sort of go out there and have a crack around those places myself.

“We bought a Formula Ford with no expectation of results or anything like that

AFFAIR Soutar’s journey, like many others, began with karting (above) ... then under the ever watchful eye of his father Shane (top right) he made a career defining move into Formula Ford in 2017 (right). at all. It was just purely for a bit of fun.”

That absence of expectations heading into the first year of Formula Ford was probably beneficial to Soutar, as the family-run team struggled to adapt to the car racing scene.

Soutar now plies his trade in TCR Australia, driving a family-operated Honda Civic Type R in his ambitious pursuit of European racing in the future.

Team Soutar finished ninth in the standings and was unable to stand on the podium in what would be a character-building season.

“It was a huge learning curve – we really struggled,” he says.

“Dad and I had no car racing background at all, so just trying to find our way with the Formula Fords and the setups and bits and pieces, was quite difficult.”

Not to be undone, the father-andson duo showed a resilience and determination that has characterised the younger Soutar’s career to date, returning far stronger in their second season.

The following year (2018) proved to be a year of firsts; first podium, first fastest lap and most importantly a first Formula Ford victory.

That winning day at Sandown Raceway remains the highlight of Soutar’s career to date.

“It all just fell together at Sandown,” says a beaming Soutar.

“The coolest part was I had my whole family there. Obviously, my dad on the tools, my two best mates there on the spanners as well, and my brother – it was just a really cool little family thing.

“We took it up to guys like Sonic (Motor Racing Services) and a few of the really well-established teams and managed to grab a win.

“That was probably my favourite day in motorsport so far – the outpouring of emotion was pretty intense after so much hard work.”

The improvement had been dramatic.

The win was one of seven podiums and reflected in a jump to third place in the final standings. It was at that point that higher honours appeared a possibility for the increasingly ambitious teenager.

“In 2019 we decided we wanted to really have a serious crack at the series so we linked up with Brett Francis from BF racing as a technical support,” Soutar said.

“It was definitely our strongest year in Formula Ford – we won five races and

had a stack of podiums.”

In that series they fell agonisingly short of the ultimate success, which went to now Triple Eight Race Engineering prodigy Angelo Mouzouris.

Having just about reached the pinnacle of Formula Ford, it was time for a new challenge. The chosen path of TCR was new to them, but the method would be the same.

Team Soutar would remain, Shane by Zac’s side every step of the way. This has been a constant in Zac’s racing experiences, and he would not have had it any other way.

“My mentor has been my dad. He’s had so much life experience. He’s fantastic to talk to and whenever I go to make a good decision, he’s the first person I go and see,” he reflected.

“I have so much respect for my dad, and he really is my hero.”

As has been the pattern so far, Soutar’s transition into the TCR category has not come without struggle. COVID-19 put a halt on plans to join the competition in 2020, but there was value to be taken from a delayed start in tin-tops.

The crew spent a long, race-less year preparing fastidiously for a “full TCR assault in 2021,” according to Soutar.

This involved making sure their car, a Honda Civic Type R, was in perfect shape. In addition, the team bought an old delivery truck and transformed it into a DIY race transporter.

“If anybody sees it at the track don’t look too closely because you’ll see that, yeah, you can see it’s a bit of a home job, but it looks good from a distance,” he chuckles.

Despite the attention to detail in preparation, Soutar’s transition to a front-wheel drive TCR machine has been difficult so far – he sits 18th in the standings after 12 races.

The familiarity of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit brought the best finishes to date, crossing the line eighth and 10th.

Overall, these are results that he is disappointed with despite the strong competition.

“I definitely see shades of our first year in Formula Ford back in 2017 in our first season in TCR, as in you don’t know what you don’t know until you go out there and work it out,” he lamented.

Despite this, Soutar is planning to stay in TCR for the time being with a medium-term goal of three years in the category.

“It’s sort of a learning year this year – look for results when it looks like the car has pace, but learn as much as we can.

“We definitely want to move our way up the grid next year. Hopefully, the year after that we can get out there and compete for a championship like we did in the Formula Ford.”

Beyond these aspirations, the dream is to race in Europe. Shane had already planted the seed with years of stories, but it took a chance viewing of racing at the Nurburgring back in 2016 to cement this.

“They had one of the VLN championship rounds on there – standing on the side of the track watching those things at the Nurburgring go around was mind blowing,” said Soutar.

“Dad raced in Europe and finished fifth in the World Sidecar Championship in 1999, so he tells so many great stories about when he was over there.

“I would love to get a piece of that myself and travel over Europe and tick that bucket list item off.”

The global presence of TCR provides the platform to get there, but Soutar realises that he has a lot of work to do before that next step can be made.

“I’m fully 100% committed to try and make TCR work over here first before I look at going over there,” he explained.

Only time will tell where Soutar’s racing career takes him, but throughout all the challenges up to now he has remained composed, persistent, and committed to the sport and his team.

It is these attributes that will guide his future path through motor sport.

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THE EARLY 90 - A TIME OF CHANGE s

The early 1990s saw a period of change in motor sport, nationally the Nissans dominated the end of the Group A Touring Car era before the new 5.0 Litre rules were introduced. While in F1 Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost made way for Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill. DAN McCARTHY looks at motor sport from 1990-1994 as we continue our Auto Action 50 year celebrations.

Issue 504 – July 27, 1990 Nissan’s first title IN 1990 Jim Richards delivered Nissan its first Australian Touring Car Championship, after he took a dominant race victory at Oran Park in his GT-R. The race win was Richards’ third of the season and was enough to hand the Japanese brand its first title after more than four years in the sport.

Ironically it had been Richards who denied Nissan the title when he won with BMW in 1987.

Issue 509 – October 5, 1990 HRT WIN 1000 DESPITE THE Ford Sierra and Nissan GT-R domination of the last three years, Win Percy and Allan Grice took one of the most unexpected race wins in Bathurst 1000 history. It was seen as a boost for Australian motor sport, with Holden having last won the Great Race in 1987 after the Texaco Sierras were Percy’ss win was HRT’s disqualified. Grice and Percy HRT s first victory in the 1000.

Issue 490 – January 12, 1990 Win Percy the manager JUST A month after announcing he would run the factory-sanctioned Holden Racing Team, Tom Walkinshaw acquired the services of three-time British Touring Car/Saloon Car champion Win Percy to serve as the team manager. Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) engineer Ken Page followed the Englishman and accompanied him during the start-up phase of the team.

Issue 506 – August 24, 1990 FORD TO RETURN THIS ISSUE was a big one. It appeared as though Ford was set to return to the Australian Touring Car Championship as an official manufacturer. Shots of the new VN Group A Commodore were featured in the magazine, showing what the final Group A Holden would look like. Lastly at the bottom of the cover, we see current Auto Action publisher Bruce Williams took a hard fought victory in the HQ Nationals at Winton.

Issue 501 – June 15, 1990 Godzilla’s debut MALLALA 1990: the legendary Nissan GT-R made its debut in the Australian Touring Car Championship with Mark Skaife behind the wheel. Skaife was 2s faster than anyone in practice, but qualified third after issues with a broken wheel hub. In the race itself Skaife was leading comfortably when another front hub failed, forcing him to retire.

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I Issue 510 – October 19, 1990 Surfers IndyCar race in doubt S WITH JUST six W months until m tthe inaugural rrunning of the Gold Coast G IIndy Car race, iit appeared aas though the eevent would not ssee the light oof day. There was a national w ppolitical aargument ggoing on with both South Australian aand Western Australian Labor Premiers aattacking the event. FISA also claimed that iit would ban anyone who took part in the G Gold Coast race from any of its events ggoing forwards.

Issue 511 – November 22, 1990 BMW plan return to ATCC AFTER TWO years out of the Australian Touring Car Championship, BMW announced its return after the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix weekend. It was hoped that the 2.5 litre BMW M3s would bee able to take the fight to the GTRs and Sierras.

After their collision in Japan, Prost and Senna prepared for battle in Adelaide.

Issue 515 – January 4, 1991 Brock to return home AFTER SEVERAL years racing for the dark side with Ford, Holden fans were rejoicing as nine-time Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock made the shock announcement that he would once again race a Holden from 1991. The King of the Mountain announced that he had teamed up with Larry Perkins to run two VN Commodores backed by Mobil 1.

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years of publishing 1971- 2021

Issue 535 – October 11, 1991 GODZILLA WINS 1000 JIM RICHARDS and Mark Skaife won Nissan’s first Bathurst 1000 in 1991. The dominant 4WD Japanese car, in the hands of Skaife, took pole by 1.2s in Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout, before he and Richards went on to take victory in the 1000km race by over a lap from defending race winners Allan Grice and Win Percy.

Issue 537 – November 8, 1991 Shortest F1 race THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix at Adelaide in 1991 was, and still remains the shortest Formula 1 race in history. Due to incredibly heavy rain, the final race of the 1991 season was red flagged after just 24 minutes, with only 14 laps recorded. Threetime champion Ayrton Senna was declared the Australian Grand Prix winner; however only half points were awarded.

Issue 521 – March 29, 1991 Indy Success ALTHOUGH THERE was much backlash and push for the Gold Coast Indy round to not go ahead, it eventually did, and what an inaugural event it was! There were many positive remarks made globally, particularly about the event location, organisation and about the thrilling racing that the venue produced.

In the end it was John Andretti who took the first win.

www.autoaction.com.au

Issue 533 – September 13, 1991 The 1993 ATCC Regs IN 1991 ATCC teams could not decide on the formula for the post-Group A Touring car regulations. The rules were meant to be submitted by July 1 – however by mid-September, with around 18 months until the cars were scheduled to hit the track, the regs had not been finalised.

However it was reported that they would be formalised sooner rather than later.

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Issue 539 – December 6, 1991 First Falcon driver DESPITE BEING over 12 months away from switching to the 5.0 litre Touring Car Championship rules, Ford Sierra team owner and driver Glenn Seton announced that his team would remain with the Blue Oval and race a Falcon from 1993. Glenn Seton Racing was the first outfit to announce that it would race a Falcon when the Group A era would end at the conclusion of 1992.

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Issue 542 – January 24, 1992 Winfield with Nissan AFTER A lot of speculation, it was confirmed that cigarette company Winfield had signed on as the title sponsor of the factory Nissan ATCC team. The eyecatching livery would feature on both Jim Richards and reigning champion Mark Skaife’s dominant Nissan GT-Rs.

Issue 544 – February 21, 1992 Chev engine incoming AFTER MORE than 20 years, the legendary Holden V8 engine was going to be dropped in favour of an imported Chevrolet-based motor. This came about due to the expense of racing a Holden engine in the Group A era.

It was not planned that Holdens would switch to complete Chevrolet engines, but after Ford was given specialised engine components from Ford Special Vehicles, Holden teams were given permission to use Chev parts.

Issue 553 – June 26, 1992 RULES ANNOUNCED IT WAS confirmed by CAMS President John Large that the Australian Touring Car Championship would see 5.0 litre locally produced touring cars, Holden and Fords, compete against each other at the pointy end of the grid. A secondary class within the championship for two-litre cars would race to the regulations used in the British Touring Car Championship.

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Issue 561 – October 10 A pack of what?

BATHURST 1992 ... what a day! After controversially winning the 1000, ‘Gentleman Jim’ Richards got up on the podium and called the crown, booing the Nissan duo, a pack of arseholes. Richards and Skaife were handed the win despite the former crashing out of the race on Conrod Straight. However, just moments later the race was red flagged due to insanely bad weather. Rules dictated that upon throwing a red flag results go back a lap handing Richards and Skaife the win. Sadly the 1992 race also saw the passing of former F1 champion Denny Hulme who suffered a heart attack at the wheel.

Issue 573 – April 2, 1993 Mansell wins on debut REIGNING FORMULA 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell found himself contesting the IndyCar Series in 1993, on the streets of Surfers Paradise, converting pole into victory on debut. Further south, pit straight at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was named after recently retired Australian Motorcycle World champion Wayne Gardner.

Issue 577 – May 28, 1993 Holden given boost AFTER FORD EB Falcons had won the first five rounds of the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, Holden teams were to be given a peformance boost. to close the gap to the dominant Fords.

In the previous roundd at Winton Holden teams arrived with a new undertray – however it was rejected by scrutineers.

Issue 581 – July 23, 1993 First V8 title winner DESPITE ONLY scoring one point at Wanneroo Raceway, Glenn Seton became the first driver to win the ATCC title under the new 5.0 Litre Touring Car regulations racing for his own team Glenn Seton Racing.

Meanwhile Wayne Gardner had been given the tag of ‘Captain Chaos’ which four-time champion Jim Richards felt was unfair.

Issue 571 – March 5, 1993 NEW ERA BEGINS THE 5.0 litre V8 Touring Car era kicked off with a bang at Amaroo Park and was incredibly well received for its close action-packed racing by the drivers, teams, category promotors, sponsors and particularly, fans. The round at the now defunct New South Wales circuit was won by Dick Johnson Racing driver John Bowe in an EB Ford Falcon.

Issue 560 – September 25, 1992 Nissan takes CAMS to court JUST TWO weeks out from the 1992 Bathurst 1000, Nissan team boss Fred Gibson followed through with his threat to take CAMS to court.

Gibson claimed that CAMS did not have the power to impose rules in the ATCC after it had been dissolved and replaced by CAMS Limited.

He also felt that the company did not have the rights to vary international touring car regulations, as, if so, Nissan would be forced to exit the championship after the 1000.

Issue 568 – January 22, 1993 Skaife’s first Holden AFTER THE Group A regulations were cut, Gibson Motorsport was forced to run either ds and Holdens or Fords in January of 1993, Mark Skaife’s first Holden was revealed. In the world of IndyCar Gary Brabham was set to become the first Australian to contest the Gold Coast Indyy round.

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Issue 570 – February 19, 1993 GARDNER JOINS HRT AT ONE stage it looked like HRT would cease operations before the start of the 1993 ATCC season, however er in February it was announced it would continue, expanding to a two-car operation with Tomas Mezera joined by 1987 500cc Motorcycle World Champion Wayne Gardner..

Issue 605 – June 24, 1994 The Longhurst punch up AFTER LOCKING wheels, teammates Paul Morris and Tony Longhurst both ploughed into the wall at Winton Motor Raceway. A furious Longhurst leapt from his car – thinking Morris had driven him into the wall on purpose – ran over, and began punching Morris.

Longhurst was handed a $10,000 fine for the incident and a six-month suspended ban if the offence was repeated.

Issue 587 – October 8, 1993 Holden engine win Larry Perkins won the Bathurst 1000 – for the first time with his own Perkins Engineering outfit, alongside the late Gregg Hansford. Perkins and Hansford beat home reigning champions Jim Richards and Mark Skaife by 10s in what would be the final 1000 victory for a Holden-engined car. Despite dominating the touring car championship, no Fords finished in the top five.

Issue 601 – April 29, 1994 Calder under lights THE FIRST race meeting at the Calder Park Thunderdome took place and was a resounding success as the crowds flocked in. 32,000 people were expected but well over 40,000 spectators rocked up for the event. It was a hit on TV too, with many more people tuning in to watch Australian NASCAR and AUSCAR action under lights.

Issue 602 – May 13, 1994 The darkest weekend THE WEEKEND at Imola will go down as one of the worst weekends in motorsport history. The day after promising Austrian youngster Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix, the unthinkable happened. Three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna died after injuries sustained in a crash Tamburello corner on lap 7 of the race. It was the weekend from hell and calls for Formula 1 safety to be revisited would be answered.

Issue 590 – November 12, 1993 ATCC feud OFF TRACK at the Australian Grand Prix, ATCC champion Glenn Seton and Bathurst 1000 winner Larry Perkins had a war of words. Seton lodged application for a new Falcon rear wing and side skirts which would allow Fords to match the Commodores, which had been given the concessions mid-season. Ayrton Senna beat home the retiring Alain Prost in his final Formula 1 race.

Issue 591 – November er 26, 1993 Brock to HRT NINE-TIME Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock was in the centre of a tug of war between Advantage Racing and the factory Holden Racing Team. Brock had not raced for the factory team since thee famous divorce in 1987 – could a return really be possible? Reports had surfaced that the famous Round Australia trial would be revived.

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Issue 613 – October 6, 1994 Falcon wins again FOR THE first time since 1981 a Ford Falcon won the Bathurst 1000. As in ‘81 it was driven by Dick Johnson – however the five-time touring car champion was joined by John Bowe this time around. It was a classic 1000 and was highlighted by a greatt battle between Bowe and Bathurst 1000 debutant Craig Lowndes with ‘The Kid’ notably overtaking Bowe around the outside into Griffin’s Bend.

Issue 616, November 12, 1994 Schumacher vs Hill THE THRILLING 1994 Formula 1 season ended in controversy in Adelaide when title rivals Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill collided.

The clash resulted in both men retiring from the race and thus handing Schumacher his maiden F1 title by a single point. But many people were asking whether this really was an accident or a deliberate act. With the two contenders out, F1 returnee Nigel Mansell finally broke his Australia jinx ...

Issue 593 – December 23 1993 Aus GP set for Melbourne THE AUSTRALIAN Grand Prix was set for a move from Adelaide to Melbourne after it was announced that Victorian premier Jeff Kennett had signed a deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone in July. It was expected that the first grand prix to be run back in its spiritual home of Albertt Park would take place in 1997.

Issue 598 – March 18, 1994 Melbourne GP 96 IT WAS official – the Australian Grand Prix was moving to Melbourne, with the state of Victoria to host its first F1 round at Albert Park from 1996, a year earlier than planned. This was the compromise deal agreed to by the South Australian and Victorian governments after the latter agreed terms not to host a ‘Pacific Grand Prix’ at Albert Park in March of 1995.

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KEEPING IT CLEAN WITH RYCO FOUNDED IN Melbourne in 1936, RYCO is Australia’s top-selling brand of automotive oil, air, and fuel filters, and was named in the Australian Financial Review’s most innovative companies list in 2019 and 2020.

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GM GENUINE THE BEST PARTS FOR YOUR VEHICLE GM AUSTRALIA and New Zealand (GM ANZ) is taking the opportunity to remind drivers that a supply of GM Genuine Parts for aftersales and repair purposes is still available to service more than 1.6-million Holden vehicles on the road between the two countries.

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Formula 1

Round 10

British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton survived a controversial collision and overcame a penalty to win at home

COLLISION CONTROVERSY Report: Dan Knutson Images: Motorsport Images THERE WERE several reasons why Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wanted to overtake Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the opening laps of the British Grand Prix. One of course was his natural instinct to win. He also wanted to win at home in front of 140,000 cheering fans. Having gone winless for five consecutive races for the first time since the 2016 season, he wanted to end that unhappy streak. Hamilton also wanted to reduce Verstappen’s 33 point lead in the drivers’ championship.

And then there was the fact that despite the upgrades Mercedes had on its car, it was still a touch slower than the Red Bull Honda.

Hamilton had qualified on pole for Saturday’s Qualifying Sprint Race, but Verstappen got the jump on him at the start and led all 17 laps.

So Verstappen started on pole for Sunday’s 52-lap grand prix. Hamilton knew that he had to get ahead of Verstappen as soon as possible if he was to have any real chance of winning.

They fought fiercely on the opening lap, Hamilton almost ahead on the outside into Brooklands, but easing back. Two corners later, into Copse, this time with Hamilton on the inside, all hell broke loose as Verstappen’s right rear contacted Hamilton’s left front .... Verstappen slammed into the tyre barrier at 51G while Hamilton was able to continue.

Naturally, each driver and their respective teams blamed the other.

“As always, I tried to be measured in how I approached the race, particularly battling with Max,” Hamilton said.

“He’s very aggressive but I was fully

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Leclerc managed a smile, despite the disappointment of being caught so close to the finish and a potential win. The Ferrari (below) was fast on Mediums.

alongside him and he didn’t leave me any space.”

The accident is covered in more detail elsewhere in this issue of Auto Action.

The benefactor was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who took the lead. The race was then red flagged for 36 minutes so that Verstappen’s wrecked car could be

retrieved and the barrier repaired.

On the restart, Leclerc stayed in the lead ahead of Hamilton, Lando Norris (McLaren), Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren). The stewards judged that Hamilton was “predominantly at fault” for the accident and gave him a relatively mild 10

second penalty which he served during his pitstop. That dropped him down to fourth place – but he stormed back to snatch the lead from Leclerc with two laps remaining, ironically grabbing the lead at the same (Copse) corner where he had collided with Verstappen.

“I have been giving my all the past week, working in the factory, just giving it everything to uncover performance in this car with the guys,” said Hamilton after his eighth win in his home GP and his 99th F1 victory. “I am so proud of everyone for continuing to work, even though we had to recover a deficit (to Red Bull).

“Regardless of whether I agreed with the penalty, I took it on the chin and I just kept working. I was just like: ‘I’m not going to let anything get in the way of the crowd’s enjoyment of the weekend, the national anthem and the British flag.’ I couldn’t have done it without the great teamwork from Valtteri.”

Bottas obeyed team orders to let Hamilton go by quickly into second place so that he could chase down Leclerc.

“The main issue for me today was losing a place at the start; it was the same yesterday so it’s something we need to work on,” said Bottas, who wound up third.

“During the race we only had one option when Lando (Norris) had a slow pitstop: we had to pit as well, even though we knew the second stint would be long, and that’s how it proved. It was tough towards the end of the race with the tyres blistering badly.”

Second place was a bittersweet finish for Leclerc. It was his first visit to the podium in 12 months, but he and Ferrari have now not won for 35 races.

“In the first stint, I had to make

2021 BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2021 51 LAPS Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DNF DNF

Driver Lewis Hamilton Charles Leclerc Valtteri Bottas Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo Carlos Sainz Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll Esteban Ocon Yuki Tsunoda Pierre Gasly George Russell Antonio Giovinazzi Nicholas Latifi Kimi Raikkonen Sergio Perez Nikita Mazepin Mick Schumacher Sebastian Vettel Max Verstappen

Team Mercedes Ferrari Mercedes McLaren McLaren Ferrari Alpine Aston Martin Alpine AlphaTauri AlphaTauri Williams Alfa Romeo Williams Alfa Romeo Red Bull Racing Haas Haas Aston Martin Red Bull Racing

Laps 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 51 51 51 51 51 51 51 40 0

Margin

+3.871s +11.125s +28.573s +42.624s +43.454s +72.093s +74.289s +76.162s +82.065s +85.327s +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lapFL +1 lap +1 lap Merchanical Incident

Points: Verstappen 185, Hamilton 177, Norris 113, Bottas 108, Perez 104, Leclerc 80, Sainz 68, Ricciardo 50, Gasly 39, Vettel 30, Alonso 26, Stroll 18, Ocon 14, Tsunoda 10, Raikkonen 1, Giovinazzi 1 Constructors’: Red Bull Racing 289, Mercedes 285, McLaren-Mercedes 163, Ferrari 148, AlphaTauri 49, Aston Martin 48, Alpine 40, Alfa Romeo Racing 2

Lando Norris followed up a blistering qualifying effort with a strong run to fourth in the race.

some changes on the steering wheel to manage the engine cuts I had,” Leclerc said. “After that, I felt that we had it under control. Unfortunately, Lewis was just more competitive on the hard (compound tyres).

I could feel his pace as he approached me and there was not much I could do. On the upside, we were quicker than anyone else on the mediums, which we did not expect.”

Aussie Ricciardo finished fifth, one spot behind teammate Norris. Ricciardo spent the latter part of the race fending off the faster Ferrari driven by Carlos Sainz.

“From a team point of view, it was a good day, with both cars in the top five,” Ricciardo said. “It’s the first time this year that I’ve had a top five, so I’ll take some positives from that – definitely a good day.

I did struggle with outright pace. There

were parts of the race where I felt I couldn’t do that much more, so I’ve still got areas to work on with myself, and getting the car more to my liking.

“But nonetheless it was good to hold off Carlos. He was a lot quicker! He caught me extremely quickly, and I knew that if I was mistake-free, I’d have half-a-chance.

From that point of view, I’m super happy to end up fifth.

“Finally, it was great to see so many fans back in the stands here today. As a driver, it really means a lot to hear them cheering you on. There’s been plenty of McLaren caps in the grandstands too, so that’s awesome to see. I’m definitely feeling the love.”

Verstappen, whose championship lead had been cut down to eight points, certainly wasn’t feeling a lot of love.”

Ricciardo (left) again fell to his teammate, but it was still a good fifth place result. For the first time, Verstappen was faced with a Hamilton not prepared to give way – which probably came as a surprise to him. The result was one very damaged Red Bull ...

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INTERNATIONAL

LIKE FATHER ...

Report: JOSH NEVETT Images: Motorsport Images IT WAS a history making seventh round of the 2021 FIA World Rally Championship, at Rally Estonia, as Kalle Rovanpera became the youngest ever winner of a round.

The record was formerly held by Jari-Matti Latvala, who is Rovanpera’s team principal at Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Latvala, a fellow Finn has owned the record since 2008.

In an upset for the championship leaders, the Finn held off early challenges from parttime Hyundai driver Craig Breen to claim the result by 59.9s Fellow Hyundai driver and title contender Thierry Neuville rounded out the podium a further 12.5s back.

Before the Estonia event, Rovanpera was languishing after a run of disappointing results, failing to finish in the top five in the last four rounds.

The result breathes fresh life into the campaign for the 20-year-old, who now sits fourth in the standings with five rounds remaining.

Rovanpera used all of his local knowledge as a current Estonia resident to expertly navigate the dusty terrain with co-driver Jonne Halttunen in their Yaris.

The win was made all the sweeter by the presence of his former WRC round winning father Harri Rovanpera on the podium.

Rovanpera was elated with both the timing and location of his maiden win.

“It has been a difficult season but it’s really nice to get my first win here in Estonia,” said Rovanpera.

“It’s almost a home rally for me now and a lot of Estonian fans were supporting me.

“Our results haven’t been so good, but we’ve proved the pace is there and today we brought it home. To be the youngest winner is amazing. It could have happened earlier, but now it’s here.”

Breen overcame adversity on the first day of the rally to secure his spot on the podium. The Irishman overcame a heavy impact with a large rock which damaged his Hyundai i20’s front suspension.

Neuville scored his fifth podium of the season and had good pace throughout the rally, however had

Rovanpera took what amounted to a home-town victory (above and left). Craig Breen (left) flew into second.

Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg rounded out the points finishers.

Local hero Ott Tanak led for much of Friday however a tour of a ditch resulted in two punctures and forced him to retire from the opening day. He finished 31st, but did pick up the five bonus points for winning the power stage.

Molly’s tough return to WRC

to settle for third after collecting a 10s penalty – he was late to check in at a time control on Sunday morning following technical problems, resulting in the punishment.

Just outside the podium positions was current championship leader Sebastien Ogier in fourth. The Frenchman finished 11.6sec back from the Belgian as he continues his pursuit of an eighth drivers’ crown.

Teammate Elfyn Evans finished in fifth.

As a result, the Toyota squad still holds a 59-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Standings.

Teemu Suninen was sixth in a Ford Fiesta, despite a final stage spin.

Pierre-Louis Loubet, Aleksey Lukyanuk, Andreas

Australian Molly Taylor made her return in WRC3, but unfortunately crashed out early.

The car ended up on its roof after the 2016 Australian Rally Champion misjudged a fast corner, but thankfully Taylor and her co-driver Sebastian Marshall weren’t harmed.

“I was just in a really fast section, it was an almost flat corner, and I just ran it a little bit wide, put a wheel into the ditch and it dragged us down into the ditch,” said Taylor.

“There was a drainage pipe in the ditch which we hit – with the momentum we had, it sent us into a roll.

“Seb and I are fine, obviously absolutely gutted, but we are okay.”

The inaugural Rally Belgium is up next, from August 13-15.

Points: Ogier 148, Evans 111, Neuville 96, Rovanpera 82, Tanak 74

TOYOTA STREAK CONTINUES AT MONZA KAMUI KOBAYASHI, Jose Maria Lopez and Mike Conway won the fourth round of the World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Monza in their Toyota Hypercar.

This was the first victory of the season for the reigning world champions in the #7 machine.

Toyota Gazoo Racing continues its unbeaten run, winning every round of the Hypercar category in 2021.

The polesitters held on to finish just ahead of Alpine trio Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, who were second in an epic edition of the race.

Glickenhaus Racing claimed its first podium in third, the team of Romain Dumas, Franck Mailleux, Richard Westbrook finishing four laps in arrears.

The championship-leading #8 Toyota driven

by Brendon Hartley, Kazuki Images: Motorsport Images Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi was a disappointing fourth in class.

42 AutoAction

They won the first two events in Belgium and Portugal but were 40 laps behind by the end of racing in Italy.

Technical issues plagued their efforts throughout, forcing four unscheduled pitstops.

The #8 Toyota crew lead the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship standings over its sister car by six points. The #36 Alpine is a further nine points back in third.

The LMP2 category was not quite as closely fought, as United Autosports cruised to its second win of the season.

Drivers Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Fabio Scherer also guided the #22 Oreca to third in the overall classification as multiple Hypercars suffered sustained issues.

Team WRT, comprising of Robin Frijns, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg, finished second.

Dutch team Racing Team Nederland placed third with its drivers Nyck de Vries, Paul Loup Chatin and Frits van Eerd.

In GTE Pro, Kevin Estre and Neel Jani drove the Porsche GT Team

to victory over Ferrari at the Italian manufacturers home track.

Labelled one of the closest races in years, the battle up front between the Porsche team and AF Corse’s Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado was never separated by more than a few seconds.

Estre and Jani now lead the GTE Pro category.

Ferrari had its revenge in the GTE Am category, securing a win through Alessio Rovera, Francois Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen.

The #83 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo had to duck and weave from the back of the pack due to a qualifying infringement, but still managed to cross the line first.

Augusto Farfus, Marcos Gomes and Paul Dalla Lana earned second place for Aston Martin Racing in their #98 Vantage AMR after a nail-biting tussle for the position.

D’station Racing, consisting of Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii and Andrew Watson, crossed the line a mere 0.190s behind in third after being overtaken on the final lap.

Aussie Matt Campbell and Kiwi Jaxon Evans finished fifth in class.

KIWI LAWSON CHASES DTM LEAD LIAM LAWSON had a strong Round 2 in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, scoring the second most points for the event behind Swiss driver Philip Ellis in Lausitz.

The Red Bull AF Corse man was a picture of consistency, achieving a pair of runner-up results.

The drivers to beat Lawson in each race were Ellis and Maximilian Gotz respectively.

South African brothers Sheldon van der Linde and Kelvin van der Linde stole the show in Qualifying 1, proving themselves to be an inseparable pair by claiming a share of the front row grid spots.

Sheldon was the fastest driver to begin the weekend, stopping the timer at 1m 30.537s in his Rowe Racing BMW. Not to be outdone, 25-year-old Kelvin claimed second place on the grid in his ABT Sportsline Audi just 0.027 seconds behind.

The family fairy-tale was not to be though, Ellis taking maximum points for Team Winward.

The win was Ellis’ first in DTM in his debut season, a breakthrough for the 28-year-old.

The Mercedes-AMG driver came out on top of Lawson and ex-champion Mike Rockenfeller, who drove the highest-placed Audi.

Kelvin van der Linde had to settle for fourth and his brother was even further back despite crossing the line third.

Sheldon van der Linde was dumped

A pair of runner-up spots has secured Lawson (above/right) second place in the DTM series.

Kelvin van der Linde (left) finished behind Lawson in both races, but still narrowly leads the series. (Motorsport Images)

to ninth following a time penalty due to a pit stop infringement.

It was an attritional affair amongst the field as six cars failed to finish,

Mercedes suffering the most retirements with four cars unclassified.

Ellis and Lawson continued their form into the second round of qualifying, locking down the front row of the grid.

The Saturday race winner secured his spot with a 1m 30.292s.

Unpredictability continued to reign in DTM on the Sunday, as Maximilian Gotz was crowned the fourth winner from as many races.

It was a maiden DTM win for the 35-year-old homegrown product, leaving the Lausitzring with local fan approval.

Red Bull Junior driver Lawson finished second, 4.675s behind, after leading the first stint of the race. However, he stalled exiting the pits which cost crucial track position.

Lawson still finished second, ahead of Kelvin van der Linde.

That podium position in the second race secured Kelvin van der Linde’s lead in the DTM drivers’ standings, on 69 points.

After an impressive weekend, Lawson is just four points behind in second.

The DTM returns at Zolder in Belgium from August 6-8. Josh Nevett Points: K van der Linde 69, Lawson 65, Ellis 48, Gotz 46, Albon 31

NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR LYNN ENGLISH DRIVERS dominated their home E-Prix as Alex Lynn took the most points from rounds 12 and 13 in London.

Lynn and fellow home country hero Jake Dennis won the races, bringing joy to the local spectators.

Nyck de Vries took it up to the pair, finishing second in both races to take the lead of the 2021 Formula E World Championship.

Leading the championship before London, Sam Bird could not replicate the home soil form of his counterparts, sustaining damage in both races which dumped him out of the title lead to third.

The Round 12 Super Pole qualifying set the tone for the rest of the weekend as Lynn and Dennis claimed occupancy of the front-row.

Mahindra Racing’s Lynn shot to the front of the grid with a 1m 23.245s, 0.3s faster than Dennis.

It was Lynn’s second Formula E pole position – his first came in 2017.

Lynn was unable to convert his advantage into a win as

Motorsport Images

Dennis flew the flag in Race 12.

The 26-year-old put on a masterclass of efficient energy usage to lead the field home by more than 5s.

Dennis passed Lynn after the second round of Attack Mode activations and only pulled away from there.

The polesitter was also surpassed by de Vries who climbed from ninth to secure second place and 18 points for Mercedes.

Nissan e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi finished fourth, but was disqualified post-race for power overuse promoting Porsche’s Andre Lotterer to fourth

One of the headlines from the race was the retirement of then championship leader Bird, who was the victim of a tightly bunched field on lap 1.

The Jaguar Racing driver copped contact and could not race on.

In Race 13, Lynn recovered in style to win his first Formula E race.

Lynn did not have the pace of many around him, but after Oliver Rowland and Stoffel Vandoorne collided ahead of him and de Vries took a mistimed Attack Mode, Lynn found himself at the head of the field.

During a Safety Car period Lucas di Grassi pitted and due to the slow Safety Car speed, this propelled him to the lead from eighth.

This would have been legal had the Brazilian come to a stop in his pit box ... but he did not quite do so ... He was handed a drive-through penalty, but Audi protested the decision and kept him out on track.

Although he crossed the line in first, di Grassi was disqualified, allowing Lynn to take his maiden win, with de Vries and Kiwi Mitch Evans completing the podium.

The weekend went from bad to worse for Bird, whose tangle with Norman Nato cost both drivers any shot at points.

At the conclusion of the London event de Vries tops the Drivers’ World Championship ahead of the final race weekend in Berlin.

Robin Frijns is second, followed by the fallen Bird.

Josh Nevett Points: De Vries 95, Frijns 89, Bird 81, Dennis 81, da Costa 80

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GARCIA AND TAYLOR BEAT LIGHTNING ANTONIO GARCIA and Jordan Taylor were victorious in the GT Le Mans category at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, as nearby lighting strikes cut the IMSA race short.

There were unusual scenes as the dangerous weather conditions put a halt to the race just past its halfway stage.

The seventh round was a GT round, with both DPi and LMP machines on the sidelines.

At the completion of 100 laps Taylor was 9s ahead in his #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, leading the #4 Corvette.

The pair have now won four races this season and nine out of their last 16 starts.

Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy had to settle for second when the race was eventually called off.

Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis were the beneficiaries of an interrupted race in the GTD category, winning for Heart of Racing in their #23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Josh Nevett

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INTERNATIONAL

PIASTRI PROPELLED TO TOP OF F2 Report: JOSH NEVETT Images: Motorsport Images

Image: Motorsport Images

CHRISTIAN MANSELL was the standout Australian racer in the British Formula 3 Championship, collecting a race win and healthy points haul from the round at SpaFrancorchamps. The Carlin driver asserted himself immediately, crossing the line first in Race 1 before finishing third and fifth in the subsequent races. Fellow countryman Bart Horsten started the weekend steadily with fifth and fourth results, but disappointingly came home ninth in the reverse grid Race 3. Mansell and Horsten sit third and fourth in the overall standings, respectively. JN

HARRY HAYEK had a bright start to the British GT round in Belgium but finished seventh in class in the race due to a tyre puncture.

The Australian Team Rocket RJN driver was quickest in the GT4 class in practice and things looked bright for Hayek and his co-driver Katie Milner. All the good work done by the pair went to waste though, as their McLaren 570S GT4 suffered a puncture which relegated them to 12th overall. JN

IN FORMULA Regional Europe, Tommy Smith was unable to claim his first points of the season after a disappointing weekend at Spa. Smith was 22nd in Race 1 for JD Motorsport but couldn’t build on this, hitting the wall after contact with a car in Race 2 to finish unclassified. The 19-year-old currently sits among seven non-rookie drivers who are yet to earn points in the championship. JN

THREE AUSSIES are included in the 2021 24 Hours of Spa entry list. All up, 60 drivers have been confirmed for the 73rd running of the race. Matt Campbell, Josh Burdon and Jordan Love will represent Australia.

The iconic Belgian race, held from July 27-August 1, marks the third round of the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup. All major manufacturers of GT World Challenge Europe will be competing including Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW, Aston Martin, McLaren and Bentley. JN Images: Image es: Motorsport Images

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AUSSIE OSCAR Piastri (right) has jumped to the top of the Formula 2 Championship after a consistent weekend of results at Silverstone.

Piastri finished sixth, fourth and third in a round where fellow title challengers Guanyu Zhou (below right) and Robert Shwartzman punctuated wins with finishes outside the points.

Kiwi drivers Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong had mixed results over the weekend, the highlight coming from Armstrong who claimed second in Sprint Race 2.

Piastri started the weekend in fine form, qualifying on pole position for the first time in F2.

The reigning Formula 3 champion clocked a 1m 39.854s time, 0.221s faster than the F2 series leader at the time in Zhou.

Piastri became the fourth F2 polesitter in as many rounds this season, demonstrating the closeness of the championship.

Richard Verschoor was third fastest, his best qualifying effort in 2021.

The top 10 was inverted for Race 1 which was won by Piastri’s teammate Shwartzman, but the retirement of Zhou was arguably the headline.

Out front, Shwartzman displayed skill to quickly leapfrog the leaders from fourth on the grid and held the front position for the rest of the race.

The same could not be said for Zhou, who made an uncharacteristic error spinning out on the first lap of the race.

The Chinese driver stalled and could not result, resulting in significant championship ramifications.

Juri Vips challenged Shwarzman for the lead at times, but in the end had to settle for second in a Sprint Race interrupted by Safety Cars.

Christian Lundgaard started from pole with the advantage of an inverted grid, but his lead evaporated immediately.

He crossed the line third, 2.534s behind Prema Racing’s Shwartzman.

Reigning FIA Formula 3 champion Piastri rose to the challenge of starting 10th on the grid, making multiple passes in the stop-start race to climb to sixth.

In Race 2, MP Motorsport rookie Verschoor showed Lundgaard the way by converting his inverted polesitter status into a victory.

The lights-to-flag display was a first career F2 win for the 20-year-old Dutchman.

Kiwi driver Armstrong and Dan Ticktum earned podium places in the second Sprint Race for DAMS and Carlin Racing respectively.

Zhou’s weekend did not get any better.

Wh Whilst he managed to ascend from 20 20th to 11th, this effort meant a second co consecutive race without points.

T The dichotomy between Zhou and Pi Piastri continued as the Victorian pulled of a late move to secure fourth place off an another healthy bag of points. and Hot on the heels of Lawson, Piastri b banked on a late braking manoeuvre to complete the overtake. Lawson fi finished fifth for Hitech.

S Shwartzman went from hero to zero, suffering from his reversed grid position to finish 15th after a late race spin at Club.

The fortunes of championship hopefuls Zhou and Piastri reversed in the Feature Race of the weekend, with the Chinese driver’s lightning start setting up a win.

From pole, Piastri could only look on from lights out as Zhou surged past into the lead.

Zhou had a point to prove and did so by controlling the rest of the race.

Home hero Ticktum gave British fans something to cheer about, finishing second 3.828s behind.

Piastri was unable to match Ticktum in the second stint and faded to finish third completing the podium for his best result of the round. Verschoor was fourth and Shwartzman fifth.

Lawson and Armstrong followed each other to the line, finishing outside of the points in 11th and 12th respectively.

There are four rounds left starting with Monza in Italy from September 10-12.

CAR WINS TWICE IN MINNESOTA AUSTRALIAN JOSH Car has claimed two race wins in the recent US Formula Regional round, as the competition visited Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.

The 20-year-old started the weekend positively by taking out pole for Race 1, his second of the season.

This qualifying feat was ultimately wasted though, as the New South Welshman missed his call to the grid for Race 1 and had to start from pitlane.

Ian Rodriguez qualified second with a 1m 23.178s, and with the front row all to himself capitalised on this to win Race 1.

Overall points leader Kyffin Simpson finished second and Car made an exceptional recovery from

his less-than-ideal start to complete the podium, finishing 1.316s behind the victor Rodriguez and set a new track record of 1m 22.635s on the way.

With this hiccup out of the way, Car asserted his dominance on the remaining two races of the weekend by recording strong victories.

In his #9 machine, Car

edged out title frontrunner Simpson 0.736s in a race that boiled down to a single final lap of green flag racing.

Varun Choksey of TJ Speed Motorsports was third, 2.933s back from the winner.

The lead for Car was several seconds during the middle stages of the 21-lap race but after Ernie Francis Jr became beached in

gravel, the hard work was mostly undone. The sole lap of green flag racing at the end decided the result, “The track here is really cool,” said Car. “It is our first time here and it’s got a real good mix of high-speed long straights, almost like a three-quarter oval around the back. It’s got flowing esses and a nice fun bumpy change of direction on the front straight.”

Race 3 also provided a victory, Car winning from Simpson and Frenchman Baptiste Berthelot.

After this round of competition, Car sits second on 175 points behind Simpson on 224 who maintains a healthy gap of 49 points.

Josh Nevett

REA BREAKS RECORDS Report: JOSH NEVETT JONATHAN REA was imperious in the fifth Superbike World Championship round, atoning for a last start crash to be undefeated in three races at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.

The Northern Irish rider showed his class after losing the standings lead, adding to a record that now tallies 15 wins at the Dutch venue.

A return to the Championship lead serves as just reward for Rea and Kawasaki.

Superpole qualifying set the tone for the results to come, as Rea clocked the fastest time of 1m 33.842s.

Championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu was right on his tail, just 0.186s slower.

This order would not change in the first race of the weekend, as Rea held out a challenge to win a shortened encounter.

It became clear early that the race would be a three-way battle between the polesitter, Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding.

The trio were inseparable for the first half of the 21-lap race, providing spectators with entertaining racing.

The most successful World SBK rider in championship history then pounced on an unfolding tussle between Redding and Razgatlioglu to push ahead of the pair, developing a valuable gap.

The 28-year-old Englishman won the battle, finishing second ahead of his Turkish opponent after making the crucial pass on lap 16.

Rea, above and left, was in dominant form, extending his championship lead; although a three-way scrap, with Razgatlioglu and Redding provided a challenge in the opening race. (Motorsport Images)

A red flag cut th race short the a after Jonas Folger Tu crashed at Turns 6 and 7, dashing his potential career best result.

Michael van der Mark made the most of racing at his home course, riding his BMW up to fourth place after starting in ninth.

Rea’s dominance continued into the Superpole Race of the Dutch round, winning comfortably ahead of another tight chasing pack.

The final margin was almost 3s in the 10-lap sprint.

Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi was pronounced second place after teammates Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli received demotion penalties

for exceeding track limits at Turn 18 on the final lap.

After the application of these penalties, Razgatlioglu was third and Locatelli finished just outside of podium places.

Off the back of a strong first race, van der Mark would rue the Superpole Race – he crashed out of on just the first lap.

BIKES

Rea would not have it quite so easy in Race 2 but was unfazed by the challenges as he claimed a third win and 199th career podium.

Lap 1 was marked by drama when Razgatlioglu was knocked off his bike by an errant Garrett Gerloff at Turn 1, forcing him out of the race.

Gerloff, a fellow Yamaha driver, was given a ride-through penalty for the incident.

A flow-on effect of the crash was that Rea fell to eighth place, casting doubt over his ability to complete the weekend clean sweep.

These doubts were cast aside quickly though, the bike legend surging through the field for a 15th victory at Assen and the fourth hat-trick of his career.

Locatelli led after the early shakeup, but Rea reclaimed the lead on lap 12 of 21.

He was not threatened from there.

Redding finished 1.605s behind in second and Locatelli beat his personal best set in the previous race to finish on the podium for Yamaha.

At the close of the round, Rea is clear on top, trailed by Razgatlioglu and Redding.

Competition heads to Most in the Czech Republic for the next round from August 6-8.

Points: Rea 243, Razgatlioglu 206, Redding 162, Lowes 127, Rinaldi 111

PEDROSA CONFIRMED FOR MOTOGP WILDCARD THREE-TIME MOTOGP Championship runner-up Dani Pedrosa is set to make a return, riding as a wildcard entry in the Grand Prix of Styria in Austria.

Pedrosa will ride for the factory Red Bull KTM team in the 10th round of the 2021 MotoGP season at the Red Bull Ring from August 6-8.

The 35-year-old has been involved in KTM’s development program since his full-time retirement at the end of 2018.

Pedrosa’s return ride will form part of an important testing period for the KTM RC16, gaining data about its performance in competition conditions.

When discussing the decision, Pedrosa was focused on the development of the bike rather than his own performance.

“It’s been super interesting to be part of this project from the beginning with KTM in MotoGP and being able to share my experience with them,” Pedrosa said.

“Step-by-step we did the best we

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could and now it’s interesting again to go into a race because it gives you a different perspective compared to a normal test.”

“It has been a long time since my last race and, of course, the mentality for a GP is very different to a test.

“My focus for the GP is to try to test the things we have on the bike in a race situation.

“It’s difficult to talk about my expectations after being so long away from competition. It might all click into a racing mentality, or it might not, but we’ll try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can.”

During his MotoGP career the Spaniard tallied up an impressive list of achievements, including 31 wins and 112 podium results across 13

seasons riding for the factory Honda team between 2006 and 2018.

Red Bull KTM Race Manager Mike Leitner was looking forward to the contribution Pedrosa could make at the track, on top of those he has already made behind the scenes.

“It will be curious to see Dani in MotoGP again,” said Leitner.

“He has been away from racing for quite a long time, but it will be valuable to have him in garage at Red Bull Ring to analyse the strong and not-sostrong parts of our KTM RC16.”

“Dani has had a big influence in our MotoGP project thanks to all of his experience.

“He will have a mixture of the current race bike and some small upgrades and he will have some testing to do during the weekend but we also don’t want to overload him. We want him to enjoy the Grand Prix!”

Red Bull KTM are currently fourth in the teams’ standings on 145 points, behind Yamaha, the factory Ducati team and Pramac Ducati. Josh Nevett

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Supercars RACE REPORT

Round 7 - Townsville

STREET FIGHTERS

Report: Dan McCarthy

Images:Motorsport Images/Ross Gibb Photography/InSyde Media

AFTER THE dominant display from Triple Eight Race Engineering a week prior, it was expected when the teams contested the Townsville SuperSprint at the same venue, that the Queensland -based team would be a step ahead once again – however this proved not to be the case.

Tickford Racing driver Cameron Waters shone. After being lapped at the venue a week earlier, he responded in the sprint format to take two of the three race victories, while in the other encounter the Triple Eight duo got their gloves out. Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen took the win and also earned the most points for the round.

PRACTICE – SHORT AND SHARP

WITH THE SuperSprint event in Townsville switching to a two-day weekend format, Supercars drivers had just a single 45 minute practice session to get their machines set up for both race and quali trim.

Tyres were a mixed bag, with some people on very old tyres and others on reasonably fresh rubber.

All drivers completed many laps trying to gather as much knowledge as they could – everyone completed at least 17 laps during the session, while Blanchard Racing Team driver Tim Slade remained on circuit for the entirety, completing a total of 35 laps.

At the end of the session. Team 18’s Scott Pye found himself at the top of the timesheets, 0.165s faster than Dick Johnson Racing driver Anton de Pasquale, and 0.296s faster than James Courtney (Tickford).

Van Gisbergen was next, ahead of Jack Le Brocq, Will Brown, Todd Hazelwood, Cameron Waters, Bryce Fullwood and Jamie Whincup.

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Waters leads (top), then celebrates one of two wins at Townsville’s sprint weekend.

Below: Slade earned a best-ever fourth for the CoolDrive team.

QUALIFYING RACE 17 – QUALIFYING CONTROVERSY

THREE-SEGMENT qualifying returned for Saturday, the first segment eliminating four cars, the second 10 cars, before the popular Top 10 Shootout.

The track evolution in the opening session was massive, the improvement between the times on everyone’s first lap compared with

their final was rather large.

This nearly caught out a couple of front runners, most notably Courtney who snuck through in 20th position.

The drivers eliminated in the opening segment were Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Bryce Fullwood, Jake Kostecki, Jack Smith and Garry Jacobson.

In Q2 both Erebus Motorsport rookies just missed out on a spot in the Top

10 Shootout, Brodie Kostecki was just 0.03s away, qualifying 11th, from his teammate Will Brown.

Le Brocq qualified in 13th ahead of Mark Winterbottom, and the Kelly Grove Racing Mustangs driven

by David Reynolds and Andre Heimgartner.

Brad Jones Racing driver Macauley Jones was 17th ahead of a frustrated Pye who lost his practice pace.

After dedicating a lot of time to race set-up, Slade qualified in 19th ahead of Team Sydney’s Fabian Coulthard.

It was a troubled session for van Gisbergen – the New Zealander made a mistake on his first lap and had to rely on a second to get into the top 10.

He did so, but was only sixth, giving him a mid-shootout slot.

James Courtney was first out in the shootout and was disappointed with his time shaking his head as he crossed the line.

As he did a week prior, Todd Hazelwood set a great time, to beat Courtney, but was soon pipped by his teammate Nick Percat, by 0.015s.

Next up was Zane Goddard in just his second Top 10 Shootout. The Matt Stone Racing driver matched Percat through the first two sectors, but going into the final corner he missed the brake pedal.

By the time he got on the brakes it was too late, the Queenslander locked up, speared through the grass, and hit the tyre wall.

Van Gisbergen was next and was told to slow up as he completed his warmup lap by Race Control as Goddard’s car remained stationary. Expecting to be told to abort his lap and pit, van Gisbergen buttoned of entirely, only to be told when doing around the second last turn that he was good to go.

Cam Waters two-wheels the Monster Energy Mustang as he keeps SVG at bay (above). A pit stop issue cost Davison dearly (left). Todd Hazelwood had a great Sunday, netting fith and fourth places respectively – sporting yet another (tools.com) livery.

Van Gisbergen’s tyres however were thus not up quite to temperature but, despite the lack of initial grip van Gisbergen went to the top – but he and Triple Eight were fuming over being told to push on ...

Whincup was next and beat his teammate’s time by 0.21s, while Waters went a further 0.228s faster than Whincup. Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Chaz Mostert slotted in behind the pair as the third-fastest.

Will Davison was on the pace – slightly quicker than Waters in Sector 1, he would go p2, just 0.029s behind, while his teammate de Pasquale was on the next level. Looking in control throughout his lap, he took pole by 0.167s.

In the end the Top 10 qualifying order for Race 17 was Pasquale, Waters, Davison, Whincup, Mostert, van Gisbergen, Percat, Hazelwood, Courtney and Goddard.

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RACE 17 – THE UNDERCUT

IN THE opening race of the weekend, Tickford Racing driver Cameron Waters scored his second race victory of the season.

When the lights went out, Waters made a slightly better jump than pole sitter de Pasquale. However, he was unable to get ahead as the #11 Mustang held the inside line into Turn 1.

Behind, on row two, Whincup immediately passed his good mate Davison to take third.

As always, cars were three or four wide in the mid-pack – notably, Brodie Kostecki sent one up the inside, overtaking a handful of cars, and moving from 11th up to sixth, lucky not to tap any cars into a spin.

Van Gisbergen, already frustrated by the qulaifying ‘hold-up’, was further angered by Kostecki’s move.

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He had to sidestep the dive-bombing Erebus Motorsport driver, and fell to eighth.

Surprisingly, at Turn 2, everyone escaped relatively unscathed – the only notable incident was when Coulthard lunged from 20th, nudged the back of Winterbottom, who would pick up a puncture after half spinning Goddard.

At Turn 3 Fullwood tagged Jones into a spin and sent the field scattering trying to avoid the drama – the former would receive a penalty for the collision.

Hazelwood demoted Kostecki with an aggressive move at Turn 11. However the Erebus driver was not happy with it and bumped the South Aussie wide at Turn 13 earning a 15s penalty as a result.

Kostecki would find himself in more strife a lap later as a mad van

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Gisbergen fired up the inside and escorted him onto the grass at the final turn. Kostecki slid into the wall and damaged his steering, for which van Gisbergen was handed a 15s penalty.

Out front, de Pasquale defended an onslaught from behind and held the lead from Waters, Whincup and Mostert.

At the end of lap 5, Slade was the first to stop, hopeful that in clear air he would be able to execute the undercut.

On lap 6, van Gisbergen made another aggressive move, this time on Davison, before getting Mostert on lap 12.

De Pasquale was still out front, although both Waters and Whincup were within striking distance and at the end of lap 16 both elected to make their compulsory pitstop for a minimum of two tyres.

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Supercars RACE REPORT Round 7 - Townsville

Above: Whincup (88) tried and tried to pass van Gizbergen in a hectic Race 18 scrap, but SVG kept his future boss at bay! Mostert (left) netted a pair of thirds. De Pasquale (right) took pole for Race 17, a second-place finish his best for a consistent weekend.

The Tickford crew made a much better pitstop, allowing Waters to pull away from Whincup, the Mildura man then setting a blinding out lap as leader de Pasquale entered the pits a lap later.

ADP’s crew fitted 3 tyres and although he came out the pits ahead of Waters he would not retain the lead.

De Pasquale exited the pits and went defensive on the run to Turn 2.

However, on warm tyres, Waters was able to take advantage cutting back up the inside of the DJR Mustang on the exit and taking the race lead on the approach to Turn 3.

In an attempt to finish strong with fresher tyres, Davison and van Gisbergen left their stops until later, pitting at the end of lap 21.

While van Gisbergen had to serve his penalty, Davson also lost time as the team could not take off the leftrear wheel – it meant he had to remain on the used tyre for the full 39 lap distance.

There was more drama to come, as Whincup was dealt a 15s post-race penalty for speeding when entering the pit lane.

At one stage it looked as though cars #11 and #88 were catching Waters, but he was biding his time and, after several laps, eased away.

Waters would go on to take the win from de Pasquale, who came home in second after holding off a late race attack from Mostert. The undercut for Slade worked incredibly well, moving him up to secure the Blanchard Racing Team’s best result in forth.

Slade pipped the penalised Whincup and van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen was thus sixth ahead of Pye, Courtney, Hazelwood and Will Brown, who rounded out the top 10.

Davison’s troubled pitstop and two old tyres saw him finish in 11th from Goddard, Percat, Le Brocq and Jacobson.

QUALIFYING, RACES 18 & 19 – WHINCUP AND WATERS

TWO BACK-TO-BACK 10-minute qualifying sessions determined the grid for races 13 and 14 respectively.

It was a mixed bag of results in the two sessions with Whincup and Waters both scoring a pole and a sixth-place start.

The opening session saw lots of cement dust on the circuit following a major engine failure in the earlier Tin Tops race. It was major Triple Eight stakeholder Tony Quinn who suffered the failure – however it did help the Queensland based team score a 1-2 on the grid, Whincup taking pole position from his teammate van Gisbergen by 0.069s.

Van Gisbergen didn’t set a great first lap and was forced to have a second attempt. He improved, leapfrogging Mostert to qualify on the front row.

Mostert qualified third ahead of Davison and Reynolds. Waters was

a disappointing sixth, the Tickford racer set the fastest first sector on two occasions but could not continue that momentum.

Brown, Brodie Kostecki, Fullwood and Hazelwood rounded out the top 10.

Notably, Saturday’s pole sitter Anton de Pasquale ended up down in 14th as he did not make it to the line in time for a second attempt.

At the start of the session on his warm-up lap, Slade’s left-rear wheel parted company. He limped back to the pits but did not set a time due to the repairs taking place on the corner of the car.

Session 2 saw Waters recover to take pole, pipping van Gisbergen by just 0.016s. De Pasquale also responded, to qualify in third position alongside his teammate Davison.

Hazelwood bagged another top 10 starting position in fifth ahead of seventime champion and Race 18 pole sitter Whincup.

Reynolds, Macualey Jones, James Courtney and Fullwood rouded out the top 10. Nick Percat just missed the top 10 in 11th ahead of Mostert.

RACE 18 – TRIPLE EIGHT WAR

AFTER TWO close races in Townsville between van Gisbergen and Whincup, in Race 18 the gloves came well and truly off.

Will Brown had a mixed weekend, with a pair of 11th place finishes – a bent steering rack leading to early retirement on Sunday’s Race 18.

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RESULTS RACE 17 TOWNSVILLE 39 LAPS

Waters had the inside running at the start of Race 19, and with the benefit of a great Safety Car pit call, turned it into his second win of the weekend. The Tickford teamster put on a decent post-race burn-out (below).

Whincup made the better start and led into Turn 2, while van Gisbergen was forced to defend from Mostert and Davison.

Besides Percat spinning at Turn 3 on the opening lap, it was fairly calm in general, although Waters had dropped back further and now sat in ninth.

As in Race 1, Slade’s BRT crew elected to bring him in at the earliest possible opportunity, lap 5.

Keen to make up for his 14th qualifying position, de Pasquale also pitted early, on lap 6.

It was becoming a trend for people to pit early and try and gain good track position, so next came Waters on lap 11.

Out front, Whincup had a comfortable lead over his teammate, – that was until lap 16 when the #88 car lost all that margin to van Gisbergen.

On lap 17, Whincup elected to pit taking on three new soft tyres, followed in a lap later by van Gisbergen.

With the undercut it might hve been expected that Whincup would hold position, however the #97 crew elected to fit just two new tyres. That saved van Gisbergen around three seconds and he was able to leap ahead of his teammate.

With an extra fresh tyre, Whincup was the faster of the Red Bull cars and by lap 21 of 39, sat on the tail of SVG. Whincup attacked, however van Gisbergen put up a stout defence.

Whincup was throwing everything at his teammate, with moves up the inside and around the outside at Turns 2, 11 and 13 lap after lap, but he was unable to get through.

The two Triple Eight Commodores made contact on several occasions, most notably at the final turn on lap 24 but the Aussie just could not find a way by.

By lap 27 van Gisbergen had weathered the storm to take his 11th win of the season, while Whincup faded to finish 4.5s in arrears.

Davison hounded Mostert in the final two laps but, despite his best attempts, he could not find a way through. Mostert held onto third

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from Davison and a pair of South Aussies Hazelwood and Pye. Brodie Kostecki sat in the top five for much of the race but faded late on and finished in seventh.

From 14th, de Pasquale limited the damage to eighth ahead of Reynolds and Winterbottom.

Waters had a tough day – from sixth the Tickford Racing driver fell to 11th by the end of the race. A bad start, couple with a stall in the pits were the main reasons for the challenging 39 lap race.

Jones retired with a clutch drama and Brown failed to greet the finish with a damaged steering rack.

RACE 19 – WATERS VS SVG

WATERS AND van Gisbergen made a very equal launch – however, with the inside runing at Turn 2, Waters was able to keep the Kiwi at bay.

Behind Davison, de Pasquale immediately jumped into third.

Van Gisbergen took it easy early on before turning up the wick on lap 4, passing Waters with a surprise move at Turn 13 the following lap.

The race then settled into a rhythm for several laps with SVG leading Waters and Davison all in relatively close quarters.

On lap 13 Davison elected to pit in an attempt to jump both drivers ahead. However this plan took a major blow when the Safety Car was deployed just three laps later when Jones crashed out of the race at Turn 10 (recording his third retirement of the weekend).

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In what turned out to be an inspired gamble, when the Safety Car was first called, Waters was told to stay on track as the Safety Car had not yet actually come out onto the circuit.

This enabled him to set a quick full lap time before entering the lane the following lap.

Meanwhile, Van Gisbergen had pitted at the first opportunity and upon re-joining the circuit was forced to slow down as he caught the Safety Car. As van Gisbergen was slowed, Waters emerged from pit lane ahead of the Triple Eight driver, as did Davison.

It was not long after the restart that van Gisbergen disposed of Davison and then began to apply the blowtorch to Waters.

Forced to defend corner after corner, lap after lap, Waters did not crack. Van Gisbergen got alongside on several occasions, but the threat was repelled and Waters went on to take the victory in a Townsville epic.

Van Gisbergen came home 0.9s shy, with Davison just a further 0.45s behind, but the older tyre life meant he was unable to get involved in the fight.

BJR driver Hazelwood scored his season best result in fourth, holding de Pasquale at bay in the closing laps of the race.

Whincup was fifth, ahead of former champion Courtney, Winterbottom, Mostert and Percat who rounded out the top 10.

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DNF DNF

Driver Cameron Waters Anton De Pasquale Chaz Mostert Tim Slade Jamie Whincup Shane van Gisbergen Scott Pye James Courtney Todd Hazelwood Will Brown Will Davison Zane Goddard Nick Percat Jack Le Brocq David Reynolds Jake Kostecki Jack Smith Garry Jacobson Andre Heimgartner Mark Winterbottom Bryce Fullwood Brodie Kostecki Fabian Coulthard Macauley Jones

Margin 39 laps +2.871s +4.458s +15.157s +15.810s +16.975s +19.729s +23.021s +27.724s +28.986s +33.905s +34.771s +39.386s +40.098s +45.460s +52.845s +54.186s +52.365s +75.518s +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +38 laps

▲1 ▼1 ▲2 ▲ 15 ▼1 0 ▲ 11 ▲1 ▼1 ▲2 ▼8 ▼2 ▼6 ▼1 0 ▲6 ▲6 ▲6 ▼3 ▼6 0 ▼ 11 ▼3 ▼3

RESULTS RACE 18 TOWNSVILLE 39 LAPS Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NC NC

Driver Shane van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup Chaz Mostert Will Davison Todd Hazelwood Scott Pye Brodie Kostecki Anton De Pasquale David Reynolds Mark Winterbottom Cameron Waters Tim Slade Jake Kostecki Bryce Fullwood Nick Percat James Courtney Garry Jacobson Jack Le Brocq Jack Smith Andre Heimgartner Fabian Coulthard Zane Goddard Macauley Jones Will Brown

Margin 39 laps +4.547s +8.125s +8.508s +17.445s +19.243s +24.099s +28.081s +29.006s +32.524s +37.723s +38.734s +43.282s +43.365s +48.556s +51.951s +56.807s +58.807s +59.043s +60.495s +1 lap +6 laps +13 laps +14 laps

▲1 ▼1 0 0 ▲5 ▲5 ▲1 ▲6 ▼4 ▲5 ▼5 ▲ 12 ▲7 ▼5 ▼3 ▲5 0 ▲5 ▲3 ▼4 ▼2 ▼9 ▼5 ▼ 17

RESULTS RACE 19 TOWNSVILLE 39 LAPS Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NC

Driver Cameron Waters Shane van Gisbergen Will Davison Todd Hazelwood Anton De Pasquale Jamie Whincup James Courtney Mark Winterbottom Chaz Mostert Nick Percat Will Brown Jack Le Brocq Brodie Kostecki Jake Kostecki Andre Heimgartner Bryce Fullwood Garry Jacobson Scott Pye Zane Goddard Fabian Coulthard Jack Smith Tim Slade David Reynolds Macauley Jones

Margin 39 laps +0.876s +1.357s +6.653s +7.924s +12.300s +15.478s +15.898s +17.877s +18.789s +24.930s +25.654s +27.178s +27.614s +28.884s +24.359s +29.631s +29.971s +35.480s +36.259s +36.294s +39.421s +7 laps +23 laps

0 0 up 1 up 1 down 2 0 up 2 up 5 up 3 up 1 up 7 up 4 up 1 up 8 up 4 down 6 0 down 3 up 2 up 3 up 3 down 2 down 16 down 16

Points: van Gisbergen 1926, Whincup 1650, Waters 1514, Mostert 1506, Davison 1505, de Pasquale 1246, Winterbottom 1138, Percat 1128, Courtney 1074, Brown 1001, B Kostecki 995, Heimgartner 960, Pye 934, Hazelwood 926, Fullwood 919, Reynolds 914, Slade 906, Le Brocq 892, Goddard 720, J Kostecki 718, Smith 586, Jacobson 552, Coulthard 516, Jones 498

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Supercars Super 2 Round 2 – Townsville

FEENEY DOES IT AGAIN

Report: JOSH NEVETT Images: ROSS GIBB PHOTOGRAPHY/ INSYDE MEDIA BROC FEENEY continued his hot form in the Super2 Series, making it two from two in Townsville.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering youngster ended the two-race round with a haul of 288 points after finishing first over-all, ahead of Zak Best and Jayden Ojeda respectively.

In qualifying, normal service was resumed as Feeney took his place at the front of the grid with a 1m 14.389s.

Best joined 18-year-old Feeney on the front row after lapping 0.131s slower.

Ojeda also came close for third, 0.207s in arrears of the pole man.

Jaylyn Robotham made his return after a disastrous opening event in Far North Queensland, where he failed to start the races after a practice crash; he qualified in 14th.

Race 1 was filled with controversy and chaos, and it took many hours before Feeney was eventually awarded the win after much Stewards deliberation.

It was Ojeda in his #31 Nissan Altima who took an early lead from the second row on the grid.

Tickford Racing’s Best also took advantage of the slow-starting Feeney who dropped to third as a result of wheelspin. He became locked in a duel for second with Best and eventually prevailed, however finding himself 6s behind Ojeda.

However, the field was brought back together in lap 9, when a Safety Car was needed after Brendan Strong had a mechanical failure and parked on-track.

From the restart, Feeney took maximum advantage and reclaimed the lead.

The race was completely turned on its head in lap 15, when contender Best was tagged in the rear.

This set off a chain of events in which Matthew McLean collided with the

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Feeney (top) took the points with a win and second. Best (above) took a well-deserved win for Tickford on Sunday. Ojeda (below) was desperately unlucky to lose a Race 1 winning lead, thanks to a Safety Car.

stranded Best, resulting in a massive pile up.

Victims were many. Declan Fraser lost nearly the whole left side of the exterior of his car, whilst Jack Perkins car caught fire.

Due to the fire, a red flag was issued with six laps to go – and racing would not resume.

There was confusion about who led before the disruption, but hours later Feeney was confirmed as the winner over Ojeda.

Matthew Chahda was third and Josh Fife achieved a career best result in fourth.

Sunday began with qualifying for Race

2, in which Best secured his first Super2 pole position.

Feeney was second, just 0.0144s behind and Jordan Boys was third 0.0941s off pole.

The final race of the round was a battle between polesitter Best and the everdangerous Feeney.

Ojeda briefly led with a bold move at Turn 2 – however he ran wide and allowed Best back by. The following lap Ojeda ran wide again at the second turn allowing Feeney through to hunt down Best.

The pair tussled for many laps, a couple of seconds out of reach of Ojeda, who could not close the gap to

the frontrunners at any point.

Best did not crack under the pressure and managed to hold off the Triple Eight challenge by just over 1s, scoring a win for Tickford Racing.

Ojeda was third, 7s ahead of Angelo Mouzouris in fourth. Eggleston Motorsport teammates Perkins and McLean were fifth and sixth.

At the conclusion of Round 3, Feeney has extended his Super2 Series lead and sits on 828 points overall.

Best also had a successful weekend, and remains in second, with Ojeda the other realistic title challenger third.

Points: Feeney 828, Best 777, Ojeda 741, Chahda 603, McLean 597

IN THE Super3 Series, Nash Morris (pictured) set the fastest qualifying time on Saturday of 1m 16.253s.

This form continued into Race 1, in which the youngster won the Super3 class in front of Michael Anderson.

Sunday began as Saturday left off, a 1m 16.282s lap enough for Morris to lead in Super3 once again in qualifying.

However Blake Fardell claimed an unlikely victory in Race 2 after Morris was dealt a 15s penalty for contact with Super2 runner Jack Sipp. Despite this, Morris finished second.

Anderson’s steering broke, paving the way for Reef McCarthy to round out the podium in third.

The Super3 points lead in the series currently sits with Morris.

Points: Morris 789, McCarthy 747, Anderson 678, Gomersall 531, Fardell 519

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TAUNTON BEST IN TOWNSVILLE TIN TOPS Report: JOSH NEVETT Images: INSYDE MEDIA IT WAS a matter of last man standing in the Townsville Tin Top support category, as Geoff Taunton and his MARC II V8 avoided misfortune to take the over-all round win.

The absence of Porsche Carrera Cup and the Toyota 86 Series paved the way for an array of vehicle categories to enter the Tin Tops category, featuring an Aston Martin GT3, Nissan Skyline, MARC cars and even a Suzuki Swift.

In qualifying, Tony Quinn demonstrated the clear superiority of his V12 Aston Martin, with a 1m 13.985s lap that bested Taunton by 2.126s.

Race 1 followed the same pattern after early drama.

Taunton took the lead on the opening sprint but was then clipped into Turn 2, creating chaos for the tight field and sending him back to 17th in the field.

From there, Quinn retook the lead and extended it throughout the race at the helm of the dominant car.

The gap between first and second only diminished as Quinn managed his car on the way to the finish.

The battle was second was far more

even, with Adam Hargraves, Bayley Hall and the recovering Taunton all in contention for the position.

Taunton was the eventual second place finisher and Hall was third in his #28 Porsche.

Based on these results, the front row for Race 2 was comprised of Quinn and Taunton.

Much like the race before, the gap between first and second quickly stretched out to 13s by lap 5.

However, Quinn’s perfect weekend then came to a grinding halt after his previously effective car had severe mechanical failure on lap 7.

The resulting oil trail at Turn 2 caused multiple cars to lose control. A red flag was thrown with eight laps to go, with the race declared a non-event.

With Quinn done for the weekend, the field was thrown wide open for the third and final race.

After a clean start the race was halted due to smoke spewing out of Scott Douglas’ #25 Datsun on the main straight.

The Safety Car was brought out, but it did not impact on the result as Taunton won, 1.6470s in front of Hall and 7.1548s in front of Hargraves.

Geoff Taunton (above) took out the over-all win after Tony Quinn’s Aston Martin expired.

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p ra w S L A ION T A N NO TRUCKIN’ WORRIES

52 AutoAction FEATURE

IT WAS supposed to be the second round of the crowed-pleasing Super Truck Nationals but when the big rigs opted out due to Covid concerns, the event on July 10-11 became the Winton Winter Fest.

Run on the short circuit, it featured two fields of Excels, APRA Pulsars, Under 2.0-Litre Sports Sedans, BMW E30s and Super TT.

EXCEL TROPHY

A COMFORTABLE first-up win gave no indication of the final outcome.

Harry Tomkins ran away with the first but after that Jarred Farrell took out the next three races.

Tomkins had almost 0.2s over the other 16 in qualifying, and then an all-the-way 3.7s victory over Farrell in Race 1. Tex Starr-Mckoy maintained third throughout while Brad Vereker passed Ben Bargwanna on lap five to secure fourth. Hugo Simpson qualified second, was seventh at the end of lap one before he was able to relegate David Musgrave midway for sixth.

Farrell led every lap of Race 2, to head Tomkins by 1.8s in the end.

Starr-Mckoy was second for the first three laps before he finished third ahead of Vereker, Simpson and Ben Bargwanna. Race 3 was a repeat effort for Farrell, and after a good start, Vereker was third before he passed Tomkins to take second.

Later Starr-Mckoy was also through to secure fourth, just in front of Bargwanna and Simpson.

Farrell led Race 4 throughout as Tomkins passed Vereker on lap three to take second. It was tight for third with the latter just in front of StarrMckoy. Simpson was with them until his very smoky demise which caused the race to finish two laps early.

EXCEL MASTERS

RUN SEPARATELY for the more mature drivers, Peter van Waart was the overall victor with three race wins and a second.

Liam Gretgrix led the first encounter from pole before van Waart snared the lead two thirds of the way in.

Jason Bargwanna crossed the line third but was disqualified (along with three others) which elevated Glenn Mackenzie and the shadowing Karl Neilson to third and fourth.

Van Waart won the second outing after he surrendered the lead to Gretgrix for six laps in mid-race. Just behind them Mackenzie had third at the start before Neilson took over and managed to hold off the charging Bargwanna. Mackenzie fell back to 15th.

The top two were at it again in Race 3 with Gretgrix in the lead early before van Waart passed him on lap four. With them throughout was Bargwanna and they had over a 2s gap back to Neilson and Travis Jones who picked up fourth and fifth when Tim Rowse had a moment at Turn 1 on the last lap.

Race 4 started with a six-way dice for the lead. Van Waart led until Bargwanna went ahead and secured the win. As the race wore on, they gapped the dice for third where it was Gretgrix from Neilson, Jones and Antonio Venier.

2L SPORTS SEDANS

IT WAS a clean sweep of four wins for Craig Lindsell who had the edge on Iain McDougall while Linda Devlin was further back and third on each occasion.

All were driving Mini Cooper S JCWs. Craig Hill (Nissan Silvia) was fourth in race one ahead of Steve Howard (Toyota Corolla), Andrew Pinkerton (Datsun P510), Eddie Metz (Datsun 1600), Jason Holmes (MG ZR) and Simon Hales (Nissan Pulsar).

COTHILL QUICKEST IN GOLD RUSH AT THE third running of the CQ Crane Hire Gold Rush Sprint on July 10-11 at Mt Morgan Range, Queensland, Dylan Cothill was the fastest in his Nissan Skyline GTR R35.

He posted an unbeatable time on the fourth run before his best effort on the sixth and last run, of 1min 45.523s. Second quickest over the three kilometres was Cody Davidson in his Subaru Impreza WRX with a 1min 46.430s on the fifth attempt which pushed Ray Vandersee and his Skelta G-Force back to third overall.

After missing out in 2020, this year’s course on a new hotmix surface, had been extend by a kilometre, had 26 corners, and rose over 200 metres in elevation from start to finish. The Central Queensland Motor Sporting Clubrun event drew 170 competitors spread over 10 classes based on engine capacity, Race/Rally, Road Registered as well as 2WD and 4WD. Fourth overall was Ross Mackay in his 2.0-lt Ford Escort, one tenth ahead of Phil Sutcliffe (Mitsubishi EVO 9) and Davidson’s Gingerbread Racing teammate Jay Davidson (WRX). They posted times under 1min 50s while seventh placed John Martin (BMW E46 M3) with his 1min 50. 410s was the

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Image: Neil Hammond

There was an incident off the start of Race 2 which put out both Datsuns, while debutant Holmes was fourth ahead of Hales, hampered by a driveshaft issue. Hill failed to make the start due to an alternator failure. Howard finished laps down but came back for fourth in Race 3, ahead of Holmes, Pinkerton and Metz. In the last, it was Hill fourth, clear of Howards, Pinkerton and Metz.

BMW E30s

ACROSS FOUR races Alex Jory was untouched with convincing wins each time. Jory led race one from pole to beat Mike Bailey while Brian Bourke lost spots at the first corner and finished behind Simon Leach and Matt Thewlis.

Bailey was second in Race 2, ahead of Thewlis, Geoff Bowles, Leach and Bourke. It was tight for the minors in Race 3 with Thewlis just in front of Bailey and Bourke who then pressed Thewlis for second in the last.

APRA PULSARS

RACING WITH the Sports Sedans, Lee Nuttall had four wins in front of Matt Butters and Ben Hamilton. Nuttall gapped them in race one as he was

able to put a couple of Sports Sedans behind him early. Butters was second from Brett Stevens and Hamilton while Shane Drew was a DNF after he lost third gear.

It was the same top two in Race 2 with Hamilton clear of Stevens and right behind Butters. Then Hamilton scored a second in the next race with Butters, Drew and Stevens in pursuit.

Butters was runner-up in the last from Stevens and Drew.

SUPER TTs

THEY RACED in and around the E30s after they started 10s in arrears, and it was Trevor Drummond in his treaded tyre, over 2.0-litre class Mitsubishi EVO 6 that was best over-all.

He and Andrew Goldman (Subaru Impreza WRX) outpointed Brent Edwards at the start of the first race, before the Ford Falcon XR6 driver took the category and outright win.

However he finished with a fried clutch and the weekend was over which left Drummond victorious in the next three outings. Goldman followed up his third with a fourth and two seconds while Ross Wood (Nissan Skyline R31) was third overall.

Garry O’Brien

best of the road registered vehicles.

Completing the top dozen were David Richardson (MK Sportscars Fulcram), Gavin Taylor (Volkswagen Golf), Nick Tomkinson (Audi Quattro), Ben Barnes (Mazda MX5) and Allan Ridgewell (Skyline R32).

In the classes, the winners in Race/Rally were Mackay (up to 200cc), Vandersee (2001-4000cc) and Allan Ridgewell (R32) in over 4001cc. Road Registers honours went to Ryan Campbell (up to 200cc) in his Westfield SEi, Martin (2001-4000cc), and Absolute Pace GT40 pilot John White (over 4001cc).

Image: arp33.com In the four 4WD classes, honours went to Matt Duncan (WRX) Road Registered up to 3500cc, and Wayne Stevens (EVO 7) for over 3501cc. In Race/Rally 4WD Cody Davidson and Cothill were respective capacity winners.

Besides Martin, who is a TCR Honda regular, the event featured five-time Australian Rally Champion and twice Asia-Pacific Championship winner Ross Dunkerton who shared an EVO 8 with son Aaron for 16th and 12th respectively in Race/Rally 4WD up to 3500cc. The other son Flynn was at the helm of a WRX for third in Race/Rally Car 4WD over 3501cc.

There were no incidents on day one and only two on the second day. Neville Haines took out a chicane when he moved a huge hay bail in his Holden Commodore VT on his fourth run, but he was back for the last two. Not so fortunate was the Stephen and Brendon Wrigley replica AC Cobra which crashed on the latter’s third run and did not return. Garry O’Brien

ENDUROS AND LOTS OF SPRINTS AT LAKESIDE ON A huge mixed program, some categories ran both days of Lakeside Park’s fifth round of the QR Drivers Championships on July 10-11, while others held all their races on just one.

QLD TOURING CARS

THROUGH FIVE races, Chris Brown was unbeaten in the A group while fellow Holden Commodore driver Simon Winters took out B, and Matt Devitt (BMW E46) won the C group.

The opening race was for A and B where Brown led all the way. Robert Bellinger (BMW E46) was second initially but ultimately finished fourth as he lost out to Stuart Walker (Commodore) and Gary Lange (E46).

The latter was given a jumpedstart 30s penalty, which dropped him to seventh behind Cameron Haak (Commodore), Winters and Michael Woodcroft (Holden Torana).

A-series leader Matthew Haak limped his Commodore home in 13th with a delaminated tyre.

The C group race was a BMW quadrella with Andrew Knight (E36) the winner, just in front of Devitt. Sam Allen (E36) was third ahead of Alessandro Vosolo (325i) after Scott Kelly (318is), third early, was out after two laps.

The divisions were combined from there and Brown was the outright (and A group) winner of each. With two thirds and a second, Lange was second for the weekend ahead of Bellinger, and the Haak brothers Matthew and Cameron.

Behind Winters, Warwick Douglas (E46) was second in B group ahead of Commodore drivers Peter Bray and Nick Linton. Next was the previous points leader Rob Droder in a borrowed Holden after tyre issues. C group victories were shared around as Vosolo and Knight also had class wins.

PRODUCTION TOURING CARS

THE TEAM of Coleby Cowham and Lindsay Kearns triumphed in both onehour enduros. In their A2 class Ford Mustang they won the first by 4.3s after 59 laps, and the second by 16.5s which went 56 laps. In the first they took the lead after 36 laps, and held the top spot throughout the second.

Second place in Race 1 went to Brad Carr and Ashley Jarvis (X BMW M3) while Jason Miller (A1 Mitsubishi EVO 9) was third in front of Gary Beggs and James Manteufel (A2 HSV Clubsport), and Ben Gersekowski (M3).

The Karl Begg/Steve Jukes M4 led the first 40 laps before a front left tyre blew out, and tyre wall contact forced a second stop and an ultimate seventh behind John Harris (EVO X).

Images: MTR Images A Above: The Production Touring Car field pounds into Lakeside’s famous Turn 1. Left: Greg in Waters was unbeaten in Production Sports.

W

Beric Lynton (M3) was another strong contender until he also had a blowout.

Later Chris Begg and Jett Johnson (E92 M3) held the lead for four laps but ran out of fuel five laps from the finish.

Tristian Ellery (M3) was out early with a broken upright.

Lynton was the runner-up in Race 2 and could have won if not for a minor indiscretion at the Karrasel late in the race. Gersekowski placed third ahead of Harris, Greg Symes (EVO X), Beggs/ Manteufel and Jake Camilleri (Mazda 3 MPS). Carr and Jarvis were running second when they had a tyre failure and ultimately finished ninth. Both the Begg BMWs failed to finish along with Jason Simes who had ongoing electrical/ computer issues with the Mercedes C63 that also put him out of the first race.

PRODUCTION SPORTS

WITHOUT AN outright Porsche in sight, it was left to Chev Corvette driver Greg Waters to take out the 2B Class and secure outright victories across the three races. In the first two he led home fellow Corvette punter Michael Learoyd who was a retiree from the last.

Steven Maher (Nissan Skyline GTR) picked up second in the last after thirds previously where he finished ahead of Dave Barram (Mazda MX5) in each.

Graham Lusty (Mosler GT 900) was the sole runner in Class X and was fifth and sixth before a DNF. Tim Janke (MX5) headed Stan Adler (Group S Porsche 911 Carrera) as they vied for fourth in 2B while 2F honours went to Shane Plohl (Enos Roadster) over James Hay and Chris Battista in their MX5s.

Mustang). Tenkate scored initially with pole position before English grappled for three race wins. Only in the last did Tenkate snare a race victory.

In a similar tale in the dice for between Alwyn Bishop (Plymouth Duster) and Russell Wright (Mustang) with former three thirds. Wright won the tussle in the last although Glenn Gerstel (Ford Falcon Sprint) beat them both in the last race. Prior to that Gerstel had been dicing with Ian Palmer (Plymouth AAR Cuda) with a two all result.

TRACK ATTACK EXCELS

THERE WERE four races, all on Sunday, and Cameron Bartholomew won three of them for the overall round victory. Second went to Brett Parrish who won the other while Bradi Owen was third for the round.

Bartholomew quickly hit the lead of Race 1 and Ryan Casha slotted into second with pole sitter Darren Whittington third ahead of Parrish.

They had an edge on Mitchell Wooller and Bradi Owen until a clampdown when Keelan O’Brien fenced at the last corner. After the resumption Parrish passed Whittington, and Wooller was relegated by Owen, James Simpson

a and Treigh Maschotta.

Bartholomew led from the second rrace start until Parrish passed him m midway through. Third went to Owen a ahead of Whittington. Casha lost ssecond on lap two and then dropped ffurther, eventually he finished seventh b behind Maschotta and Simpson.

Just before a clampdown in Race 3 when Jett Graham speared off into the last corner tyres, Bartholomew passed Parrish at Hungry for the lead.

Parrish maintained second with Owen, Maschotta and Simpson in close company. Whittington had a moment after the Eastern Loop on lap 10 and finished 11th.

Owen, Maschotta and Parrish were close behind race four all-the-way winner Bartholomew in the last, as Whittington headed O’Sullivan, Casha and Ian Harvey to the flag.

SPORTSCARS

AT THE front of a very small field, eventual round winner Grant Green (Radical SR3) had a fight on his hands with Michael Von Rappard (Stohr) where he netted Race 1 by 0.27s. The latter turned it around in the second outing as a clear winner over Green.

Von Rappard was out for the rest of the meeting which left Bernie Harbeck (Norma LMP3), with two thirds already, to take a close win over Green in Race 3. Green hit back to take the last from Harbeck and Jamie Davies (SR3) who chased the leaders all day.

Garry O’Brien

Another unbeaten run was that of Chris Brown in Queensland Touring Cars (A Group).

AUSTRALIAN TRANS-AM

THE ROUND was a continuous of the battle between John English (Pontiac Trans Am) and Anthony Tenkate (Ford

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NATIONALS wrap n compiled by garry o’brie

CAGNEY TAKES MOORE TO FOREST WIN WITH THE most stage wins, Nick Cagney and Ken Moore were able to take out round two of the MRF Tyres SA Rally Championship, The PMD Race Products Forest Sprint on July 10-11.

In their Subaru Impreza WRX, they won eight of the 13 stages that took place on roads around the forests of SEAC Park, out of Compton. They were 14.67s quicker than secondplaced Jamie Pohlner and Adam Branford (Mitsubishi EVO 7). Third place was taken out by Dale Cagney and Matt Kirby who were 1min 58s further behind in an EVO 6.

The event could not have started better with Cagney victorious in the first two stages. The first was over Dean Cagney, Pohlner, and Ryan Poel and Rebekah Cutting (Subaru Impreza RS) and the second from Pohlner, top seed Zayne Admiraal and Matt Heywood (WRX), Paul Heenan and Andrew Kriesl (Mitsubishi Galant VR4) who were DNFs on stage four.

Dale Cagney struck back on Stages 3 and 4, ahead of Pohlner and Nick Cagney on Stage 3, with their positions reversed on the next. Nick Cagney won the next two stages to

Images: Turn 8 Photography

Cagney/Moore took the win by 14.67 seconds (above). Harries/Pfitzner managed sixth oputright in their Gemini (below).

extend the lead. Admiraal was second on both, and the next two, behind Pohlner and Cagney respectively.

After thirds on the next three stages, Admiraal was out with a broken driveshaft. Pohlner won two of them before Cagney hit back with three of the last four stages wins.

Poel and Cutting finished fourth outright, ahead of Daren Herring and Matt Woods (EVO 6), Carwyn Harries and Toms Pfitzner (Holden Gemini), Kevin Millard and Patrick Hughes (Datsun 1600), Philip and Damien Wilson (Toyota Soarer), Rob Hunt and Jeremy Browne (EVO 6), and Glenn Campbell and Darren Ambrose (Renault Clio). Of the 22 starters, there were only six retirees.

Garry O’Brien

CARRIGAN AND PRINCE TAKE OUT NOVICES

Image: CH Images

OUTRIGHT HONOURS in the KCF Rallysport Winter Stages Rallysprint, the second round of the Next Level Creations Queensland Novice Rally Series on July 17, went to Tristan Carrigan and Jennifer Prince.

They took their FWD Mitsubishi Magna EVO to a 57s victory over Richard Galley and John Andreatidis (4WD Mitsubishi EVO 8) with Shaun Gill and Kelvin O’Shea (EVO 3) 19s further away.

The event was staged by the Brisbane Sporting Car Club on the outskirts of Benarkin and attracted 36 crews, 13 of which were novices. It ran over 76kms through three heats and an optional,

54 AutoAction

non-competitive night stage.

Heat one comprised two 8.97km stages with a minimum of two passes of each, and another if time allowed, but only the two fastest counted. It was a similar procedure for Heat 2 of the longer run of 19.75kms. Heat 3 was a single effort over a 19.14km course.

Fastest in Heat 1 were Ronnie Bustard and Colin O’Brien (EVO 9), not that they needed a third run. Carrigan did though, to head off Tom Dermody and fill-in navigator Ryan Preston (Ford Escort RS 1800), Ryan Williams/Brad Jones (Datsun Stanza), Cahal Carey/Donal McCann (EVO 9), and Galley.

Bustard continue to set the pace until the EVO dropped a cylinder after stage four. It was close at Heat 2’s completion as 13s covered the top four with Carrigan the best ahead of Dermody, Gill and Galley. With one obligatory heat to go, it was Carrigan from Dermody by 19s with Galley third.

The final heat also went to Carrigan from Galley and Gill with Cameron Henry/Tony Best, and Paul Jansen/ Kester Ward the next two crews. Both were in WRXs and fourth and fifth overall with the latter pair the winners of the Novice Series round. Dermody suffered a puncture with dropped him to

ninth. Carey and Williams experienced problems in heat two and neither started Heat 3.

Sixth overall went to Glenn Brinkmann/ Steven Richardson (Ford Escort Cosworth RS) ahead of Kim Acworth/ Nicola Hoey (WRX) and first of the RWDs in Richard Harris and Hugh Reardon Smith in their Mitsubishi Starion.

Runner-up among the novices were Nikki Duclos and Tony Arbon (WRX) with David Byrne and Jake Keleher (Datsun 240Z) in 14th and 15th respectively. The night heat was won by Dermody from Galley and Gill. Garry O’Brien

WAIKERIE, NEW RIVERLAND 300, SA MULTI CLUB OFF ROAD SERIES RD03 AARON AND Liz Haby (right) took a comfortable win in their Unlimited class Chev-powered Element Prodigy at the New Riverland 300 on July 1718. The Waikerie club had relocated the track from Ramco to New Well and a healthy field of 38 lined up with a strong Victorian presence for round three of the SA Multi Club Series .

Tyler Owen and Oliver Stephens (Alumi Craft/Chev) were slowed by wheel bearing problems on Saturday but after borrowing spares from the Element team, cranked up the pace to follow the Haby’s home. Todd Lehmann and Aaron Bermingham (Jimco/Chev) pushed hard and claimed the final podium spot.

After a spectacular drive, Chris Pickert, Bryan Brown and Geoff Pickert bought their Class 5 Triton/ Chev home a strong fourth. Hamish Lochert and Jamie Andrews (S&S Woftam/Nissan) had a good run to be next across the line and were the Class 1 winners, not far ahead of Brenton and Matthew Gallasch (Southern Cross/Chev).

Seventh went to Darren Marks and Gary Bahr (JT Lustrum/Nissan) with Matt Ridley (RIDS Joker/Honda) next home after a solid run. Connor Corrigan and Charlie Mieglich

Image David Batchelor

(Raptor/Toyota) were next to finish and again dominated Class 2. Ben Fatchen and Nick Price (Class 6 CanAm) kept the wheels pointing towards the ground and filled the last spot in the top 10.

John Smith and Grant Manion (Nissan Patrol) overcame a lost wheel and brake issues to take the Extreme 2WD win. Pickert was well out in front in their class win, even before Andy and Makayla Maxwell struck

problems with the Falcon.

Fatchen took a narrow Class 6 win from Robbie and Frank Gadaleta (Can-Am). Aaron Harre and Nathan Dunn (Ford Maverick) picked up another Class 8 victory after Jamie and Naomi Parker (Nissan Patrol/Chev) dropped out with tyre problems, and Ridley was the last man standing in Class 10.

Glenn and Tom Owen shared the driving in their turbo Holden-powered

Jimco before a combination of throttle cable and power steering problems prevented them from making the finish. Garry and Karen Turnbull (Jimco/Chev) ran at the front of the pack until they too went out with power steering trouble. Previous SAORRA round winners Daryl Nissen and Andrew Harness (SORE/Nissan) dropped out very early with a failed water pump.

David Batchelor

FLOYD LEADS HOME CAN-AM ROUT AHEAD OF a Class 6 CanAm Maverick whitewash, Kyle Floyd (right) celebrated his third Queensland victory in a row when he took out the Newman Excavations 100 on July 17-18.

It was round four of the ARB Mickey Thompson Queensland Off Road Racing Championship and the third of the North Queensland Championship.

The event was scheduled over nine heats of varying laps of the 9km course with three laps of the stadium track at the end.

It attracted a mammoth 59 starters of which 40 went the full distance. Floyd showed dominance from the outset and finished day one 50s ahead of his nearest rival, and 70s in front on day two. He won all rounds bar the last where he was pipped by 1.1s by Bailey Coxon.

Second place went to Coxon which was his fourth

runner-up spot for the season and third straight.

Josh Weidman improved from fifth overnight to third and demoted Brad Belcher to fourth.

Behind the Can-Am pilots, the best of the rest was Kent Battle in his Element Prodigy/Chev V8 in fifth place. Battle won Unlimited ahead of Invitational class and sixth outright, Brett Comiskey in his exotic carbon fibre Racer Engineering 4WD Twin Turbo V8 Trophy Truck.

Second in Unlimited went to Derek Rose (Southern Cross/Mitsubishi turbo) who was seventh outright ahead of class rivals James Sant and Craig Krog, both steering Razorbacks. Tenth position went to Jarrod Vanderhor (Can-Am).

Just behind them in 11th was Michael Marson (Racer Engineering) the winner Class 10, and Brice Derrick (Can-Am) 12th and first in

Image Terry Hill

Class 6s). Rowan Clarke was the only Class 1 to go the distance and finished 25th while Katelyn Long (Polaris RZR) was one place further adrift and the Class

66 victor.

Colin Gaven piloted his double-entered Tony Parker Engineering Custom Built/ Toyota 4AGE to the Class 2 win over teammate

Mark Andrew, as Jasmine Chellow (Nissan Navara) claimed her maiden Class 4 victory whilst also competing in Class 66.

Garry O’Brien

AutoAction 55

s w e n Y A W D SPEE

56 AutoAction FEATURE

MUSARRA MARVELLOUS AT SHARK BAY! Words: Paris Charles Image: Richard Hathaway COMPETITORS FROM far and wide ventured to the Shark Bay Speedway for the 34th Annual Far Western Championships which doubled as the opening round of the 2021 Natrad SSD Four Crowns Series.

With 19 competitors, the Production Sedans featured prominently, and the racing produced an exciting battle in the CDH Electrical 20-lap feature. Rick Musarra proved to be the best of the chargers to lead the entire journey and claim his second Far Western Championship despite being challenged on several occasions over the distance.

The first major point of interest occured when pole sitter Barry Rose was sent to the rear of the field after spinning on lap one. Ashley Baker inherited pole after the demise of Rose who would later spin for the second time after working his way back to seventh place after just two laps. Rose was disqualified from the race while Musarra and Baker were locked into a side by side battle for the lead. Jayden McCuish, Jake Blight and 2020 National Junior Sedan Champion Mitchell Baker were involved in a colossal scrap for the minor placings.

Ashley Baker would set the quickest lap with a 19.561 as he powered forward to claim the lead, sadly for Baker his sweet soon turned to sour and on lap-14 he would retire to the infield. At this point Rod Musarra advanced into the top five after starting back on row seven. Havok continued to unfold,

McCuish spun out of second place bringing on the yellow lights after suffering steering damage as Jake Blight also exited the race when his bonnet dislodged.

With three laps remaining at the Indian file restart, Mitchell Baker would find himself in a Musarra sandwich with Rick leading and his younger brother Rod on his tail, both Baker and Rod Musarra would throw everything possible at the leader as they closed to the finish line, despite the challenges Rick Musarra would claim victory over Mitchell Baker and Rod Musarra.

Further back was Kye Blight, Anthony Page and Brian Child the final finisher.

With nine heat races the victories were shared with Jayden McCuish, Ashley Baker and Barry Rose claiming doubles while Rick Musarra, Rod Musarra and Anthony Page a single win.

The Dickerson’s proved to be the fastest of

the Limited Sprintcars. Brendon Dickerson set the fastest lap with a time of 15.765 and led every circulation in the 15-lap Denham IGA Express feature to claim victory over Glenn Dickinson who advanced from fourth over Blake Jackson, Jim Adreoli and Kyle Franncis having dropped to fifth after qualifying on the front row. Heat race wins were shared by Glenn Dickinson, Brendon Dickerson and Stephen Lyall.

The top three in the Denham Seaside Caravan Park Wingless Sprints feature all held their starting positions over the 12-lap journey claimed by Kyle Beard over Kevin Bissaker and Warren Hunter rounding out the podium. Cameron Hollar, Nathan Condo and Robbie Clark round out the top six.

Peter Newman claimed a flag to flag victory in the Grayte Maintenance Solutions Super Mods feature, rounding out the top half dozen were Rob Grumwald, Daniel Guy,

Ryan Carter, Devon Edwards and Cameron Ahearn.

The reigning West Australian Modified Sedan Champion Jayke Malcom demonstrated why he carries the #1 on his Commodore, taking the win in the Outback Coast Autos feature over Daniel Flavel, Adam Houston, Shane Dubberlin and David Harrower.

Trent Lyall was the best of the 16 competitors to claim victory in the 20-lap Shark Bay Hotel Street Stocks feature.

Damon Lyall and Jace Kempton rounding out the podium.

The Top Stars Coral Coast Plumbing feature was claimed by Taj Vanzetti over Travis Strelley and Brody Day rounding out the podium while the New Stars Surf n’ Dolphin feature race podium consisted of Jesse James Samuels, Haylee Strelley and Tayla Burton.

LATE MODELS SET FOR HUGE SUMMER SEASON consecutive nights, 24-26 February plus night two of the Easter Trail. Victoria will host additional events at the Heartland Speedway (Moama), Wahgunyah Speedway, Redline Raceway (Ballarat) and the Western Speedway (Hamilton) for the Victorian Championship.

Word & Pics: Paris Charles FROM WEST to east coast, the Late Model scene on the Australian Speedway landscape is shaping up for a promising season ahead. With the new season rapidly approaching the Late Model Division Australia wide is getting an inflow of new cars direct from America, arriving on our shores and the competitors’ numbers nationally look to be on an increase, with this the case we thought this would be a great time to shine a spotlight on the thundering V8 late Model division.

Late Model Racing Western Australia

THE PRO Dirt Series will again form the bulk of the calendar with 15 rounds, the opening round held in conjunction with the opening of the Perth Motorplex season. The Pro Dirt Series will also visit the Albany, Bunbury, and Ellenbrook Speedway’s. The West Australian Title will be held at the Motorplex over two nights and the Wild West Showdown will see five rounds of racing over fifteen days, the final two nights doubling as the Late Model Nationals, with $50,000 on the line it is expected to attract interstate competitors.

Also included on the calendar are non Pro Dirt rounds and Ellenbrook’s Ray Tulk Memorial in October and Albany Speedway Club’s Easter event.

56 AutoAction

Late Model Racing Tasmania

New South Wales Late Models

WITH OVER $100,000 in prize money up for grabs and car numbers climbing beyond 20, things are shaping up for an exciting new season. Competitors are excited to be racing at the all new Eastern Creek Speedway. The Late Models will appear on a dozen occasions at the brand-new facility, which is headed by the NSW Title on February 19, and the newlylaunched Wild West Shootout Series that is to be fought out over five rounds across regional tracks. ACT Speedway (Canberra), Oakburn Park Speedway (Tamworth) (x2), Morris Park Speedway (Dubbo) and Gunnedah Speedway.

South Australian Late Model Association

THE SOUTH Aussie’s have been working diligently with their Victorian counterparts

to produce a calendar that will see both states working to ensure their competitors will have maximum opportunity to support each other’s events. SA will have 9 competitive hit outs that will take them to Murray Bridge, Mount Gambier, Renmark and Whyalla. The main focal points on their calendar are the SA Title to be held over two nights at the Murray Bridge in March, the week after the Australian Championship. Giving those interstate teams an extra opportunity to race in the region before returning home and night one of the Easter Trail series.

Late Model Racing Victoria

THE JEWEL in the Australian Late Model crown will take place at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway with the running of the 2022 Australian Late Model Championship, slated for three

WITH AN even spread across the three Apple Isle venues; Hobart, Latrobe and Carrick, spanning from November – April, Late Models Tasmania have a projected calendar of 10 nights of competition dates thus far. It is reported that the Tasmanian club have expanded their competitor base to 23. It is hoped that 15 to 18 of those will compete at every round. The highlight of their season will be the running of the Tasmanian Title, possibly scheduled for February 4th and 5th in Carrick.

Late Model Racing Queensland

AT TIME of writing the Queensland association had not yet finalised their dates however they are scheduling to race at Gympie, Maryborough and Kingaroy and are hopeful to lock in some dates in Toowoomba. Bundaberg looks to be a strong focal point for the season, and it is tipped to host the Queensland Title. The association are also hopeful of hosting some big events to attract interstate teams to come and run with their estimated 15 local competitors.

CHR

Remembering the Sugarloaf Hillclimb Glenroy, Melbourne HILLCLIMBING EXPLODED in Australian motorsport’s formative days.

‘Run-what-you-brung’ meant everyone could have a go in their road car – hundreds of venues were used pre-World War 2.

The notion of racing in the middle of a busy, hilly, northern suburb 13km from central Melbourne seems extraordinary now.

Back then the McLean Estate comprised grassy paddocks inhabited by sheep, ‘roos and snakes.

Sugarloaf Hill was used by the Victorian Light Car Club on at least three occasions, in November and December 1931, and February 1932.

The spot chosen allowed three cars to race abreast up the 350 yard (320 metres) climb together. “Close finishes and fast times provided many thrills.” Another novel feature were quarter-lap track races.

The Grand Prix Bugatti T37/37A/39s were stars of the show, including the cars of Australian Grand Prix winners Arthur Terdich and Carl Junker. Jack Day and Harold Drake-Richmond also raced

NOMETRIC

All things historic with Mark Bisset

Ted Shugg perhaps glancing at a fast approaching kangaroo from his Austin 12 (above). 11-year old Carl Junker Jr, in the cyclecar built by his ’31 AGP winning father (below left). Harold Drake-Richmond at left and either Jack Day or Carl Junker in a close finish aboard Bugatti T37s (below).

Three abreast for an unusual hillclimb start; two Bugatti T37s and sedan (below right). All photos from the Victorian Vintage Sports Car Club

their th 1.5-litre, four cylinder missiles. m Another quick ‘fish-out-ofwater’ on the grass was Fred w Bray’s ex-Cooper brothers 1919 B Indy Ballot 5/8 LC, a French I thoroughbred powered by t a 4.8-litre DOHC, four-valve straight eight. s

The ’31 Cup Day meeting attracted over 3,000 spectators to watch the action – the quickest cars did the climb in a smidge over 18 seconds.

There was plenty of innovation too.

An automatic electric timing device would have made Motorsport Australia pleased as punch.

The impromptu challenge races

initiated by Fred Bray, and 11-year old Carl Junker Jr’s participation in a cyclecar would probably have induced officialdom palpitations.

So too would the means of establishing handicaps for the first meeting, a time trial was held between the city and Glenroy!

Happy, long-gone days indeed…

Thommo’s final hi-tech terror.

FIT AS a fiddle, 86 years-young Bryan Thompson is in the news.

His lifetime collection of bikes and memorabilia is for sale, and his 1985 Australian GT Championship winning Mercedes Benz 450 SLC Chev-turbo is having a gallop at the Winton Festival of Speed on 7/8 August.

Sports-sedans have always been spectacular beasts, and BT’s were innovative. His left-field approach started with the ’59 GP Cooper T51 Coventry Climax he raced in 1962-3.

Long in the tooth, BT supercharged

its 2.5-litre FPF four, perhaps the only bloke in the world to do so.

The 1972-3 Peter Fowler built LC Holden Torana Chev 5-litre V8 was the first of a breed which is still common 50 years later! That jigger won 18 times in 48 starts.

Who can forget the team’s awesome Volksrolet-Chev?!

The marriage of a VW 1600 Fastback shell and many F5000 McLaren M10B Chev components created a crowdpleasing rocket.

Fowler then upped the ante with the

Fowler-Thompson quad-cam, fourvalve, injected heads on the small-block Chev V8 block. What a machine it was!

BT claims 16 wins from 37 starts in 1974-5.

The Mercedes Chev-twin turbo was a crowd pleaser too. It was driven by John Bowe, Brad Jones and Thommo from Sandown’s February 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Championship round (Bowe) until its ’85 championship win in BT’s hands– honours shared with the ex-Jane Chev Monza Thompson also raced that year.

AutoAction 57

We take a look back at what was making news in Auto Action 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago

Across

3. In his sole Le Mans 24 Hour start, Reutemann drove for which brand?

5. In what country was Carlos Reutemann born?

7. How many F1 Championship Grands Prix did Reutemann win?

8. Who was Reutemann’s F1 teammate in 1977? (full name) 10. Earlier this month, Reutemann passed away at what age?

12. In what position did Carlos Reutemann finish on debut in Formula 1?

13. For what British team did Reutemann race for one season in 1979?

14. Who was Reutemann’s final Formula 1 teammate in 1982? (full name) 15. In what championship did Carlos Reutemann finish as the runner-up in 1971?

18. At what circuit did he make his

1971: CHRYSLER UNVEILED its muscle car, the Charger in which Gold Star champion Leo Geoghegan was hoping to conquer The Mountain and win the Bathurst 500. It was expected that the Charger would take the fight to the Holden Torana, but struggle to match the grunt of the Falcons after Geoghegan had spent more than 1000 laps testing at Mallala in South Australia. In other news the creation of a New South Wales Rallycross Championship was expected to be announced.

1981: ARCO-GRAPHITE WAS signed by Australian F5000 competitors to sponsor seven rounds over the next two seasons in a $300,000 deal. It was a bold move in the face of CAMS electing to replace the F5000 Championship with F1 Pacific as the national open wheel championship from 1982, when F5000 would be demoted to Formula Libre status.

The Formula Pacific Series kicked off with two race meetings, Larry Perkins won the opener at Lakeside, while Andrew Miedecke won in Adelaide.

1991: ALLAN MOFFAT put his hand up and said that he would be competing in the 1991 Bathurst 1000 in one of his ANZ sponsored Ford Sierras.

The four-time Bathurst 1000 winner and four-time Australian Touring Car champion was expected to drive alongside Charlie O’Brien. In Formula 1, Nigel Mansell won the German Grand Prix, his third straight Formula 1 race to take a chunk out of Ayrton Senna’s championship lead after the Brazilian ran out of fuel on the final lap.

2001: FORD TICKFORD Racing was set to receive a technical boost, the factory Ford team would soon be allowed able to access tech resources from Prodrive in the U.K. if Prodrive chief David Richards plans came to fruition. K-Mart Racing announced its 2001 V8 Supercars endurance pairings, full timers Greg Murphy would team up with Todd Kelly for the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000, while Todd’s younger brother Rick Kelly would debut alongside Nathan Pretty.

2011: TEN YEARS ago Auto Action got it’s hands on the first images of the future of Supercars, the Car of The Future chassis. The Ford Falcon was pictured at Morgan Park and completed three days of testing in the hands of Jack Perkins and a very young Scott McLaughlin, during the test the drivers completed over 1600kms with no reported mechanical issues. In other news the question was asked whether Robert Kubica after his serious rally crash would return to race again.

make his Formula 1 debut?

27. What was Reutemann’s highest F1 championship finishing position?

28. After retiring from Formula 1 Reutemann took to a career in what occupation?

29. After how many races in 1982 did Reutemann walk away from the sport?

Down

debut?

22. How many F1 pole positions did he take in his F1 career?

23. In 1973 Reutemann made his sole appearance in the Le Mans 24 Hours, he teamed up with an Australian who was it? (surname) 25. For what team did Reutemann

1. In 1985 Reutemann raced in the Argentine round of the FIA World Rally Championship, what manufacturer did he represent?

2. In what did Reutemann win his first Formula 1 Championship race in 1974?

4. Who did Reutemann infamously not get along with as a teammate in 1980 and 1981? (full name)) 6. Which two-time champion was Reutemann’s first teammate in Formula 1? (full name) 9. Reutemann made two starts in

the FIA World Rally Championship, in what positions did he finish on both occasions?

11. Who pipped Reutemann to the 1981 Formula 1 World Championship? (full name) 16. By how many points did Reutemann miss out on the 1981 F1 World Championship?

17. In 1980, Reutemann moved to which F1 team?

19. In what position did Reutemann qualify on debut?

20. How many times did Reutemann win his home Grand Prix?

21. How many times did he finish third in the F1 standings?

24. In what country did Reutemann score his first points in F1?

26. In 1980 many F1 drivers competed in the BMW M1 Procar Championship, where did Reutemann finish that season?

#1815 Crossword Answers 1 down – Piquet, 2 down – Formula Ford, 3 down – Phil Hill, 4 down – de Pasquale, 5 across – Firestone, 6 across – five, 7 across – Ingall, 8 down – Feeney, 9 across – one,10 down – Crompton, 11 down – Garth Tander, 12 across – McLaughlin, 13 across – Fangio, 14 down – Hansford, 15 down – de Silvestro, 16 across – Reutemann, 17 down – Edwards, 18 down – August, 19 across – twenty second, 20 down – Eight (drivers per race), 21 across – Gibson, 22 down – six, 23 across – Todd Kelly, 24 down – ten, 25 across – Ambrose, 26 down – Baker, 27 across – McNish, 28 across – Clark, 29 across – Irvine, 30 across – HRT

58 AutoAction

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ON SP L I EC N TA E I N TO AD R T VA IC N KET CE S ON .* LY

WINTON FESTIVAL OF

7 & 8 AUGUST 2021

Spectator Tickets*: www.ticketebo.com.au/wfos2021 Historic long track racing, classic car show and motorkhana both days Over 270 cars racing, featuring the Historic Touring Cars JUST CARS CUP 5Okm and the HQ RACING Anniversary Feature Race, plus Classic Sports Cars, Historic Sports Sedans, Grp C&A and TRIBUTE cars.

Categories incl: Grp N, Grp S. HQ Racing, MG Racing Formula Ford, Formula Vee, JKL, PQR, M&O. Car show + parade entries: 0413 247 817

For more information www.vhrr.com

*Spectator tickets are now available for pre purchase on-line. Cash sales at the Gate will not be available. All pre purchased tickets must be printed and presented at the Gate for scanning.

In addition, all attendees will be required to download the Services Victoria QR Code on to their mobile device prior to their arrival at the Track so that scanning of the QR Code will be a simple process. We are pleased to be offering the ability to buy tickets on line and have partnered with the secure on line ticketing services of Ticketebo for the provision of our tickets.

Buy on line today at www.ticketebo.com.au/wfos2021.