Motorsport eNews Issue 230 - 8-14 November, 2011 by V8 Sleuth

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Issue No. 230 November 08 - 14 2011

S ’ N O S I V A D E D I INS N A L P R A C INDY :

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LOLA T332 1977 Australian Grand Prix 4th Place Oran Park Driver Alan Jones Limited Production Of 1000 pcs Worldwide

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The battle for pole position for the 1977 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park was held over three qualifying sessions, with the top 8 places separated by only 2 seconds. Pole position would be set by Warwick Brown in a Lola T430 with the time of 65.7s. The cars were set to race, with the starter ¾EK PMJXIH XS MXW LMKLIWX TSMRX .SRIW´ 0SPE XSSO SJJ WIGSRHW FIJSVI XLI ¾EK LEH HVSTTIH /RS[MRK LMW QMWXEOI .SRIW TVIWWIH LEVH XS XV] and limit the damage from his inevitable 1min WXST KS TIREPX] ;MXL .SRIW WIIQMRKP] SYX SJ contention the race was between Brown in LMW 0SPE 4IXIV +IXLMR MR E 'LIZVSR ERH .SLR Goss in a Matich. .SRIW GLEVKIH JVSQ XLI FEGO SJ XLI ½IPH SR his way setting the fastest lap of 66.4s. He was able to catch up to Goss who sat in 3rd TPEGI FYX LMW GPMQF XLVSYKL XLI ½IPH [EW LEPXIH [LIR LI VER SYX SJ PETW .SRIW ½RMWLIH forth only 2s behind Goss, Brown won the VEGI [MXL +IXLMR ½RMWLMRK W FILMRH MR RH

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Man with an Indy Plan J Davo looks to ECR and AA 7 India? Indonesia? TBA options open up 10 The Wurz is yet to come Toyota looking at Alex for 24 12 No gardening leave for Michael Sam starts early at McLaren 20 Russian Around Novikov scores works WRC gig

chat 22 Five Minutes With ... Jason Bright

comment 25 Branagan: Kyle Kuts Loose race 26 Shannons Nationals 32 Historic Sandown 36 NASCAR

trade 44 Classifieds 3

motorsport news

NEWS

J DAVO LOOKING AT ECR AND AA FOR ’12 INDYCAR PROGRAM

INDYCAR

OULD there be a third Australian driver in Indycar next season? That is the question that is being asked, after the news broke that James Davison will test for Andretti Autosport in Florida this Thursday. The third generation driver, son of former Sandown promoter Jon Davison and cousin of V8 Supercar drivers Alex and Will, will drive a Hondapowered Dallara at Palm Beach International Raceway. Colombian Gustavo Yacamán will also test. “I have been having discussions with Michael since I was in Indy Lights,” Davison told eNews on Monday. “I split his two cars in the championship when I was with Vision [Racing], and that was the best result for a first-year team. He took notice of that.” The other person involved in the discussions was former Indycar CEO Tony George, who was the owner of Vision Racing and who remains on the Board on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Tony and I met Michael at

Long Beach, to discuss a test. He said that he would be able to give me the opportunity at the end of the season, and that it could lead to a race seat with his team.” Andretti’s situation has been affected by two recent matters. One is the decision by Danica Patrick to move full-time to NASCAR next season, and that of her sponsor GoDaddy. com to stay with Andretti’s team. But the seat that Patrick vacated was to be filled by Dan Wheldon, and the death at Las Vegas of the popular Briton has understandably forced a rethink of plans for that entry. “GoDaddy is dictating who will drive that entry,” said Davison. “They are the ones who have the say about who will be filling that seat and understandably, they want someone who will go some way to replacing the exposure that they got through Danica. So that seat is not available to a rookie driver.” Asked whether the fourth AA seat might be where a rookie would slot in, Davison replied, “At the moment, all I am doing is focusing on the test.” Andretti’s team ran four

entries last year, for Patrick, Marco Andretti (who will race the team’s Snapple entry in 2012), Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Of the four, RHR appears to be a possible GoDaddy driver. But, there is another opportunity for Davison on the horizon – and it comes through the George/Vision link. Last week, Ed Carpenter announced that he would launch his own Indycar team, Ed Carpenter Racing, to be managed by veteran Derrick Walker. Carpenter, who scored his maiden win at Kentucky this season, is George’s stepson, and both he and Davison raced for George’s Vision Racing in 2010. “When I met with Tony, two things were discussed,” Davison continued. “One is a testing role with ECR and helping Ed to improve on the road courses. Tony has said, ‘blood runs thicker than water’. Whatever happens, I need to be patient. You cannot graduate from Lights and find you have offers to go race Indycars. Those days don’t happen any more.” Carpenter is far more adept

at racing on ovals than he is on road and street courses, leading to speculation that Davison could race the team’s Fuzzy’s Vodka-backed entry on those tracks while Carpenter tackles the ovals. The other role could be as a driving coach. The other factor that might work in Davison’s favour is the uncertainty that surrounds Indycar’s oval events for next year. The recent tragic turn at Las Vegas has cast a doubt over whether the series will continue to race on 1.5-mile ovals – such as Vegas, Kentucky and Texas – and if those tracks lose their events, only three ovals are confirmed for next year. “Ninety percent of the events will be road or street courses,” Davison said. “The team has to keep its sponsors happy and I have a role to play in that. Indycar has changed a lot, and those changes have happened fast. Oval drivers are being phased out, in favour of kids doing Lights, or drivers who might have the ability but not the opportunity to get into Formula 1. “I have worked hard for this opportunity. I want to make the most of it.”

VIP KEEN, MORRIS STILL LOOKING AT TWO CARS V8 SUPERCARS VIP Petfoods is looking to stay in V8 Supercar racing next season though Tony Quinn is not sure what the company’s exact position will be. Fresh from second place in the Targa High Country on Sunday, Quinn told eNews that he was yet to discuss whether his company would stay with the Paul Morris Motorsport team next season. “If it was up to me, I would do it with him [Morris],” he said. “At the end of the day, the www.mnews.com.au

decision is mine, I suppose. But it needs to be commercially viable.” Quinn, one of the highest-profile sponsors in the sport, with involvements in a number of categories, has been the backer of PMM’s entry since the start of the current season. Driver Steve Owen goes to Tasmania in 17th place in the V8 Supercar Championship points. VIP is believed to have had approaches from a number of teams in the paddock, but Quinn would not elaborate on whether he had proposals in place, and which

teams he had discussions with. But he did say that “you would want to be with a potentially front-running team. If it was just up to me, we will be in V8s next year, but we will have to see.” Morris says that his “Plan A is still to run two cars next season”. “We are having a meeting [with Quinn] this week,” he said. Morris also said that he was intending to speak to Owen about staying and “anyone and everyone else who has driven a V8 Supercar.” 5

BARBAGALLO RE-DEVELOPMENT WON’T AFFECT STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: GM V8 SUPERCARS THE re-development of Barbagallo Raceway will officially begin on December 12 – and the WA Sporting Car Club has confirmed that club racing will return before the V8 Supercar round there in May 2012. Construction company Diploma Group has been put in charge of building the in-field pit-lane and pit building, as well as the 63-metre footbridge that will connect the in-field and the rest of the paddock, and the new media centre and race control building that will be on the outside of the main straight. The in-field pit-lane and pit buildings are likely to be exclusively used by V8 Supercars. Work will begin just days after the final state race meeting of the year, with the upgrades set to be completed by the end of March 2012. The work will mean a change to the traditional date range for the WA state championship rounds, but Barbagallo Raceway GM Malcolm Bulley confirmed to eNews that state racing will take place before the V8 round. “We want to have this thing done, dusted and wrapped up by the end of March,” said Bulley.

“There will be three and a half months of incredible slog, and then we’ll be ready to re-open at the end of March, with racing commencing in April, and V8s in the first weekend of May. “We’re putting together the calendar now. We had a category representatives meeting last Wednesday night, which was fantastic; everyone came together incredibly well.” While racing at Barbagallo Raceway might have to wait until April, Bulley did admit that a plan was being put in place for the first state racing meeting of 2012 to be held at the Collie Motorplex in March. “We’re probably going to start the [state] championships in terms of Barbagallo Raceway in April, but we have an option of formally starting the championships before that date, by running a championship round down at Collie,” he added. “We’ve got to finalise the details with Collie, but we’re looking at March. If we can get enough categories to put their hand up and say that they’re happy to do it and happy for it to count for points – and it was indicated the other night that we will – then we can add another round in there.” – ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

INDIAN AND IN V8 SUPERCARS THIS week is shaping up as an important one for V8 Supercars’ 2012 TBA date. The managing director of the owners of India’s new Buddh International Circuit has told the Times of India that there are seven proposals for events at the track that, he says, can host four or five. Jaypee Sports International Ltd’s Sameer Gaur says that the decision-making process starts this week. “As of now, I have slotted time after November 10 to schedule meetings with representatives from MotoGP, V8 Supercars, World Superbikes, manufacturers like Porsche and Audi,” Gaur told TOI. “In all, there

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NEWS

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NDONESIAN ON THE MENU? are seven proposals for me to discuss.” One thing that may work in V8 Supercars’ favour is the Indian weather. There are only two viable windows for the circuit to be used, with the summer months too hot and the monsoon season too wet. With many of the European-based series winding up before the Indian autumn, the V8 calendar fits well. “We really can’t target more than four-five events, honestly,” said Gaur. “The world of motorsports comes to life after mid-January so I have February and March before it gets incredibly hot. April, May, June, July and August are ruled out and then we have only the

following months to host events.” The success of the inaugural Indian GP last week, and the inclusion of a concert, puts V8s in a good position to secure one of those dates. There were teething problems in the GP but last week, as many as 3000 workers were at the Greater Noida track, addressing the shortcomings of the track’s facilities. Should an Indian deal not come off, there is also a possibility of joining the Superstars Series, which will race at Sentul near Jakarta, Indonesia for the first time on November 9-11. That is the same weekend as V8 Supercars’ floating TBA date on its 2012 calendar.

ABU DHABI CIRCUIT HEAD ADMITS V8s DIDN’T WORK V8 SUPERCARS V8 SUPERCARS did not work as a stand-alone event in Abu Dhabi, says the Yas Marina track’s Chief Executive. Richard Cregan has told The National, Abu Dhabi’s national newspaper, that the Australian series, and GP2 Asia, were discontinued at the track because of poor attendances. “We’ve shifted from the events that come in, take a fee, disappear and nobody knows any more about them,” Cregan said. “That wasn’t ticking the boxes for us. “We are prepared to put that effort instead into the local community because we get a far better long-term result from local racing than bringing in big events where we pay large

sanction fees.” Cregan did say that the categories, and FIA GT, “delivered everything they said they would” but that locallybased projects offered a better fit with the company’s plan to turn a profit within five years of its 2009 opening. The circuit reduced the size of its staff by 60 last June, and the paper reported that expenditure had been cut by between 35 and 40 percent. V8 Supercars will race at the circuit in 2012 on the support bill of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. “To continue the popularity of the F1, we need to differentiate to other F1 races around the world,” Cregan said. “That was why we decided to bundle the V8 Supercars as a support race.”

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PD TO SKIP 2013 ENDUROS? V8 SUPERCARS

Daniel Kalisz

PAUL Dumbrell has admitted that he is a wanted co-driver for the 2012 V8 Supercar endurances races – but what happens after that could be a mystery. Dumbrell, who steps out of the Bottle-O Falcon at the seasonending Homebush races, is believed to be in the sights of teams such as TeamVodafone and Ford Performance Racing. “I am in the fortunate position, it seems to me, to be on the right side of the co-driver rule, as it has been for the last couple of years,” he says. “It has inflated the prices of co-drivers. A full-timer coming out of the game, like Cameron McConville, is in quite high demand. “I have been very fortunate to have been with a good team. I would like to drive with one of my good mates. Whether that is Will [Davison], or Frosty [Mark Winterbottom], or Rick [Kelly] or Jamie [Whincup], or a couple of guys who I have grown up with, and there is no better thing than to drive in an endurance race with them. I will be looking at performance, I think, but I would like the opportunity to race with a good mate.” But a complicating factor for 2013 could be Dumbrell’s other

sport. As a triathlete, PD has one eye on competing in the Hawaiian Ironman event – the Kona-based event that is traditionally held on the same weekend as the Bathurst 1000. Athletes have to qualify through four local events, and then wade through the selection criteria applied to different categories and age classifications for Hawaii. “I would love to qualify [for the Ironman],” he said. “I have been up at Noosa for the triathlon, and I have four Ironman events to do next year. Hopefully, I will be able to qualify for Kona, at some stage in the next 12 months, but it is unfortunate because it is on Bathurst weekend. If I do qualify in the next 12 months it is going to be a very interesting decision for me to make – Bathurst or Kona?” If that all falls in Dumbrell’s favour, it appears that Bathurst could be the loser. “If I qualify late next year – after the endurance races – for 2013, then definitely, I think I would go to Kona,” he said. “It is unbelievably tough to qualify for and there is only a given number of slots for your age group to qualify, those are the things you need to take for both hands, when they come up. It’s tough, but if it comes up, you have to do it.”

motorsport news

NEWS

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Motorsport Stocktake Sale Pattern

F3, PORSCHES BACK TO ADELAIDE EVENTS WITH the addition of Carrera Cup and the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, next year’s Clipsal 500 will grow to host seven support categories. Formula Ford is the only subtraction from the 2011 program, and the Fujitsu Series, V8 Utes, Touring Car Masters, Australian GT and Aussie Racing Cars will again kick off their 2012 seasons in Adelaide on 1-4 March. As previously announced, Carrera Cup will return to Adelaide for the first time since 2008, while the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship has secured their first Clipsal appearance since 2009. “The Clipsal 500 circuit is one of the best tracks, anywhere,” current F3 Championship leader Chris Gilmour said.

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“To be able to race on a circuit that has so much history is amazing – and that’s before you find out that it’s also hugely challenging, especially when you’re sitting six inches from the ground in a concrete canyon and approaching Turn 8 at 245kmh. “We take that corner absolutely flat out without lifting off the throttle – and it’s a pretty eye-opening experience. It’s awesome Formula 3 is heading back to the Clipsal 500 Adelaide and we’ll make sure we put on a great show.” The 2012 event was launched on Friday, including the concert announcements. Wynter Gordon, the ubiquitous Potbellez and Zoe Badwi will perform on the Friday night; INXS, Mark Seymour & The Undertow and You Am I feature on Saturday, and The Living End, Sneaky Sound System and Spiderbait on Sunday.

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TYRES FOR CIRCUIT - SUPERSPRINT - TRACKDAYS - TARMAC RALLY - DIRT RALLY

XDESIGNS (FSP020)

KEEPING Tasmania on the V8 Supercar schedule is vital for the sport, according to Rick Kelly. Earlier this year it looked as if Symmons Plains would lose its spot on future V8 Supercar calendars, with the Tasmanian government upping its financial support for having Australian Football League games on the Apple Isle. However, a deal was eventually done to ensure V8 racing is Tasmania until 2014 – something Kelly says is important as a team owner. “It’s very important for us to race in Tassie,” said Kelly. “The reason that a lot of sponsors get behind teams and V8 Supercars as a category is because we do travel all around the country, and obviously have some international races as well. “Taking Tassie off the calendar would be a real worry for us from the commercial side of the business, so that’s why when they announced that we are going to be

back there and going back there for a while it was quite exciting for us. All of our sponsors really do get behind the Tassie event. It’s not only the on-track activities that create a lot of hype around town and get a lot of spectators to the event. Each team works with a lot of different business partners, whether it is in the automotive industry or beverage industry or others, so we do a lot of appearances around town in both the lead-in and also post event. “That creates a lot of interest, with drivers doing appearances at Autopro retail outlets or dinners at venues for Jack Daniel’s and so on. That creates an environment around the whole town that I think brings a lot of business to Tassie and certainly makes it very enjoyable for us to go to as well. “It makes our sport a national sport. On the commercial and business front, it’s exciting for us to go there to have as a part of our V8 Supercar platform.” Kelly goes into this weekend’s Symmons Plains round seventh in the standings.

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NEWS

SAINZ TESTS VW IN GERMANY WORLD RALLY

VOLKSWAGEN has officially began testing its Polo R WRC, with Carlos Sainz jumping behind the wheel of the prototype car near Trier, Germany, last week. The Spaniard kicked off the extensive testing program that will run until the carmaker enters the World Rally Championship in 2013. He shared the driving duties with Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Volkswagen Board of Management for Technology, with the pair completing around 100 kilometres on a 2.8 kilometre tarmac circuit in the Veldenz

vineyards, focusing on the engine and suspension functionality. “I immensely enjoy being involved in the development and testing of the new Polo R WRC – and having the privilege of driving the first kilometres is naturally a great honour,” said Sainz. “The car is still in an early stage but already feels very good. For the whole team, whether engineers, mechanics or drivers, it’s very important to get to know the first real car as early as possible and to test and continue to develop it.” But while the first Polo R WRC looks and sounds like the real deal, VW’s motorsport

director Kris Nissen confirmed that this car will be a test mule, not a competition car. “The first Polo represents a preliminary stage of the subsequent rally car and during the upcoming months will serve as a test vehicle for various components such as engines, gearboxes or suspension parts,” said Nissen. “The findings obtained in these tests will be directly fed into the first thorough-bred Polo R WRC. “Next year we’ll be running an extensive testing program on tarmac, gravel, mud and snow in order to prepare ourselves for the 2013 season as best we can.”

STONER IN A CLOSE ONE WILL WURZ DEFECT MOTOGP

CASEY Stoner ended the 800cc era of MotoGP is dazzling style, taking a last-gasp win in Valencia on Sunday. The Aussie started the weekend by qualifying fastest, an effort that took him to 12 pole positions for the season, equally Mick Doohan’s existing record. But the race wasn’t quite as straightforward as Stoner would have liked. Slippery conditions made life tough for the riders, particularly Alvaro Bautista, Randy de Puniet, Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi, 10

who all went out in a Turn 1 crash. Stoner avoided the antics at the start, but had his lead challenged by Ben Spies late in the race. Stoner got up for the win, but the margin was just 0.015s after a drag race to the flag. Andrea Dovizioso was third. “My heart was in my throat!” admitted Stoner. “I knew I had a better exit line out of the final turn and I kept my head down and went for the line. It’s amazing to win this on the finish line, I’ve had it done to me in the past a few times but I’ve never done it to anyone else! I’m sorry for Ben, he rode a great race.”

FOR LE MANS? SPORTSCARS

ALEX Wurz will be Toyota’s lead driver at Le Mans next year, AUTOSPORT is reporting. According to the British magazine, the Austrian driver will soon be announced as the spearhead of the carmaker’s LMP1 program, which will see them return to Le Mans as a factory entrant for the first time since 1999. If Wurz does drive for Toyota at Le Mans next year,

it will mean the end of his relationship with Peugeot. Wurz joined the French manufacturer after he left Formula 1 at the end of 2007, and won the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours with Marc Gene and David Brabham. That was his second Le Mans win, the first coming when he was a rookie at Joest Racing back in 1996. Wurz has recently been involved with testing Peugeot’s new 908 Hybrid4 prototype LMP1 racer. motorsport news

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MICHAEL STARTS EARLY FORMULA 1

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MCLAREN has confirmed its new sporting director Sam Michael has officially started with the team. The Australian, who left the role of technical director at Williams F1 after the Singapore Grand Prix, started his new position at the start of November. McLaren is the fourth team Michael will have worked for since starting his career at Lotus in the early 1990s, before rising through the ranks with Jordan and Williams. Following on from Williams’ poor start to the season – it’s worst since 1978 – Michael stepped down from the role before being offered a new opportunity at McLaren. “Sam will be the one who liaises with the FIA during the race,” McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe recently explained, adding that Michael will “attend the Sporting Working Group to represent McLaren on the sporting regulations.” When asked by eNews what he’d been up to since leaving Williams, Michael admitted he’d been “surfing with my brother and Mark Larkham up in Gold Coast. “I thought I’d take the days off because then I’m going to be flat out at McLaren for many, many years. It’s very hard to get time out again.” Don’t expect to see him on your television screens, however, as a number of other concessions have been made for Michael to begin his new role sooner than many had anticipated. It remains unclear whether he will attend both the Abu Dhabi and Brazilian Grands Prix, or just one of the remaining two races. – MATT COCH Check out the upcoming December issue of Motorsport News for an exclusive interview with Sam Michael, who reflects on his time with Williams and speaks about his future at McLaren.

NAME CHANGES CONFIRMED FOR 2012 FORMULA 1

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THERE will be some new names on the Formula 1 grid in 2012. The F1 Commission has approved name change requests recently made by Team Lotus, Lotus Renault GP and Virgin Racing. As of Round 1 in 2012, the teams will be known as Caterham, Lotus and Marussia respectively. The Team Lotus and LRGP name changes will end the confusing matter of having two Lotus teams on the grid. The Caterham change comes less than a year after Team Lotus’ owner Tony Fernandes purchased the tiny sportscar manufacturer. The name changes still need to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, which is expected to be a formality – particularly as the FIA has now confirmed that the changes will go ahead. In other LRGP news, Paul Seaby will replace John Wickham as team manager. Seaby, a veteran of Grand Prix racing, will work alongside trackside operations director Alan Permane at Grands Prix. motorsport news

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ROSSI, RAZIA TO TEST FOR TEAM LOTUS IN ABU DHABI sutton-images.com

HRT SIGNS ON FOR KERS FORMULA 1

TEAM Lotus will test promising youngsters Alexander Rossi and Luiz Razia at the upcoming young driver test at Abu Dhabi. The American and the Brazilian will race for the team’s off-shoot GP2 outfit – Caterham Team AirAsia – in Abu Dhabi, before testing for the senior squad in the young driver test, which will run from the Tuesday to the Thursday following next weekend’s race. “I am very excited to finally announce I will be competing in Abu Dhabi with Caterham Team AirAsia, and will have the chance to put more F1 miles on my CV with Team Lotus,” said Rossi, pictured. “After the positive GP2 tests in Jerez and Barcelona, I feel we have a good chance of a strong result in the GP2 races and I will definitely be going into the weekend fully focused and motivated for a race win – looking at the team’s past results I see no reason why we can’t achieve that. “For the F1 test I will be looking to learn as much as possible, do the best job I can and soak up every minute, in and out of the car.” Meanwhile, Stefano Coletti will take part in the young driver

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HISPANIA Racing Team will run KERS for the first time in 2012. The minnow team has renewed its existing technical deal with Williams F1 until the end of next season, which will now include gearboxes, KERS and its related technology. “In these past two years we have established a fruitful collaboration with Williams F1 and are pleased to continue having them play an important role in the development of our team,” said HRT team principal Colin Kolles. “Apart from the experience we have accumulated in these years together, they will not only provide us with the latest technology in gearboxes but we will also reap the benefits of having KERS for next year, this being an important step for our team. “We have grown as a team with Williams F1’s support and we are pleased to continue counting on them in the future,

given their trajectory, prestige and renowned experience in Formula 1. This agreement strengthens the development of the 2012 car that is currently taking place at our technical office in Munich. At HRT we are working on thoroughly improving the performance of our cars and our target is still to finish in the Top 10 in 2012. “This deal brings us one step closer to that objective.” Williams F1 CEO Alex Burns agreed that the deal was beneficial for both teams. “I am delighted that we are extending our agreement with HRT, in both its scope and duration,” he said. “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with HRT in 2011 and look forward to continuing this in 2012 and beyond. The fact that they have selected Williams F1’s gearbox and KERS technology for their car is a credit to all of the Williams F1 people involved in our costeffective engineering and manufacturing in these areas.”

FORMULA 1

test with Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Monegasque had his GP2 campaign cut short this year after a crash at Spa left him with fractured vertebrae, but he will be back in action for the F1 test. “I’m happy to finally announce that I’ll be testing with Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi,” he announced via Twitter last week. “I’m on my way to the Toro Rosso headquarters. Going to make my seat and meet all the guys.”

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NOT-SO MIGHTY FROM BUSCH NASCAR KYLE Busch may face more sanctions over his actions in Friday night’s NASCAR Truck race crash in Texas. Busch was forced to sit out Saturday’s Nationwide and Sunday’s Sprint Cup races after being suspended by NASCAR for intentionally crashing out Ron Hornaday in the Truck race. NASCAR president Mike Helton didn’t rule out more penalties for Busch after the weekend. “The responsibility that over the past two or three seasons we’ve given back to the drivers came I think with a very clear understanding that there could be a line that got crossed,” Helton said. “We saw it last night.” Busch said immediately after the incident that he caused the crash after having been crashed into in recent races. Later, he issued an apology for his actions. “I’ve had a lot of time today to sit and reflect, and try to put my thoughts into words as best I can. “I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during Friday night’s Truck Series race at Texas. I apologize to my fans, all my sponsors, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports. “After talking with my team, it’s great to have their support and encouragement to assure me that there are better days ahead. Even though this took place while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, I am sorry for how difficult this has been for everyone associated with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams. “I’d also like to apologize to Ron Hornaday Jr., and everyone associated with the No. 33 team in the Truck Series. “I understand why I was taken out of the car for the rest of the weekend. NASCAR officials had to act, and I accept their punishment

and take full responsibility for my actions. “As a racecar driver, the hardest thing to do is to sit on the sidelines listening to cars on the track when you know you should be out there competing. For this, I have no one to blame but myself. “Through a lot of support from the people around me, I feel like I’ve made a lot of strides this year, but this was certainly a step backward. Moving forward, I will do everything I possibly can to represent everyone involved in a positive manner. However, I know my longterm actions will have more of a bearing than anything I say right now.” Busch is the first driver to be suspended from a Cup race since Robby Gordon in August 2007. Michael McDowell took over the #18 Toyota and finished 33rd after starting from the rear of the field.

ROGER KEEPS THE BAND TOGETHER INDYCAR ROGER Penske will roll into the 2012 Indycar season with the same three drivers he had this season. The team confirmed last week that Ryan Briscoe had re-signed and that he would rejoin Will Power and Helio Castroneves, who were already under contract, in the team. Penske will move to Chevrolet engines for future seasons. “The combination of Helio, Ryan and Will has been a formidable one on the track and they work very well together as teammates,” said Tim Cindric, President of Penske. “Our goal all along has been to continue running three cars and thanks to our terrific partners, we have been able to make everything work from the business side. “Now, all of our focus will be on developing the new Chevrolet IndyCar and getting ready for a strong return to the track in 2012.” Briscoe, who endured a winless season in 2011, broke the news on Twitter, tweeting, “It’s official! I don’t have to host Wheel of Fortune next year.” Other fake Briscoe news included his wife Nicole giving birth to quads on the flight to Australia and the couple appearing on their own reality TV program. 14

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NEWS

BOBBY’S BACK INDYCAR

NOW ON DVD UNINTERRUPTED! BATHURST HIGHLIGHTS

BOBBY Rahal is back in the Indycar business and will run two cars next season. Rahal and partners Mike Lanigan and David Letterman will field two Honda-powered Dallaras, with driver and sponsor details TBA. The team, which will be based in Ohio but with a satellite shop in Indianapolis, will be overseen by veteran manager Tom Anderson, who won championship with Chip Ganassi’s team. “We are pleased to once again be partnering with Honda,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “We have a storied history with Honda and respect its tradition of excellence in motorsports. In putting together our plans for 2012, we felt that having the full support of a proven winner such as Honda would aid us in building a strong program and we intend to represent Honda in the best manner possible.”

DANTONA NASCAR DANICA Patrick will make her Sprint Cup debut at Daytona in February. Patrick’s 10-race schedule with Stewart Haas Racing will take in the 54th Daytona 500, then move to Darlington (May 12), Bristol (Aug 25), Atlanta (Sept 2), Chicagoland (Sept 16), Dover (Sept 30), Texas (Nov 4) and Phoenix (Nov 11). She will also race a full Nationwide Series season with JR Motorsports. One race Patrick will not do is the Coke 600 at Charlotte. NASCAR’s longest race is held on the same weekend as the Indianapolis 500, giving her the opportunity to return to the Brickyard, if she so choses.

DOWN, BUT NOT REUTED NASCAR DAVID Reutimann is looking for a NASCAR Sprint Cup drive after advice he will not be driving for Michael Waltrip Racing next season. Reutimann, 41, will be replaced by two drivers, with Mark Martin joining the team for a limited schedule. Team owner Michael Waltrip will also drive in the restrictor plate races. “David has been a significant part of Michael Waltrip Racing since the very beginning and will forever be a part of our heritage,” said Waltrip. “We want to thank David for his contribution to our growth and success over the past five years and wish him well in the future.” Reutimann made his Cup debut with MWR in 2007, and took over the #00 Toyota for the first time the following year. He has made 168 Sprint Cup starts, all for MWR, and won twice. www.mnews.com.au

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Dirk Klynsmith

MACROW WATCH!

ADAM LOOKING AT FV8S AGAIN? FUJITSU SERIES COULD Adam Macrow return to the Fujitsu Series in 2012, six years after winning the title? Macrow made a surprise appearance at a Greg Murphy Racing test last Monday at Winton, turning laps in one of the team’s Commodores. Having won the series in 2006, Macrow has spent the majority of the time since on the sidelines, barring an enduro drive with Jason Bright in 2008. He’s now looking at a possible return in 2012. “Adam did a very good job, considering his lack

of recent seat time in a V8 Supercar,” GMR boss Kevin Murphy said. “We think he would be a great front-runner for us in the Fujitsu Series, so it’s a case of finding the funding for him to run with us next season.” Formula Ford driver and 2012 FV8 aspirant Tom Williamson also participated in the test, turning a ‘handful’ of laps in the Commodore Nick Cassidy will use in his Fujitsu Series debut at Sandown next weekend. The test was Cassidy’s first with the team. “We thought Nick did a very good job of adapting to the V8 Supercar, and we’re looking forward to seeing how he goes at Sandown,” Murphy said.

KEV’S S NEW RI

... TIM BACK IN F3 FORMULA 3 TIM Macrow will rejoin the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship for this weekend’s season finale at Symmons Plains. The 2007 Gold Star winner has just completed a major rebuild of what was his second Renaultpowered F304 Dallara. Macrow sold his primary F304 – as raced sporadically in recent years – to young Victorian Lachlan Marshall, and rebuilt the second, which last raced in 2009. Having finished the car over the weekend, it was loaded onto the Astuti Motorsport truck and was due to head to Tasmania via sea tonight. It will be Macrow’s second start in Australian F3

for the year, after running at Hidden Valley in June. “I got it finished at 4 o-clock last night,” Macrow told eNews on Monday. “I was pretty stoked to see it leave, actually. “It’s going to be really, really good fun. I’m looking forward to driving it. The only thing is, you know how it is with a new car, hopefully there aren’t any gremlins to stop us from running too much on Friday. “It would’ve been nice to have a shakedown before we went, but there just wasn’t the opportunity. We’ve gone through it and everything’s pretty new, hopefully we won’t have too many dramas.” – MITCHELL ADAM

JACK ARCS UP, AGAIN AUSSIE RACING CARS JACK Perkins will return to the Aussie Racing Car Super Series this weekend at Symmons Plains. Currently third in the Fujitsu Series, Perkins raced in the series for the majority of the 2010 season, winning races and rounds on his way to 10th in 16

the standings. This weekend’s penultimate round of the 2011 series will be Perkins’ first of the year, and he’s set to drive the #16 FW1 Commodore. Adrian Cottrell will head to the Launceston circuit with a single point advantage over Tyler Owen in the fight for the 2011 title, with Kyle Clews a further six behind.

BROCK 2ND BE motorsport news

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SUPA IDE

AUSTRALIAN GT KEVIN Weeks will put the GT into the Australian GT Championship next year. The South Australian has purchased a Ford GT to race in the category, the first seen in Australia.

Weeks’ new ride is already in the country and will be tested and developed over summer, before the 2012 AGT season kicks off at the Clipsal 500. The chassis is the last of the GT3-spec GTs to be built, following a program by Swiss outfit Matech Concepts, which kicked off in 2005.

Dirk Klynsmith

AUSTRALIAN GT

K GETS ENZ www.mnews.com.au

JAMES Brock will join the Australian GT Championship in 2012, driving Erebus Racing’s second Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Brock had spent recent years on the sidelines, but returned in 2011, contesting three rounds of the Fujitsu Series with Greg Murphy Racing. Now, with backing from DrillPro, he’ll switch to Australian GT and Peter Hackett’s expanding outfit. “Truth be known, a couple of years ago I was pretty burnt out and just needed a break from racing, but after DrillPro approached me about doing some V8 Supercar stuff this year, and then seeing where the GT Championship is headed, frankly it was an opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up,” Brock said. “Peter Hackett and Erebus Racing are the best

in the business, and would have to be one of the most professional teams in any form of the sport here in Australia, so DrillPro and I can’t wait to get started on the program. “At this stage I haven’t even driven the car, but if it goes anywhere near as good as it looks, 2012 is going to an awesome year.” Erebus Racing’s second SLS AMG GT3 has been ordered, and its build in Germany is almost complete. “We are a long way down the track of our 2012 plans and James was the final piece in the puzzle and we couldn’t be happier,” Hackett said. “James is no stranger to me or Mercedes having worked together for many years doing driver training, and also some special engineering projects for AMG, so in many ways he is a known quantity out of and inside the car, and that’s what we were looking for in our second driver.” 17

NEWS

SHANNONS NATIONALS THE Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn will join the Australian GT Championship as additions to the 2012 Shannons Nationals bill. As previously reported, next year’s Nationals calendar will expand to nine rounds, with two each at Eastern Creek and Phillip Island, while Queensland’s round switches from Morgan Park to Queensland Raceway. Of note in the dates, the first Eastern Creek round will open the National’s seventh season in March, Wakefield Park moves

from April to September and Sandown regains its spot as the final round of the year. Following Australian GT’s recent announcement that they will appear at several Nationals rounds in 2012, the Touring Car Masters are set to join them, for one or two rounds. “The good news for 2012 is that we will be moving back to our traditional nine rounds, which includes two rounds at both Phillip Island and Eastern Creek,” Nationals director Rob Curkpatrick said. “A welcome inclusion on the 2012 calendar is a return to Queensland Raceway for

the first time since 2008. Although we are still working through the finer points for each event, the program is already full at each round. “We will have the Australian GT Championship returning to the Nationals for several rounds, and the Touring Car Masters will be joining us for a few rounds. Both categories are a welcome inclusion, and they will join all of the categories who ran with the series this year. “The business of motor racing remains challenging and we have had our fair share of ‘ups and downs’ over the

Dirk Klynsmith

NATIONALS GETS MASTERS

2012 SHANNONS NATIONALS PRESENTED BY HI-TEC OILS 1. Eastern Creek, NSW, March 9-11 2. Mallala, SA, April 13-15 3. Phillip Island, Vic, May 25-27 4. Winton, Vic, June 22-24 5. Eastern Creek, NSW, July 13-15 6. Queensland R’way, Qld, Aug 10-12 7. Phillip Island, Vic, SepT 21-23 8. Wakefield Park, NSW, Oct 12-14 9. Sandown, Vic, November 23-25 last six years, but the series continues to thrive by providing a high quality national level motor racing experience in competitive and enjoyable environment.” Rob Lang

ZAGAME ON! AUSTRALIAN GT VICTOR Zagame has emerged as the first owner a 2011-spec Audi R8 LMS in Australia. Zagame has taken ownership of one of the newly-imported R8s, and will run it in the 2012 Australian GT Championship. 18

motorsport news

MOTORSPORT NEWS INTERVIEWS THE BATHURST WINNERS

GARTH TANDER AND NICK PERCAT PLUS: THE COOLEST CORNERS IN AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT, A LOOK AT SEBASTIAN VETTEL’S TITLE-WINNING YEAR, WE HANG WITH LOTUS RENAULT GP DRIVERS VITALY PETROV AND BRUNO SENNA, STEAL DANIEL GAUNT’S DIARY FROM BATHURST, DRIVE A LEXUS LFA WITH SOME HELP FROM SCOTT PRUETT, HEAD TO THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL, PROFILE KARTING LEGEND DAVE SERA AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. No. 413 No vem

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NEWS

NOVIKOV SCORES FACTORY FORD SEAT WORLD RALLY FORD and M-Sport have made a big play to get Russian up-and-comer Evgeny Novikov back on its books by offering him a full factory drive for the Wales Rally GB. The Russian has spent most of the 2011 World Rally Championship in Ford Fiestas, competing in six rounds as part of the Stobart World Rally Team, with a best

result of 14th in Italy. But for the most recent round in Spain, he switched to a Citroen DS3, finishing seventh. Now, Ford has wooed Novikov back into its fold by offering him the third Abu Dhabi-backed factory entry for Wales, replacing Abu Dhabi native Khalid Al Qassimi – with team boss Malcolm Wilson’s blessing. “We had a big discussion with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority because of

Khalid’s other commitments,” Wilson told the WRC’s official website. “We presented them all the options and they felt Evgeny was where they wanted to go. It’s great for him “He’ll drive a Fiesta in Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team colours and run from the same side of the service area as Mikko [Hirvonen] and Jari-Matti [Latvala]. It’s a great opportunity for him, a chance in a lifetime.”

SAINZ JR TO JOIN CARLIN IN 2012 FORMULA 3 CARLOS Sainz Junior will race for Carlin Motorsport in the 2012 British Formula 3 Championship. Sainz Junior – the son of two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz – will take on a full-time British F3 campaign with Carlin thanks to his links with the Red Bull Junior Team. The 17-yearold finished second in the 2011 Formula Renault Eurocup, and competed at the F3 Euro Series final at Hockenheim with Signature. He will race for Signature again at this month’s Macau Grand Prix. “I’m really looking forward to next year, it’s going to be a challenge but I know I’m with the best team for British Formula 3,” he said. “I can’t wait to take part in the series and hope to be challenging for wins like Jaime [Alguersuari], Daniel [Ricciardo] and Jean-Eric [Vergne] did. “I know that my first season will be difficult, 20

especially because there will be new cars next season, but I trust the team to develop the car as they have done in previous seasons and I’m sure if I work hard we will have a good year.” Carlin boss Trevor Carlin is equally excited to have Sainz Junior on board. “We’ve been watching Carlos for some time now and his natural talent and speed is clear to see,” said Carlin. “We’re very proud that once again Red Bull has chosen to put one of their Junior drivers with us in British F3 and hope that we can achieve a similar level of success with Carlos over the next 12 months. “Carlos has been extremely impressive in the small amount of testing he’s done so far, but he is still very young and will stand a lot of intense competition from inside and outside the team next year, in what I think will be a very competitive season.” motorsport news

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FIVE MINUTES WITH ...

JASON BRIGHT It has been an up-and-down season for BJR but the Wheel Man in the BOC Gases Commodore is looking for some wins before the end of the season. 7/03 )9(5(.(5 [YPLK [V ÄUK V\[ ^OH[ OHZ ILLU NVPUN VU

Car speed is one of things that can be elusive, but fixing pitstops is more straightforward, isn’t it? Definitely. Especially in the situation that we had, because we managed to identify what the problem was. Our pitstops were as much as five seconds longer than everyone else’s. At the time, it was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ [Ed: At which stage, Brighty declines to elaborate on what the hell was going on. eNews believes that it was a fuel filler problem, later identified as an incorrect restrictor]. But the speed was definitely there and that very well could carry over to the same track this year. It will. I think we will be strong there. We have had a couple of problems at the last couple of race meetings, there is no getting away from that. I think that we can get past those and I think we have reason to be confident that we can be somewhere near the front this week. Since the round win at Winton it has been a bit of a tough trot for us. There have been a few failures and a few dramas 22

position to take advantage of that. We had some things to deal with on the first day and things were out of our control on the second day. We had that head-on collision with Gianni Morbidelli, but we were out of it by then. But ... I was running two or three laps down on the Saturday and I copped a penalty for jumping the kerbs too many times. When we saw what happened on Sunday it just made a bit of a mockery of the whole thing. We need to do something about the kerbs. I think that it needs to be a tighter chicane, and we need to use the car more. We need to have kerbs that stop you from actually jumping it. It made a bit of a farce of the situation. Peter Bury

MOTORSPORT NEWS: After being so competitive in Tasmania in recent times, you must be looking forward to travelling to Symmons Plains this weekend. JASON BRIGHT: Yes, we are. Last year, things went pretty well. We probably snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. We had a problem with the refilling of the car during the stops, and that probably cost us the round win. We were trying to figure out why our pitstops were so slow! But at that track, we showed good speed and we had pretty good tyre life. In regard to those things, we probably missed out on a good opportunity there last year.

here and there, but I am comfortable with where we are now. I am confident that we will be back to the form that we showed earlier in the year. Yeah, it has been up and down this year at BJR. Can you talk about some of the problems that the team has been having? Surfers was tough. We think that we have found what the drama was there. We found the problem that we had at Bathurst; it was a mixture of a couple of things. At Surfers, we really struggled over the chicanes. We had some issues and the car was bottoming out pretty badly. I think that we have found out what that problem was. In that respect, with the big chicanes, it is a pretty unique circuit. We had a similar issue in New Zealand. Symmons Plains is not that sort of track. It must have been frustrating at Surfers to have some drivers take advantage of short-cutting the chicanes, more than others. There is no doubt about that! Unfortunately, we were not in the running, on either of the days, to be in a

On the other hand, you did make every sports TV show in the world by having a head-on with Morbidelli. Not often you see that. It does not happen every day! It was a bit of a shock. I actually feel for Gianni; he was obviously told to go, I am still not sure why he turned right and not left, to go down the escape road. But that is over and done with now. The plan for the rest of the season must be, get as many decent results as possible. We just want as many wins as we can. We have had a couple of wins earlier in the year and we need to get back to winning before we go into next year. We were strong at Symmons and Homebush last year, at Sandown we had a few dramas after the crash on the Friday. I think that we can finish off the year pretty strong. The last couple of rounds have been disappointing. We introduced a couple of parts that have caused a few headaches. I think we will be back to where we should be in Tassie. motorsport news

CHAT

Andrew Hall

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HAS KYLE GONE TOO FAR? OPINION Phil Branagan – Executive Editor

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COMMENT

HE line over which NASCAR drivers can take the ‘Boys, Have At It’ policy is easy to find; all you have to do is look behind Kyle Busch. The hardest of the hard men in NASCAR stepped over that line in Texas when he took Ron Hornaday out of the Truck race at Texas. He later justified his actions by stating he himself had been crashed out of recent races – not by Hornaday, you understand – and he was sick and tired of it. I add here, for effect, that Busch did all this under a yellow flag. NASCAR acted, quickly and commendably, and suspended Busch from Sunday’s Sprint Cup race. Further actions may be forthcoming. Joe Gibbs has said that he

takes responsibility for Busch’s actions; a noble gesture, and one understandable from a man who coached his Washington Redskins to win the NFL’s Superbowl. But, Busch was driving for his own Kyle Busch Motorsports team on Friday, not Gibbs. Also, let’s remember that this happened in a Truck race. Since the start of this season, NASCAR drivers have been eligible to score points in only one of the top-level series, and as a man whose choice was Sprint Cup, Busch is not eligible for points in the Trucks. His KBM team runs a Truck program, so it is advantageous to win races, but it’s not like Busch’s whole season depends on good Truck results. Unlike Hornaday’s. In local terms, imagine a driver from one of the V8 Supercar marquee teams entering a V8 Touring Car event and deliberately taking out Tony Evangelou or Chris Smerdon – then taking the moral high ground on TV afterwards. It is difficult to imagine that the timing

of Busch’s actions could be worse. If he is unaware of the tragic circumstances that have enveloped the sport in the last month, he may well be the only professional racing driver in the world who is. To crash someone out of a race deliberately is one thing; to do it now, and put it front and centre on TV, in front of an audience that has seen the bad side of the sport in recent weeks is totally irresponsible. Kyle Busch is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR. In terms of speed, there is nobody faster. He is also what might be called a binary driver; he usually sees competition in terms of wins and losses. If he wins, it’s a ‘1’; a loss is a ‘0’. Other drivers might see second or third (in, remember, a 43-car field) as a good, occasionally great, result. Busch hardly ever does. NASCAR and Coach Gibbs have some big decisions ahead. Joe Gibbs Racing has to deal with Toyota (and don’t forget, Busch was caught massacring a speed limit, doing 200kmh in an 75 zone, in a Lexus LFA, in the USA earlier this year), Mars, Interstate Batteries and a list of other sponsors. It is difficult to imagine that Gibbs will not get calls from all those companies, if he has not already. Of course, Busch has driven for other teams, including Roush and Hendrick. Both those teams have flourished since he took his exit. We may do well to wonder whether that thought is currently in the head of Joe Gibbs.

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SHANNONS NATIONALS ROUND 7 - PHILLIP ISLAND, VICTORIA

THAT’S A WRAP CHAMPIONS WERE CROWNED AS THE SHANNONS NATIONALS PRESENTED BY HI-TEC OILS WRAPPED UP FOR 2011 AT PHILLIP ISLAND. CALLUM BRANAGAN REVIEWS THE ACTION

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James Smith

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SWEET TERRY PIE

FTER three years of trying, Terry Wyhoon has won the 2011 Kumho Tyres V8 Touring Car Series title, on the back of a commanding performance at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. It was almost a perfect weekend for Wyhoon, with his worst result coming early on in qualifying when Scott Loadsman beat him to pole position. Loadsman’s lead then continued early in Race 1, but it was to be short-lived as Wyhoon charged to the front on Lap 5. From there, Wyhoon’s pace was clearly undeniable and he stayed in the lead for the rest of the weekend, to take an assertive three victories from as many starts. In the title fight, a drama off the line in Race 3 for Loadsman put to rest any chance of a challenge to Wyhoon’s dominance, gifting Wyhoon the title before the first lap of the final was even turned. Post race, Wyhoon reckoned the title win reflected the tireless effort put in by his Lubrimaxx-backed crew.

“It’s great,” Wyhoon told eNews. “As I have said before, the series now is fairly competitive. There’s a lot of young kids coming into it, the Garioch boys for instance, and it’s no walk over. “We have to put a bit of effort into the car now, and as a result, the more effort we have to put in, the more rewarding the win. When this series started off, we were in it to support the series more than anything, and it used to be easier, but now it involves a fair bit of effort. “It’s definitely sweet to win!” Second for the weekend, and continuing his great form of late was the Falcon of Justin Garioch. The Queenslander found the going much easier in Sunday’s pair of races, as he managed to snatch Loadsman’s second position in Race 2, and easily remain on the second step of the podium in the third race. After the promising start to his weekend, Loadsman’s title bid was motorsport news

RACE

All pics: James Smith

Justin Garioch, top, was second for the weekend, ahead of Scott Loadsman, above battling with debutant Shawn Jamieson. Michael Hector, below, found trouble at MG. dashed prematurely. A broken axle on his Commodore left him in on the sidelines, but second and third in Races 1 and 2 respectively were enough to hand him third for the weekend. South Australians Michael Bartsch and Bruce Heinrich rounded out the top five. Falling out of title contention before Round 5 had even started was Chris Smerdon, after he was stripped of his Round 4 points total due to a valve lift irregularity. He’d eventually finish ninth for the weekend and third in the standings. Tyre wear and usage over the weekend was a factor for many competitors. Aaron Tebb suffered a blown front-right coming onto the front straight in the Race 1, sending him into the wall. Fortunately, Tebb was able to walk away without any assistance. One extra tyre was allocated to drivers for the balance of the weekend. Points: Wyhoon 544, Loadsman 475, Smerdon 355, Garioch 332, Jim Pollicina 311, Bartsch 253 www.mnews.com.au

S far as round wins go, James Winslow probably didn’t want his Round 6 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship victory at Phillip Island to be quite so close. The 2008 Australian Drivers’ Champion won a close opener over John Magro. While Magro made a great start in Race 2, he couldn’t keep a hard-charging Winslow behind him in the later stages, with Winslow making it two from two as Magro eventually settled for second ahead of Chris Gilmour. The final featured a common sight in Formula 3 racing, a belter of a start from Gilmour, who came from the second row of the grid to take the lead. From there, the Queenslander didn’t put a foot wrong, as Magro edged ahead of Winslow to take second. It gave Winslow the round win by a solitary point over Gilmour, who maintains a 19point championship lead heading into this weekend’s final round at Symmons Plains. Josh Burdon had a great weekend to win the National Class ahead of Ben Gersekowski, while Steel Guiliana’s points lead has been reduced after a troubled weekend. Roger Lago was crowned the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Champion for the second year in succession. Lago and Jeff Bobik entered the finale as title contenders, but fourth overall was enough for Lago, even after Bobik claimed a pair of race wins. In only his second round for 2011, Ivan Klasan had a great run in Race 1 to steal a forceful win. He hung on to finish the weekend in second. Matt Kingsley still didn’t manage to find any luck, unable to capitalise on his impressive pace. A new gearbox had to be sourced after it broke in Race 1, only to encounter mechanical troubles again in the final. Terry Knight won the 996 Class round with a great weekend, sealing the title in doing so. Like Lago in Porsches, Adam Beechey became a back-to-back titlist at Phillip Island. Beechey won the Commodore Cup crown, becoming the first man since Geoff 30

Emery in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back championships. After qualifying, Beechey was level on points with main rival Matt Hayes, with Marcus Zukanovic a remote chance behind them. Second place behind Zukanovic in the opening race set a slightly cautious precedent for the weekend for Beechey, but he then went on to win Race 2, the reverse grid race, with even more vigour. Second to Hayes in the final was enough to win the round and title. Darren Hossack was back in his Audi A4, and it didn’t take long to remember why it’d been missed. Hossack won all three races after missing out on pole position to Tony Ricciardello, with a mechanical issue halting the A4. Along the way, Hossack twice reset the lap record, lowering his previous mark to 1:30.74. Ricciardello is also now officially the 2011 Kerrick Sports Sedans champion, after an outstanding season, capped with second for the weekend. In his first run since the 2010 season opener, Dean Randle steered his Saab to third overall. The Superkarts’ weekend was marred by a scary incident in Race 2 involving 11 Karts. Thankfully, there were no reports of serious injury from the accident. Warren McIlveen took his first victory of the year in the 250 International division to win the round and title ahead of Anton Stevens. The 250 National was taken out by Luke May, while Jeff Reed won the 125 class, successfully fending off a charge from main rival, Tim Philp. Andrew Nowland was the man to beat in a hard fought weekend in Saloon Cars. Nowland was entrenched in a weekend long battle with the Commodore of Tim Rowse, but a better start to the weekend was enough to Nowland to win the round ahead of Rowse. South Australian Matt Lovell sealed 2011 title with sixth in his Falcon. Sam Milton was another strong candidate in his Falcon, looming behind the battle for the lead between Rowse and Nowland and ultimately finishing third.

WINSLOW IN F3 BOX

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W WINS, GILMOUR STILL SEAT Formula 3 Australia Media

James Smith

Commodore Cup Media

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Roger Lago, above left, and Adam Beechey, left battling with Marcus Zukanovic, became back-to-back titlists in the GT3 Cup Challenge and Commodore Cup respectively. Tony Ricciardello aleady had the Sports Sedan title sewn up, but Darren Hossack, above, dominated at PI. Matt Lovell, below battling with round winner Andrew Nowland, sealed the 2011 Saloon Car title.

HISTORIC SANDOWN SANDOWN RACEWAY, VICTORIA

WINDING BACK (BUT NOT TOO FAR) Historic Sandown has always been F5000 country, but this year it was big bangers of another type that took over centre stage. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN reports

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Justin Collins

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Justin Collins

T was a throwback to a not-so-distant past in Melbourne on the weekend, with the Group A and C Touring Cars taking centre stage at the annual Historic Sandown meeting. A sizeable grid featuring the likes of VL Commodores, Nissan Skylines and BMW M3s was the feature category of the weekend, with their final race being held over 15 laps, and featuring a compulsory timed pit-stop and a rolling start. But all the gimmicks in the world couldn’t stop David Holc, who stormed to all three Group A and C wins in his immaculate GIO Commodore, picking up the Cooldrive Challenge thanks to a dominant win in the feature race. Richard Carter was the pace-setter in Group M and O, taking the honours aboard his Elfin Mono. But he didn’t have things all his own way; having won Race 1, Carter failed to finish Race 2 after missing a gear change and fearing that he’d damaged the Elfin’s engine. That left him dead last on the grid for the final, with Carter storming through the field to overhaul leaders Laurie Bennett and Andrew Goldie on the very last lap. Darcy Russell won two of the three Formula 5000/Q/R combined races after Race 1 winner Bryan Sala had a problem on Sunday. The surprise of the weekend was Robert Tweedie, who worked his way up to second in the final, beating a lot of the open-wheelers in his monster of an Elfin sportscar. Jon Miles was on fire in Formula Ford, winning all three races in his Reynard. He had to stave off a tight challenge from newcomer Mark Samson in the first two races, before a Race 3 spin allowed James Crozier into second spot. Other winners across the weekend included Dick Willis (Groups J,K and Lb), Robin Bailey (MGs), Perry Spiridis (Groups Sa, Sb and Sc), while Andrew Cannon and Daryl Hansen won the two Group N Historic Touring Car classes. 34

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Justin Collins

Hysterical about all things Historical: Jon MIles spent all weekend at the front of the Formula Ford grid, above, while Darcy Russell took the honours in the big banger open-wheelers, right. Sandown came alive with the sound of a Cosworth DFV, with Paul Faulkner cutting demo laps in his ex-Allan Jones Williams FW07 Formula 1 car, below.

Rob Lang

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NASCAR ROUND 34 - TEXAS, TX

Smoked Two races remain in season 2011 and increasingly it’s looking like a two-horse race as Tony ‘Smoke’ Stewart smoked ‘em yet again for the fourth time in eight races

NASCAR Media

Texas Massacre: Tony Stewart has been just about unstoppable lately, winning four of the eight Chase races run so far, above, right. 36

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d ‘em (again) NASCAR Media

HE fight for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is looking like a two-man war. Tony Stewart has won four of eight races in The Chase. Carl Edwards has not won any – in fact, he has not won since

March, in Las Vegas. But those drivers have a clear points lead, with only two races remaining before the 2011 Champion is crowned in Florida. The Texas race came down to restarts – and

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Smoke got them in the right order. Edwards won the penultimate restart when Stewart spun his tyres, but Stewart won the last, which was decisive. Once the threat of Jeff Burton, who tried to steal the race with a fuel run that came up five laps short (dropping him to 27th) was dealt with, Stewart won the battle. “This was the way it was supposed to be,” Stewart shrugged afterwards. “We’re set on it [the title]. We did what we could today.” A team man always, Stewart laid credit for the win at the hands of crew chief, Darien Grubb.

“Darien did an awesome job, he has made the right calls, all through The Chase. Our performance today spoke for itself.” This was a convincing win. Stewart led more than half of the first 240 laps, and it was no surprise when he followed Edwards in for fuel with 63 laps to go. While Burton and others (including Ryan Newman, who came from two laps back) stayed out to play the fuel game, Stewart held Edwards at bay, to take a straightforward win. Kasey Kahne gave another glimpse of what may happen at Hendrick’s next year with a

polished drive to third, the Red Bull car never out of contention, while Matt Kenseth was fourth ahead of poleman Greg Biffle in what was an emphatic effort from the Roush Fenway team. The gap between the title contenders widened, after Kevin Harvick fell to 13th after running inside the top 10 for most of the race. He is now 33 points behind Stewart and needs something of a miracle next week. Worse off still is Jimmie Johnson; he spun late in the race, copped a commitment cone penalty and dropped to 14th, and is now sixth overall in the points. A sixth title seems beyond reach,

even for him. Marcos Ambrose predicted a competitive race for the Richard Petty Fords and he was right. He ran comfortably with the leaders, often in the top three, for much of the race, and it was only a call to take two tyres at the last stop, which altered his car’s handling, that pushed him back in the first. He finished 11th, one spot behind teammate AJ Allmendinger. Subbing for the suspended Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell was 33th, three laps down.

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to advertise in Raceshop call us now Oriana Ruffini 0422 624 349 or Luke Finn 0423 665 384 motorsport news

RACE Busch whacked: Kyle Busch was sensationally suspended following an altercation in the Camping World Truck race, leaving the NASCAR bad boy to watch from the sidelines while Michael McDowell took over the 18 Toyota, below. Shared pit garages Texas-style, below right, would never work in V8 Supercars – where would they put all the computers? Third placed Kasey Kahne, bottom; Marcos Ambrose ran up the front all day and finished 11th, centre left. Late race spin for Jimmie Johnson, below left.

Results :: AAA Texas 500, FORT WORTH TX Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. 14 99 4 17 16 24 88 56 33 43

Driver Tony Stewart Carl Edwards Kasey Kahne Matt Kenseth Greg Biffle Jeff Gordon Dale Earnhardt Jr. Martin Truex Jr. Clint Bowyer A.J. Allmendinger

Make Chevy Ford Toyota Ford Ford Chevy Chevy Toyota Chevy Ford

Team Stewart Haas Roush Fenway Red Bull Roush Fenway Roush Fenway Hendrick Hendrick Waltrip Childress Richard Petty

Sponsor Office Depot/Mobil 1 Aflac Red Bull Crown Royal 3M Drive to End Hunger National Guard NAPA Auto Parts Cheerios Immortals/Best Buy

Qual. 5 7 9 3 1 23 16 19 18 26

Points: Edwards 2316, Stewart 2313, Harvick 2283, Kenseth 2278, Keselowski 2267, Johnson 2261,

Earnhardt 2237, Gordon 2235, Kurt Busch 2229, Hamlin 2217.

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BRIEFLY... Q ANDREAS Mikkelsen won the final round of the IRC in Cyprus on the weekend. Mikkelsen overcame a puncture to win the event and title, ahead of Jan Kopecky and Patrik Sandell, in an allSkoda podium. Q YVAN Muller is one step closer to this years WTCC crown after growing his title lead to 20-points over teammate Rob Huff. Muller made great start in Race 2 from fourth to lead by the end of the first lap, where he remained to cruise home to win. Muller finished Race 1 in fourth. Q SECOND place in Race 1 of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Argentina’s San Luis Circuit cemented the 2011 title for the JR Motorsport Nissan GTR of Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm. The duo had a solid opening race to finish second, but retired after a huge crash in Race 2 with the title in hand. Q THE final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship was run and won in China at the weekend, where the Proton Satria Neo S2000 of Alistair McRae won his first outright championship since 1995. Perth based McRae led the rally from start to finish, Australian teammate Chris Atkinson in third.

Meyers wins second WoO WORLD OF OUTLAWS JASON Meyers has won his second consecutive World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship after finishing eighth at the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte last Saturday night. “Last year we were here and I couldn’t wait for the weekend to be over,” Meyers said. “I didn’t really get to enjoy it. I just wanted to hurry up and finish it and now we’re here this weekend with the championship locked up for the second year in a row and getting to enjoy it.” Donny Schatz dominated the weekend with a clean sweep of World Finals and eventually passed Australian Kerry Madsen on lap 22 to claim his

sixth win at Charlotte and the 113th of his career. “These guys what they did with this STP car was crazy,” Schatz said. “It’s a little different car and some things we have been working on. It’s kind of some old school stuff we used to do five or six years ago and glad it worked out. It was fast and the motor did its job, everything was just flawless all weekend.” Meyers won the title with a commanding 248point lead; Schatz came out on top in a heated battle for the runner-up position in the standings with his Tony Stewart Racing teammate Steve Kinser, who finished second in the race. – GEOFF ROUNDS

QLD STATE SIDE ROUNDS UP QLD STATE CONFLICTING events and a hard years racing led to a number of thin fields at Morgan Park’s fourth and final Queensland State Championship race meeting on the weekend. Mark Bowen’s Chev powered Commodore took pole and three wins in the combined Sports Sedan, Improved Production events. It wasn’t all easy though, as an off in the final race cost him 30-seconds and the race lead. A strong fight back though saw him come back to win by fiveseconds from Travis Edwards. Rocky Whitbread in his BMW M3 and Gavin McAlpin shared wins in the Improved Production class, although no cars faced the starter for their final race. Bob Sudall’s Mazda RX2 was too good for the Group N field, leading every lap on his way to three victories. Gary Bonwick fought hard for his three HQ wins, the margin less than a second in each race.

Adam Moore won the first PRB Sports Cars race with Stefan Versluis taking victory in the reverse grid event. The 15-lap final was won by Zac LeLievre. Formula Ford was a Hayden Cooper whitewash with pole and three race wins. The Racing and Sports Cars events belonged to Steve Morecombe, leading home the Dallara F304 of Blake Varney in each of their three contests. Formula Vee young gun, Jordan Deckert took two firsts and a second in the closest events of the weekend. Paul Manteit winning Race 1. The biggest winning margin of the weekend was no more than two-tenths of a second! Joseph Tyrell dominated the 250cc Superkarts with three victories. Brian Wild had two wins and a DNS in the 125cc class, Race 3 went to Doug Amiss. A mechanical issue put paid to Paul Butler’s cleansweep in Geminis after two wins. Dave Hinton came from rear of grid to take victory in Race 3. – MARK PRYOR

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John Morris / Mpix

DUMESNY IMPRESSES IN SYDNEY SPRINTCARS SECOND generation racer Mitchell Dumesny took out an impressive Sprintcar victory last Saturday night at the Tyrepower Sydney Speedway. Mitch took control late in the 30-lap race to claim the win over former NSW Sprintcar champ Adrian Maher, with talented teenager Jon McCorkindale third. Dumesny’s Valvoline Engine Armor Maxim has been very consistent so far this

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summer with the former two-time TSS track champion picking up a strong second placing two weeks earlier. After a late race restart, Dumesny was running third behind then leader McCorkindale, to then storm into the lead, proving too fast going on to take the win. A very impressive season debut from Maher saw him forge into second with just a couple of laps remaining, leaving McCorkindale who had led from the green, settle into third.

Rounding out the top-six was last week’s winner Robbie Farr in fourth followed by a very fast and impressive Warren Ferguson and Troy Little in sixth With 35 Sprintcars attending the TSS shoot out, the eight heats saw wins going to James Thomson, Ian Loudoun, Dumesny, Roddy Bell, Bowen Little, Max Johnson, Ferguson and McCorkindale while Darryl Campbell defeated Steve Lynch, Blake Skipper and Matt Reed in the B Main. – GREG BOSCATO

ANOTHER AUSSIE IN FR UK AUSSIES OVERSEAS NICK McBride has joined fellow Aussie Geoff Uhrhane in the UK Formula Renault Finals Series. Consisting of six races over two weekends, the Finals Series rounds out British domestic motorsport for the year, following the UK Formula Renault 2.0

season. Uhrhane’s ride with Atech Reid GP was previously announced, while McBride was a late addition in a three-car line-up for Manor Motorsport. The pair both raced British Formula Ford this year, McBride finishing third in the standings and Uhrhane fifth. Snetterton held the first four races last weekend, three of which were won by Brit

Oliver Rowland and the other by Josh Hill. Of the Aussies, McBride recorded a 10th, pair of ninths and a 13th in his maiden wings-and-slicks race meeting. Uhrhane, who contested the final round of the UK Series last month, had a sixth and a seventh, but also a pair of DNFs. The remaining two races will be held at Rockingham this weekend.

A FOGGY WIN ... NZ BNT V8S/F5000

MEANWHILE, at Christchurch’s Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Canadian Jay Esterer took home the famous Lady Wigram Trophy after he dominated the opening round of the 2011/2012 MSC New Zealand Formula 5000 championship. Although Esterer wasn’t the quickest on the track, his consistent pace through out was enough to see him home ahead of pole-sitter Steve Ross and Tony Richards in the main event, in which veteran Ken Smith was a DNS after an input shaft breakage.

Paris Charles

ROUND one of six of the BNT V8s series was held at Pukekohe on the weekend, where Angus Fogg put ill luck behind him to finish a consistent first overall. Qualifying in third place, Fogg finished third, second and third in the three races respectively to take a fighting win, and the championship lead despite making heavy contact with the Armco in Race 2. Paul Manuell was second for the weekend ahead of V8 runner Jason Bargwanna in third.

MURCOTT WINS SPRINTCAR VICTORIAN David Murcott has claimed his second Oxford Insurance Brokers Australian Sprintcar Masters at Adelaide’s Speedway on the weekend, while South Australian Steven Lines crossed the finish in second driving for the Victorian car owner David Challons. From the front row, Murcott and Lines pounced away, with Lines leading the charge. With clear track ahead, Lines roared away to a dominant lead as Murcott stretched the distance between himself, Trevor Green, Jamie

Cobby, Luke Dillon, until traffic played it role during different stages of the event. Lines led comfortably until being held up in traffic, Murcott also suffered the same fate allowing Green to close the gap until Murcott got a good run through the slower cars and stole the lead. Once out in front Murcott never looked back and went on to claim the 30-lap non stop event and only missing the 30-lap record by approximately fiveseconds. Lines roared in for second and Green held out Dillon to claim the final step on the podium. – PARIS CHARLES

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WHITE HOT ... LITERALLY TARMAC RALLY THE Lamborghini Gallardo of Jason and John White has taken out the second running of the Targa High Country on the weekend, following an epic battle with Tony Quinn and Naomi Tillett for the Modern Class honours. Although initially quickest in the opening days onboard his brand new Lamborghini, White misjudged the base time following the sprint up Mt Buller, allowing the Quinn

GTR to streak ahead with seven timed runs left to run. Following an epic rollercoaster of a battle between the two leaders, it came down to four seconds with one stage left in the event, with Quinn needing to maintain that four-second gap up Mt Buller. It wasn’t to be however for Quinn, after White managed to draw everything from his new Lamborghini to win the overall event, crossing the line on fire – literally! White pulled up outside the fire

authorities, which were able to put out the flames that ignited half way up the mountain. Quinn finished second after winning a New Zealand tarmac rally event a week previous, Matt and Dennis Sims were third outright in their Nissan GTR. Three-time ARC Champions Simon and Sue Evans lived up to their name as a dominant force in Australian Rallying by easily taking out the Showroom class in their Mazda 3 MPS.

MIEDECKE ROUNDS UP IN SECOND! FOURTH place for George Miedecke at the final round of the UARA Stars Series at Rockingham Speedway on the weekend was more than enough to secure second place in the championship, following an outstanding debut year for the JELD-WEN backed Australian. Miedecke continued his trend of setting the quickest times in the lead up to the event, qualifying in fifth place for the race. Overnight rain and a slick circuit meant

that the running was single file, making passing difficult for the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport pilot. Miedecke already had the Rookie of the Year award wrapped up at the previous round, thanks to a fast, yet consistent season. Miedecke was overwhelmed by his performance this year. “I could never have dreamed that we would finish second in the championship, it

really has exceeded all of our expectations,” Miedecke said. “The support we have received from JELD-WEN has been fantastic, as has the guidance from Marcos and all of the team. “During the race it was incredibly hard to pass- you would try to go high, but there wasn’t the grip there to make it work. “Racing at Rockingham is a great experience, to finish fourth is a top way to round out the season.”

TRY THE VEAL SPRINTCAR JAMIE Veal’s stellar start to the Eureka Garages & Sheds Sprintcar Series continued on Saturday night at Heartland Raceway, Moama, when he grabbed Round 3 after a near faultless night of driving.

Veal was again superb beating home Grant Anderson and Domain Ramsay to still lead the overall series pointscore. In hot conditions Veal scored a heat win and a third placing to lead the points and headed into the top-six time trials trying to retain his lead and he did, setting the best time and start the A Main from pole with

Anderson also off the front row. The feature saw Veal lead the entire 30laps and was quick to thank his parents. “I can’t thank mum and dad enough. Without them we wouldn’t be here racing. They basically give me what I need to try and get the job done,” Veal said. – GEOFF ROUNDS

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motorsport news

rear of grid

THIS is something for the V8 Supercar commentators to muse before season 2013. NASCAR driver-turned-TV commentator Kyle Petty has driven some pretty hornery racecars in his career but we are guessing none of them were this jumpy. Petty lasted

NASCAR Media

NO BULLS ... well, let us just say that he lasted less than the required eight seconds when he leapt on a bull during a bull riding exhibition at the ‘No Limits’ Garage Party at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. We are going to make the assumption that V8 Supercars’ talking heads will man

up and do likewise when the Aussie V8s go to Austin. Hang on … racer-turned-commentator? That sounds to us like only two men can accept this challenge and uphold the honour of Queen, country and Australia. Over to you, Mr Crompton and Mr Skaife.

ON THIS DAY 7 NOVEMBER 1993

IT is 18 years ago today that the great Ayrton Senna won his final Grand Prix in Adelaide. The Brazilian qualified on pole position in his Ford-powered McLaren and led away from pole position, to take the win from the Williams pair of Alain Prost and Damon Hill. Senna had already confirmed that he was leaving McLaren to join Hill at Williams the following season. He scored 65 pole positions and 41 wins in his Formula 1 career.

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