april 2014 - Auckland Car Club

APRIL 2014
PLEASE WELCOME CLUBMANS SPORTS CAR RACING TO THE ACC LINE UP
P O Box 27063, Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand 1440
Phone: (09) 620-9797 Facsimile: (09) 620-5247
Auckland Car Club’s Monthly Magazine, Race, Rally, Clubsport and More…
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
CONTACT LIST
President
Vice President
Secretary/Treasurer
Membership
Secretary
Clubsport
Race
Club Captain
Chief Scrutineer
Club Rooms Hire
Club News
Committee Members
MotorSport New
Zealand Licence
Examiners
Mark
Sheehan
579-6611
Ted Jarvis
Craig
Holmes
John (Larry)
Lawton
Ross
Henderson
Mark
Sheehan
486-1970
846-1746
815-5089
579-6611
Steve Morris 835-9515
Kirsty or
Martyn
Mike Dias
416-6765
Aaron
Clarke
835-4794
Brett Davy
834-9300
Steve
Melhuish
477-2156
Brett Davy
834-9300
Aaron
Clarke
Peter
Borman
021-1129175
021-635031
021-889488
835-4794
837-0488
vicepresident2@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
vicepresident1@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
secretary@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
membership@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
clubsport@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
race@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
021-487205
021-1129175
021-2789373
021-02528531
027-4835550
021-485272
021-2501505
021-635439
021-2501505
021-485272
021-442700
rawjam@vodafone.co.nz
scrutineer@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
clubrooms@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
clubnews@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
mandm@xtra.co.nz
ajcrace@gmail.com
bathroomsystems@ihug.co.nz
melhuish.steve@briggsand
stratton.co.nz
bathroomsystems@ihug.co.nz
ajcrace@gmail.com
Web: www.aucklandcarclub.org.nz Facebook: www.facebook.com/race.rally.clubsport
Note: All calls to the above numbers are to be BEFORE 9:00pm
The Club thanks the
following for their
support:
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Contact: Kirsty or Martyn at clubnews@aucklandcarclub.org.nz
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
CLUB INFORMATION
Clubrooms
44 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland
Licensed Bar, Lounge, Large Screen TV
Regular Club Night
The club rooms are open every Thursday night from 7:30pm until 10:30pm. License
examiners are usually available to assist new Members with license exams. Several
members of the Executive Committee are usually available to discuss any issues or provide
assistance.
Club Rooms Hire Rates
The Members’ Lounge and the larger hall upstairs are available for hire for special events
such as birthday or anniversary parties, meetings, bingo/housie, quiz nights, training
courses, etc. The Members’ Lounge has a fully equipped bar and the upstairs hall has a
complete kitchen available for both venues.
Special hire rates are available for Club Members. Commercial organisations and
community groups receive discounts for multiple events or long-term commitments.
Please direct enquiries to Steve Morris clubrooms@aucklandcarclub.or.nz
2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Due to a conflict with the Motorsport New Zealand Annual General Council Meeting, the
Club’s Annual General Meeting date has been changed to:
Thursday 19 June 8:00pm 44 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill
The following nominations have been received:
President
Ted Jarvis
Vice President
Steve Melhuish
Club Captain
Aaron Clarke
Secretary/Treasurer
Craig Holmes
Committee Member
Natalie Waite
Committee Member
Brett Davy
Committee Member
Martyn Wells
Committee Member
Kirsty Tiller
Committee Member
Ross Henderson
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
General
Note the Prize giving has also been rescheduled and will be held immediately after the
Annual General Meeting.
Club Logo
We are currently looking to upgrade our Club Logo and we would like you all to have a hand
in the choice that’s made.
We will be running a design competition which everybody is free to enter. These can be
hand drawn or with using CAD.
It must contain ‘Auckland Car Club Inc’ somewhere in the image.
The winner will receive a gift worth up to $300 courtesy of Briggs & Stratton. Please send
your designs to us at clubnews@aucklandcarclub.org.nz by Sunday 18th May. The winner
will be announced at the AGM on May 22nd.
Club Caravan
In 1979 we acquired a Club Caravan. It was always around at our meetings whether it be
Rally’s, Motorkhanas or Sprints. A complete mobile office. Well times have changed and it
was time to move on. It was starting to show its age and look a bit tatty, so a decision was
made to sell. We gave her a clean and a polish and popped her on trade me with a $1
reserve. There were over 700 watchers and there were 100’s of bids.
The final bid was made by an Enthusiast Member who wants to keep her for her history.
The Auckland Car Club paraphernalia will be kept on the outside - she has definitely gone to
a good home.
Goodbye old girl you have seen us right!
Oldies Night
It’s that time of year again, yes Oldies Night is at the Club Rooms on the 4th May from 2
until 6. As always there will be nibbles provided and the bar will be open.
We will also have a guest speaker for your enjoyment. If you have any questions relating to
Oldies Night please let us know by calling the club rooms or Steve Morris.
Trophies
Can everybody who received a Trophy last year please arrange to have it bought back to
the Club Rooms as soon as possible please? We need sufficient time to have them inscribed
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
OTHER CLUB NEWS
for this year’s winner. The club rooms are open on a Thursday Night form 7.30. If you have
any questions please contact Aaron Clarke.
TIME & PLACE PHOTOGRAPHY
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE NOW ABLE TO OFFER CANVAS
PRINTS FOR PURCHASE
PERHAPS YOU WANT TO GET A GIFT FOR A LOVED ONE OR YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING
DIFFERENT FROM JUST A PHOTO
VARIOUS SIZES AVAILABLE – AS LISTED BELOW
A3 – 420mm x 297mm (16.5" x 12.0") $55
A2 - 594mm x 420mm (23.5" x 16.5") $65
A1 – 841mm x 594mm (33.0" x 23.5") $95
A0 – 1189mm x 841mm (47.0" x 33.0") $155
REGULAR PANORAMIC – 1000mm x 300mm (39.5" x 12.0") $115
JUMBO PANORAMIC – 1500mm x 500mm (59.0" x 19.5") $225
NOW AVAILABLE
HIGH QUALITY VINYL PRINTED ALLOY BOARDS
WATER-PROOF, GRIME-PROOF, WORKSHOP-PROOF
900mm x 600mm - GREAT SIZE FOR BUSINESS/SHED/GARAGE $160
600m x 400mm - GREAT SIZE FOR HOMES $120
WALL MOUNTING KIT (HOLES WILL BE PRE-DRILLED WHEN ORDERED WITH PRINT) $25
POSTAGE IS DEPENDANT ON LOCATION OR COLLECTION AVAILABLE
PLEASE SEE FACEBOOK FOR CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT US
timeandplacephotography@yahoo.co.nz
facebook.com/TimeAndPlacePhotography
021 0252 8531
PLEASE ALLOW 10-15 WORKING DAYS FOR DELIVERY. PHOTO TO BE CHOSEN BY PURCHASER AND A FINAL PROOF WILL BE
MADE UP FOR SIGN OFF BEFORE PRINTING COMMENCES. PAYMENT AT TIME OF ORDER VIA BANK TRANSFER
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
OTHER NEWS
Silver Fern Motorsport
Charitable Trust
Who We Are
Silver Fern MotorSport Charitable Trust is a registered, not-for-profit charity which provides
educational programmes and activities in the area of automotive and motorsport.
Mission
To inspire and empower youth to make positive changes in their lives through
educational programmes and activities in automotive and motorsport.
Purpose
To provide training, education and mentorship to people, particularly young people who
are identified as “at-risk” or disadvantaged, focusing on the automotive and motorsport
based industries, and to better place them for future employment and for selfdevelopment.
Values
Core values of the Trust are:
Our History
Silver Fern Motorsport Charitable Trust was established in July 2010 to inspire youth with a
passion for cars and motorsport with an opportunity to learn new skills and motivate youth
to pursue long term pathways into employment or career based training.
The inspiration to develop the Trust was spearheaded by founders Ted Jarvis and Marie
Person following competing in the 2007/2008 NZV8 National Championship Series. They
identified an opportunity to establish a training and mentorship programme for youth to
provide them with an opportunity to learn basic skills in automotive and motorsport trade
based activities.
The development of the programme was targeted to working with disadvantaged and atrisk youth passionate about cars, with the purpose of channelling this passion into positive
future pathways.
Establishment of the Trust infrastructure and resourcing of the training and mentorship
programme was possible through funding support from ASB Community Trust and
partnerships with local community, local government and industry.
What We Do
Silver Fern Motorsport Charitable Trust offers programmes and activities to support youth
development in the area of automotive and motorsport.
Programmes provide training, education and mentorship to people, particularly young
people who are identified as “at-risk” or disadvantaged.
Programmes offered by the Trust focus on learning new skills, goal setting, increased selfconfidence and positioning youth to engage in career development training pathways or
employment.
Silver Fern MotorSport Youth Training and Mentorship Programme
The Silver Fern Motorsport Youth Training and Mentorship Programme provides intensive
hands-on automotive training and mentorship to youth who are passionate about cars.
Youth are provided the opportunity to learn basic skills in automotive and motorsport, and
are provided post-programme training support to pursue either long term training, work
placements or employment pathways. The programme holds CYF403 accreditation status
with Child Youth and Family Services under the Ministry of Social Development.
Ted Jarvis (Chairman, Trustee)
Ted is co-founder and Chairman of the Trust and has a long standing
background in working with youth in motorsport. Ted also holds four
National racing titles in 0-1600cc Touring Car Series and has competed in
many endurance races, including twice at Bathurst 1000 Australia,
Benson & Hedges, Nissan Mobil and North Island Endurance races.
Professionally, Ted is a former New Zealand MotorSport Licensed Examiner of 23years
(resigned in 2013), a former Pro Drive youth driver instructor for the Motorsport Trust, and
is current Vice President of the Auckland Car Club.
Ted has also worked as an official in a number of capacities including a Briefing Officer for
new race drivers. Former positions also included: Club Captain and Executive Officer of the
Auckland Car Club, member of The Motorsport New Zealand Training Programme and
member of Taupo Car Club. Ted has been involved in helping as a volunteer for a number of
car clubs in New Zealand, and has led a number of charity events and fundraisers for youth
initiatives. Professionally, Ted holds a background in sales, marketing and business and
resides in Auckland.
***********************************************************
Where is it now?
We are starting a new segment on old cars that we would like to find. If you remember any
cars that you would like to
find out more on please send
us a small write up and any
photos you may have so we
can ask a wider audience to
find any information we can
and to help locate such iconic
cars.
************************
*******************************************
European Ford Escort
Here is the last know pictures of its Existence, this may have been 1986-87, this was at
Surfacers Paradise.
The car is a European Ford Escort Mark 3 3 door, called an RS1600i originally built as a
Group A BTCC car, the car was built by Richard Longman Racing, in Christchurch in the
UK. It was sold in 1984 to a Race team called John Jeffries Engineering, who painted the
Blue and White, as originally it was Post Office Red.
John Jeffries sold the car to Andrew Bagnall who kept the same colour scheme and ran the
car in at least one race in NZ the Wellington Street Race (Nissan 500) in 1986 with Paul
Radisich, (who I have spoken and he know I am looking for the car).
This is what I definitely know what the car did in 1986:
Australian Endurance Championship
Position: no position
2 races. 0 wins. 0 pole positions. 0 podiums. 0 fastest laps.
Team: Andrew Bagnall
Car: Ford Escort RS1600i
Better Brakes/AMSCAR Series
Position: no position
1 race. 0 wins. 0 pole positions. 0 podiums. 0 fastest laps.
Car: Ford Escort Mk.III RS1600i
Australian Touring Car Championship
Position: 37 (8 points)
1 race. 0 wins. ? pole positions. 0 podiums? fastest laps.
Team: Andrew Bagnall
If anybody has any information please email us at Club
news.
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB HEIMGARTNER REPORT
V8 Supertourers Round 3 Pukekohe
22/23 March 2014
We have finally got a new permanent team
together following my engineer Paul Ceprinich’s late
decision to butt out of V8STs. The team is made up
of individually very competent people but as always there are teething problems. I have
high hopes for the team going forward, been a bit unsettling of late.
I flew in from the Gold Coast on Tuesday. I’m finding it very difficult to cover my living
expenses in Oz and, couldn’t turn down an offer of work on Monday. I flew from Auckland
to Melbourne at 6am on the following Monday for a test in the Supercar at Winton on
Tuesday where we managed to sort out a handling issue.
Puke was a two day event with 2 practices and 2 quali sessions on Saturday and racing on
Sunday. A contrast to the next combined Supercars round at Puke which will start on
Wednesday. Thursday is 1 practice session, Friday 1 quali session, Saturday 2 races, and
Sunday 2 races.
Increasing calls for more engine parity has led to more scrutinizing. We use a big lazy road
engine manufactured to relatively broad tolerances, we are allowed to blue print certain
areas, it doesn’t take much to find a little HP and it takes only a little.
The only answer to this issue is to pool all engines, have them serviced by only one outfit
and ballot for an engine. I am told V8ST
Ltd is working on such a solution.
PRACTICE
I was second quickest in session 1. And
4th in session 2. Again there were some
unexplainable big movers. This time
Angus Fogg who has been running near
the rear of the field most times has
found super extraordinary pace. It would
be so nice to have assured parity so
Foggy can take credit for his
improvement and race 2 win without
people asking questions.
QUALIFYING
I qualified in P4 and P5 for races one and two starts. My car was handling so well and I was
quick through corners. I can’t fault my engine either but my straight line speed is still an
issue.
RACE 1
Started 4th and finished 4th. I would catch the cars
ahead in corners but didn’t have the speed to
position myself to overtake on or at the end of
straights. To top it off my power steering AGAIN
gave up the ghost 5 laps from the finish and I was
lucky to hang in there. This is the 3rd time this year,
which is bloody unbelievable! We are getting our
steering racks rebuilt now with the best possible
components, standard issue stuff just doesn’t do
the job, and we need more effective oil cooling for the PS. Just as well I spend lots of time in
the gym!
RACE 2
Started 5th and ended 5th for the same reasons. The top 5 cars are now opening up a
decent gap on the rest of the field.
RACE 3
Firstly the rain had set in and most of us were caught on slicks so, after a long delay they
declared the race wet which meant that all had to change to wets. See the attached photos,
it was pretty wet!
I was hoping that the rain would be the big leveller like at Highlands, which usually works
well for me. We waited for ages for the start with our window demisters, blowers and,
wipers on.
As we took off and my engine faltered, I held position all the way to Castrol corner where
my car’s computer decided that with only
7 volts available it would switch off!
I don’t normally swear much! I sat there
for 3 laps turning everything off, thinking
about what to do. Talked the marshals
into giving me a push start. I was off again
and was so angry that not having my
accessories going didn’t matter; I had
nothing to lose and managed to make up
nearly a lap before changing back to slicks
on a drying track. With three quarters of
the field including the lead cars still struggling on wets, I made up another lap by race end. I
finished 1 lap down with only Foggy behind me due to him making a mess of a pit stop.
CONCLUSION
What sort of experience was that? It was a dry joint or something that connected only with
the right directional g force. The electrical draw off using all my accessories in the rain prior
to the race starting left no charge in the battery. Once stopped a surface charge returned to
the battery and my braking g force connected the alternator often enough to get me to the
end of the race. In race 3 I put in the quickest lap by nearly 1 second.
I fell from 2nd in the championship to about 5th, with some luck I could climb back into it
again.
Next up is Winton in DVS Supercars, April 4/6th time for some good luck!
I met Alistair at the airport in Melbourne, he flew in from NZ and me from the Gold Coast. It
was a pleasant 2.5 hour drive to Winton during which you usually encounter extreme
conditions. I have seen massive floods,
bush fires, brown dry grass for miles and
miles and like on this occasion plenty of
green grass.
FRIDAY PRACTICE.
3rd in practice 1, track was difficult
because of track repairs they did
throughout last week. Was almost like
driving on a wet track due to the tar
delaminating from the surface.
Practice 2, 7th but was one of the
quickest of those who didn’t run new tires.
QUALIFYING.
Finished 8th we were sitting in the top three for 2/3 of the session but unfortunately
missed he window to put new tires on and finished the session on original set. This bad
strategic call unfortunately saw us bump down the order to finish 8th. All drivers who ran a
second set of green tyres all improved by at least by 3 tenths.
RACE 1
I got an average start due to wheel spin which saw me holding my position into turn one.
Unlike last year we made it through the first turn safe with 26 laps to improve our position.
After dropping a couple of spots and then regaining them I ended up finishing 9th, which
would see me start on the front row on Sunday’s race.
RACE 2
Starting off the front row on our second set of qualifying tires we were hoping for a strong
result to maintain our momentum for the weekend, after having a good start we led the
opening lap unfortunately due to a small lock up on the second lap saw me run wide of the
exit of turn 10-11. I tried to avoid contact on re-joining and in doing so, unfortunately, I
dropped back in position down the order to 9th where I held my position for the reminder
of the race. I was one place behind Steve Owen, my team mate, who likewise struck
misfortune. There were very limited passing opportunities due to hot track conditions.
CONCLUSION
A tough weekend overall we showed we had good car pace at all stages of the weekend.
Strategy just didn’t work in our favour to allow us to perform on the day. In saying this, the
team and I learnt a lot from this round that will help us in the future. Heading back to the
coast this week and will get back to training and working hard until the big Supercar
weekend at Puke, next up!
Lots of work going into preparing my car. The cost to run a Supertourer continues to
escalate as the series becomes more professional and competitive.
Regards
Andre
IMAGES FROM ANDREHEIMGARTNER.COM
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
MY ROUND, MY STORY
The Final Whistle Clubman
Sports Car Racing
Round four Pukekohe - 6th April 2014
The sun beamed down, the grid marshal’s arm
dropped to signal the start of play and a field
of clubman sports cars took to the track for the fourth and final round of the CSCR series.
It was familiar territory for the group with a return to the old hunting ground at Pukekohe,
looking quite splendid in preparation for the Australian V8 championship. The clubman
sports car field was boosted by the return of John Bloemendal in the super quick Fraser and
Trev Lines in the beautifully presented green and yellow Redline. Patrick Collins was
sporting a new gear box, and Terry Buffery was back under starter’s orders with his green
and alloy number 27 car. In all six Frasers, Four Redlines and the Lotus Elise of Steve Elliott
snarled across the control line and blatted out for the first taste of tarmac in the qualifying
session.
The qualifying markers went down for the final grab of points as Trev Lines, John
Bloemendal and Kevin Hunt were separated by 0.1 seconds between them. The clubman
field also found quicker times, with many PB’s a testament to hard work in the garage and
on the track between race weekends, as well as sorting some better lines following the last
visit. John Cumming and Steve Elliott formed up on row three behind the open cars, with a
tight group of five clubman’s spread by less than 2 seconds.
Pukekohe is played as a lap of two halves as the technical turn two-three-four combination
of lefts and rights sets up to unleash the car down the back straight, now lined with walls
reminiscent of an Indy track. The new complex 5-6-7 sets up for the hairpin, and a good
drive out of here in a clubman car becomes a full on blast over the hill and down the bumpy
straight past the massive grandstands, hanging on through the eyes-wide-open turn one.
The meeting stuck to the proven format of one scratch race followed by two handicap races
under the flag with each row rolling forward to the starter. The scratch race was a tight
affair with a clean start and the clubman class cars making their presence felt off the line.
The Lines-Hunt-Bloemendal trio carried on their qualifying form, separated by a handshake
and finishing in that order, while a blistering lap from Kevin Hunt’s rapid Redline took FTD
to a new sub-14 level. Craig Sawyer in the Jolly Good Fellows Redline took the Clubman
class honours in fifth place overall after finding an inside channel to turn one on the start.
Lane Fennelly took the honours in Race two as he hooked up 3SGE turbo power and kept
ahead of the chasing open class cars. Patrick Collins ran hard and consistently in the Fraser
in the 1:18 zone, and Tony Clarke reaped the reward form lots of hard work on the Frasers
rear end set up over the course of a day’s testing.
Race three was down to eight starters as John B found a sixth gear lurking in the gear box of
FASTAS, and Lane Fennelly and Terry Buffery contemplated under bonnet gremlins and the
prospect of burning some midnight oil.
Craig Sawyer put in a consistent and swift drive to take the points for race three. The
whistle was blown early when the seven-lapper didn’t quite run to full time as a coming
together at the hairpin meant the blue Elise spent a lap watching on the side of the track.
Trev Lines and Patrick Collins followed the Jolly Good one over the line in front of Kevin
Hunt, with a hard charging Tony Clarke leading the seemingly inseparable Fraser duo of
Steve Lowery and John Cumming.
The post-match BBQ was delicious
and well received as always by
hungry drivers and crew after the full
on intensity of a day’s racing. The
talk was of the next season, again
running as an independent group
with the Auckland Car Club for a
number of their very professionally
run events and looking certain to
include rounds further afield at
Taupo. The group also hopes to welcome some new drivers either for the series or to try
out a few one-off events.
Without doubt the clubman sports car series has achieved what it set out to do, bringing
together a competitive field of these exciting and rewarding cars, and creating a great
environment for like-minded people both experienced and new to enjoy pure racing in its
very best tradition.
Scribe - JC
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
JONO LESTER BLOG
Auckland Car Club Blog
April 2014
The new season is about to begin
and after much preparation, I’m
ready to hit the track.
I’ll start my season ‘across the ditch’ in Australia, with my first visit to one of my all-time
bucket list circuits: Phillip Island.
Together with Fastway Racing, we are taking on the 101-lap Australian GT endurance race
in the team’s proven Porsche 997 GT3. We’ll be up against it in the trophy class with the
likes of Steve Owen, Steven Richards and James Winslow in FIA GT3-spec machinery, but
we hope to make up for our lack of aero and power with a solid strategy and consistent fast
pace from both myself and my co-driver, Simon Ellingham.
A class podium or maybe better is definitely achievable and I have great faith in our
prospects.
Running the car will be the
McElrea Racing team, led by
ex-pat Kiwi Andy McElrea. They
are no strangers to Porsche
success and are currently
leading the Carrera Cup
Australia Championship with
Warren Luff.
Simon and I will test at ‘The
Island’ on May 7th ahead of the event proper on May 24th. Starting the season in my
beloved Porker with an enduro on such a famous, demanding and picturesque circuit is the
best way to kick my butt back into race mode for the 2014 season.
By the time we test, it will have been six months since I have driven a race car. That’s a long
time between drinks and hot damn I’m thirsty!
As I write this, I’m
compiling
my
measurements for my
Racewear for my other
exciting drive in Asia
for 2014, but for now
that needs to be kept
under wraps.
Ahead of the season
I’d really pleased to
welcome Laser Tools
NZ to my family of
partners, with their
premium range of British built tools. See www.lasertools.co.nz for more info.
Also supporting my racing this season is Vortex Racewear, Fastway Couriers, R Redpath Ltd,
CRC, www.motornews.co.nz, Robbie Bird Wines, Fineline Signs and Sony New Zealand.
Please support those who support me – these companies are run by great people who are
passionate supporters of motorsport.
I also invite you to check out my fresh new website at www.jonolester.com!
Until next month, be safe and be fast.
Jono Lester
Date
Event
Location
24 - 27-Apr-14
26 - 27-Apr-14
V8 Super Cars
Tough Mudder
Pukekohe
Raceway
Hampton Downs
If
4-May-14
10 - 11-May-14
Auckland Car Club
Diesel, Demons & Daredevils Truck Racing
10-May-14
Northern Sports Car Club
11-May-14
NZIGP
Pukekohe
Raceway
Taupo Raceway
Pukekohe
Raceway
Pukekohe
Raceway
anybody knows of any extra events they would like publicised, please do send us the
information or perhaps a digital flyer and we will get it in the next newsletter.
V8 Supercars ITM 500 Auckland, 24-27 April 2014
Excitement is set to erupt at the ITM 500 Auckland this April as V8 Supercars brings the
ultimate sporting rivalry to the racetrack over the ANZAC weekend.
Australia and New Zealand will go head to head in a passionate action-filled battle which
will have the Kiwis eager for domination on home soil at Pukekohe Park Raceway.
Don’t miss your chance to see one of the world’s greatest adrenalin pumping motorsports
live in New Zealand.
Grab your friends and family and join forces on the battlefield to get your nation across the
finish line with a roar.
Tickets ON SALE NOW.
Holder Takes Tall Step
Standing at 6 foot 6 inches there is not
much that towers above Mt
Maunganui based rally driver David
Holder, but the challenge of stepping
up to the 4wd class of the National
Championship at this Weekend’s VINZ
International Rally of Whangarei will
be a tall task for the young driver.
It’s an undertaking that sees him competing against a field full of past national champions,
in what will be Holders debut rally in the newly rebuilt Stadium Cars Mitsubishi Evo 8. The
rally is the opening round of the ‘Brian Green Property Group p New Zealand Rally
Championship – driven by VINZ’, and while Holder has competed at Whangarei previously,
this will be the first at the top tier in a 4wd turbo charged car.
“I’m really looking forward to getting out on those stages and giving the Stadium Cars Evo a
good thrashing,” says Holder. “Its got stack loads more power than the cars I’ve driven, so
should be a bit of fun! But at the same time will take a few kms to get a handle on, so I’m a
little nervous and we aren’t expecting to challenge the old hands just yet.”
“A lot of work has gone into getting g the car and team ready for this year and but once
again I have to say that Hayden Paddons (Hyundai WR RC Driver) advice, support and the
time he puts in as s my mentor, has been a pivotal in getting us to this p point” Holder says.
The team would also like to acknowledge the support they receive from principal sponsors
Stadium Cars along with VINZ, Gull Fuel and Magnum Compliance to name a few of their
family of valued sponsors.
“We wouldn’t be making it to the start line without the continued support of Stadium (Cars)
they have backed me from the beginning and it’s great to have their support again this
year,” says Holder.
“It’s fair to say that we have a lot of good people putting in hours helping out, Mike from
Force Automotive has been putting in the e hard yards prepping the Mitsubishi, Speedy
Signs have wrapped the car, Sew Hot have provided the tea am clothing… and the list goes
on.”
“We are extremely grateful for everyone who is helping us out” says Holder.
HOLDER SETS THE BAR HIGH
Looking back five years ago, Mt Maunganui rally driver David Holder could be found
watching some of his New Zealand rally heroes in awe…. Now he is challenging those same
heroes for the rally lead.
Heading into VINZ International Rally of Whangarei last weekend, Holder had very realistic
expectations of his abilities
given that he had only
done a few kilometres of
testing in the Stadium C
Cars Mitsubishi Evo 8. In
what would be his debut in
a 4wd rally car, Holder
made the decision at the
beginning of the event not
to look at stage times,
instead f focusing on
improving with each stage
across the weekend.
“A number of people were encouraging me throughout the day on Saturday letting me
know I was doing a great job, but I still had no idea w where we were placed” says Holder.
Unbeknown to Holder he was in the top two or three stage times all day up until the sixth
stage, which saw him blitz the field and take not t only the stage win and outright lead in
the NZRC, but also win the stage over the entire field of APRC cars.
“I finally asked Malcolm (co-driver) at the end of stage six how we were going, and he just
gave me a big grin and said to keep doing what I’m m doing” shares Holder
“We were half way through that stage when a strong smell of petrol began to fill the car. I
had no idea where it was coming from but clearly it was a big leak, with fuel sloshing
around the floor on Malcolm’s side of the car”
“Just as well we’ve got Gull Fuel on board this year supporting us, because we certainly
wasted a bit on the ground on Saturday” laughs Holder.
With rules preventing a refuel at service the tank ran empty in stage seven, and the refuel
before stage eight cost them a five minute penalty and their chances of victory on day one,
however a lot of encouragement could be taken from m their outstanding pace.
“It’s been great getting a number of encouraging phone calls and emails over the last few
days with people showing their support for us. We still have a long way to go this season
but it’s great to know so many people are backing us!” says Holder.
Day two started well, until the third d stage saw the boys jump the fence for a bit of a
paddock excursion.
The resulting damage was relatively y minimal, but unfortunately they holed the radiator
and were unable to continue.
“I think I owe the farmer a bit of fencing… make that a lot of fencing, but surprisingly he
wasn’t to grumpy and
even opened the gate for
us to get out” joked
Holder.
A big thank you goes out
to Hayden Paddon
(Hyundai World Rally
Championship driver) for
all the advice and support
he has offered to make
the most of this
opportunity. Also to
Stadium Cars s Ltd whose ongoing support is making this happen for the team.
“We had “Jack” the Stadium Cars teddy bear harnessed to the roof for the weekend rid de.
Even though the ride was fast and furious he was still smiling at the end, and managed to fit
in a cuddle with Malcolm on Saturday night” joked David.
The team now looks forward in preparation for Rally of Otago, the second round of the
Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship, where they will aim to gain
further experience.
“The plan will be exactly the same, to prepare well, just focus on ourselves, and learn a as
much as possible” states Holder.
Follow Holder Brothers Racings pro ogress in the Stadium Cars Mitsubishi by going to:
www.holderbrothersracing.com
2013/2014 Season Points
RACING SALOONS 0-2000cc
This was a great series win by Paul Pavletich in his
Nissan Pulsar, there was some good racing with
the BMW’s of Graham & Paul Ball but the hard
charging & consistent Pavletich had the welldeserved win of the series with a huge points
advantage going into the last round where he
continued his dominance of the class to take out
the series.
RACING SALOONS 0 –2000cc:
1st: Paul Pavletich: 272 Points
2nd: Glen Gordon: 54 Points
RACING SALOONS 2001- 3000cc:
Andrew Leach: 60 Points
RACING SALOONS 3000cc & Over:
Racing Saloons 2000cc & above was taken out by Phil Schubert. There were some very close
battles through the series with Phil Schuber, Rod Pratt, Tony Galbraith & Ross Henderson,
Pratt Rod entered the first two rounds & Tony Galbraith was running in Racing Saloons &
Northern Muscle Cars at each round as well as running every meeting with Central Muscle
Cars around the country.
1st: Phil Schubert: 248 points
2nd: Ross Henderson: 112 points
3rd: Rod Pratt: 89 Points
Production Saloons 0 2000 cc
Round 6
Pukekohe
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Steve Elliott
1st
2nd
2nd
Paul Warrener
2nd
1st
1st
Production Saloons 2001
cc
Round 6
Pukekohe
and over
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Aaron Clarke
Nick Milina
Marcus Heke
Neville Findlay
1st
3rd
DNS
1st
DNF
1st
4th
Martin Day
2nd
A.C.C Members Points Total
Rounds
Steve Elliott
Brett Thomas
Paul Warrener
Rex McDonald
Steve Kahn
0
0
3rd
3rd
2nd
2nd
Round 1
Round
2
Round
3
Round
4
Round
5
Round
6
0
28
0
0
0
28
18
0
0
13
30
28
0
26
0
21
0
0
0
14
14
0
11
0
0
26
0
28
0
0
Graham MacDonald
Greg Mikkelsen
Jarrod Paltridge
Bronwynne Leech
Alex Sherie
Kevin Varney
Tony Richardson
18
0
18
12
0
0
0
5
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
12
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Round 1
Round
2
Round
3
Round
4
Round
5
Round
6
26
22
24
0
0
26
8
20
0
0
0
30
0
0
0
0
22
28
10
0
26
5
0
0
20
30
11
0
12
0
A.C.C Members Points Total
Rounds
Aaron Clarke
Nick Milina
Marcus Heke
Neville Findlay
Elliot Osborne
er
1st: Aaron Clarke
2nd: Nick Milina
3rd: Marcus Heke
20
01
cc
&
Ov
0-2000cc
1st: Steve Elliott
2nd: Brett Thomas
3rd: Paul Warrener
Congratulations to everybody who took part and good luck for the next
season.
Dates & Contacts for the 2014/2015 Calendar
Below are the dates and classes for the 2014/2015 Auckland Car Club Race Calendar if you
have any questions relating to any of this please do contact us at Club News of by
contacting any one of the below Co-ordinators.
Date
Round
Track
Day
ACJS
NMC
PMC
S.P
C.S.C
R.S
R.E.C
Sprints
6-Sep
R1
HD
Saturday
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
18-Oct
R2
PPR
Saturday
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
7-Dec
R3
PPR
Sunday
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
14-Feb
15Mar
R4
HD
Saturday
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
R5
PCR
Sunday
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
12-Apr
R6
HD
Sunday
Yes
TBC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBC
TBC
Class
Coordinator
(1st)
Phone
Number
Race Format
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Classic Japanese Series
Steve Melhuish
021 635 439
Classic Japanese Series
Scratch
Handicap
Handicap
Northern Muscle Cars
Steve Melhuish
021 635 439
Northern Muscle Cars
Scratch
Handicap
Handicap
Production Muscle Cars
Brett Davey
027 2501505
Production Muscle Cars
Scratch
Reverse Grid
Handicap
Standard Production
Aaron Clarke
021 485272
Standard Production
Scratch
Reverse Grid
Handicap
Racing Saloons
Mike Dias
027 4835550
Racing Saloons
Scratch
Reverse Grid
Handicap
Clubman Sports Cars
Trev Lines
027 4348556
Clubman Sports Cars
Scratch
Handicap
Handicap
Rotary Enthusiasts
Graeme Hill
027 2100886
Rotary Enthusiasts
Scratch
Reverse Grid
Handicap
If any other Classes would like to advertise their point’s tables and winners for the season
please send them to me and I will put them in the next newsletter.
If any member of any class would like to advertise anything in the newsletter regarding
anything to do with their class or something they have to sell or are looking to buy, please
contact me at clubnews@aucklandcarclub.org.nz.
If anybody has any friends that are interested in racing but they do not know where their
car would place in the classes please contact any one of the above Co-ordinators and they
will find a suitable place for them and help to guide them through their Race Licence if
necessary and the rules and regulations for the Club or Class they can join.
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB
WORLD NEWS
Loeb and López Penalized - Muller Inherits Pole
THE TOP TWO QUALIFIERS AT CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF THEIR QUALIFYING POSITIONS, HANDING THE
POLE FOR RACE ONE OVER TO CITROEN'S YVAN MULLER.
Sébastien Loeb and José María López have
been stripped of their first and second
qualifying positions after the technical
checks. During the post-qualifying checks,
the FIA Technical Delegate tested the
automatic fuel cut-off system on all the
five cars that took part in Q3.
This test failed on the Citroën C-Elysée
cars of Loeb and López; the same test had
been successfully performed last week
before the opening event of the season at
Marrakech.
Consequently, the Stewards of the Meeting decided to disallow all lap times set by the two
drivers who will be demoted to the back of the starting grid of both tomorrow’s races.
This will place Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini on the front row of the starting grid for
Race 1, while Mehdi Bennani and René Münnich will share the front row on the top-ten
reverse grid for Race 2.
Plato Earns Pole as Lap Record Tumbles
JASON PLATO DIDN'T JUST EARN POLE POSITION FOR THE BRITISH TOURING CAR RACE AT DONINGTON PARK, HE SMASHED
THE TRACK RECORD!
Jason Plato has obliterated the Donington Park lap record on his way to scoring his first pole
position of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The Leicestershire circuit had been a hive of activity and speed during free practice with lap
times already dipping under Gordon Shedden’s pole position time from 2013. Many were
predicting a record breaking qualifying session, and those predictions proved correct as
Sam Tordoff first clocked a time in the 1m9s bracket before that was immediately bettered
by his MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save team-mate Plato.
After starting on the front row in each of the last four seasons at Donington Park,
Shedden’s liking for the circuit clearly hasn’t diminished as the Scotsman also jumped
Tordoff to take second. Shedden’s front row start will be the first for the all-new Civic
Tourer, however, and will also be the first for an ‘estate’ style car in the BTCC.
Tordoff, who is celebrating his 25th birthday today, will be slightly frustrated not to have
matched his pace from free practice two, but third still represents a good opportunity for
the Yorkshireman to target his first podium of the season.
Colin Turkington went about his business in the usual professional manner and although
the eBay Motors BMW failed to trouble the fight for pole position, the Ulsterman produced
a stellar effort to jump ahead of both VWs to take fourth. Aron Smith and Alain Menu will
still line up an impressive fifth and sixth respectively, but such was the pace of the CCs
during practice that the Chrome Edition Restart Racing drivers will be slightly disappointed
not to have made either of the first two rows.
They did benefit from a rival’s misfortune, however, when WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan had
all of his lap times removed from the classification after his Mercedes failed a mid-session
ride height test. Morgan had seemed cemented in a fantastic fifth, and although he had
time to correct the issue and return to the circuit, he went on to face further late
heartache. The A-Class driver set a time good enough for 17th late on and with one final
flyer remaining before the chequered flag fell he looked likely to rise further still, but he
unfortunately lost control of his machine at Redgate and ran off the circuit.
Morgan’s loss was
Andrew Jordan’s gain
as the ballast-laden
Honda Civic took an
encouraging seventh
and he will line-up
alongside Jack Goff’s
Vauxhall Insignia for
tomorrow’s opening
race.
Matt Neal – also
running with
significant weight due
to his current second
place in the drivers’
standings – took ninth, whilst Marc Hynes confirmed the pace of the MG6 by rounding out
the top ten.
Jason Plato said: “It was a good lap and I’m really pleased with that. It wasn’t perfect as I
made a little mistake, but we only lost half a tenth. We’ll take it as it comes tomorrow –
Turkington is fourth in the quick starting BMW, but I won’t be letting him down the inside
of me. He’ll have to go the long way round if he wants to get by and he’ll be a brave man to
try that. One of the plus sides of our little issue at Brands Hatch is that we’re not carrying
any weight here so I’m really happy with that.”
Gordon Shedden said: “It’s the first time the Tourer has been on the front row and I went
half a second quicker than I did here last season. It still wasn’t quite enough but I tried my
best so tomorrow we’ll try hard again and hopefully make some more history. We’re
working on the car and it’s a real fine line – we’re giving it everything. It was a clean lap and
I did a few laps of a similar time, which bodes well for tomorrow.”
Sam Tordoff said: “I was happy with my time in FP2 and then I set a solid banker on my first
set of tyres in qualifying. I then pushed hard on the second set and I was a tenth and a half
up just after the first corner but it had all gone by the time I’d got to the Old Hairpin – the
track seemed to get slower as the session went on. I felt like I had a bit left in me but third
is a good result – we’re on the inside for tomorrow and I think we’ll have a good day. The
improvements we’ve made to the car over the winter are really starting to show and the
car feels great.”
Donington Park – Qualifying Results
1. Jason PLATO (MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save): +1:09.460s
2. Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.131s
3. Sam TORDOFF (MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save): +0.236s
4. Colin TURKINGTON (eBay Motors): +0.286s
5. Aron SMITH (Chrome Edition Restart Racing): +0.359s
6. Alain MENU (Chrome Edition Restart Racing): +0.404s
7. Andrew JORDAN (Pirtek Racing): 0.483s
8. Jack GOFF (RCIB Insurance Racing): +0.536s
9. Matt NEAL (Honda Yuasa Racing): +0.583s
10. Marc HYNES (Quantel Bifold Racing): +0.585s
Adrian Newey Pays Webber a Visit in Silverstone
WHY IS RED BULL'S ADRIAN NEWEY AT THE WORLD ENDURANCE CUP EVENT IN SILVERSTONE WHEN THERE IS A FORMULA
ONE RACE GOING ON IN CHINA?
Mark Webber is getting ready for his first World Endurance Cup
race with Porsche after retiring from Formula One, and there's
a familiar face hanging around his garage stall - Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey from Red Bull in the Porsche pit box - picture by
Mark Webber.
Red Bull's chief technical officer is not attending the Chinese
Grand Prix this weekend, but will instead be at Silverstone for
the opening round of the WEC season. The photo to the left
was taken by Webber himself and posted on Facebook with the
caption; "And look who is in Silverstone ... Adrian Newey!"
Adrian isn't just in the area to see former driver Mark Webber
though. He does have some business to take care of. He is working on upgrades at the
Infiniti Red Bull Racing factory, which is based in Milton Keynes, not too far from
Silverstone. With the 6 Hours of Silverstone going on this weekend, he simply decided to go
enjoy the event.
Even Newey deserves to take a break and be a fan for a day again. Right about now though,
he's probably aggravating the mechanics as he tries to tell them everything that's wrong
with their Porsche 919 and how he would do it better.
Webber's Porsche will start the race from 6th position on the grid with the sister car up in
3rd.
Toyota Seize Pole Position by 5/1000ths of a Second!
THE THREE MANUFACTURERS FILLED THE FIRST THREE PLACES, PERFECTLY DEMONSTRATING HOW COMPETITIVE THE GRID
WILL BE IN 2014.
Toyota Racing today claimed its second consecutive pole position for the 6 Hours of
Silverstone, the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, but by the
narrowest of margins – just five one thousands of a second!
In fact, it was a tightly-contested session
throughout as only 0.452 seconds separated the
six LMP1-H entries from Toyota, Audi and Porsche
and there was edge-of-the-seat tension
throughout the 25-minutes of qualifying. The
three manufacturers filled the first three places,
perfectly demonstrating how competitive the grid
will be in 2014.
Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima’s fastest average lap time in the No.7 TS040 Hybrid (the
best two lap times of each driver combined to form the average) was 1:42.774.
The Austrian and Japanese pair share the cockpit of the Toyota with Stéphane Sarrazin.
Achingly close behind the pole sitter was the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Tom
Kristensen and Loïc Duval which set a fastest average of 1:43.779. Newcomer to the No.1
this year, Lucas di Grassi, will be racing with the World Champions in place of Allan McNish
who retired from the driving seat at the end of last season.
Third on the grid will be the No.14 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas (F), Neel Jani (CH)
and Marc Lieb, the French and Swiss drivers having been tasked with qualifying today. Their
best average lap time was 1:43.087, just one
tenth of a second ahead of the No.2 Audi of
Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer.
Rebellion Racing’s two Lola Toyotas were
separated by just one tenth of a second and it
was the No.13 of 2013 GP2 Champion Fabio
Leimer, who qualified with Dominik Kraihamer,
which edged its No.12 sister car, Heidfeld and
Beche having qualified.
In LMP2, G-Drive Racing maintained its dominance at the top of the time sheets. Olivier Pla
and Roman Rusinov qualified the No.26 Morgan Nissan with an average time of 1:48.916,
beating the No.47 KCMG ORECA 03 Nissan of Tsugio Matsuda and Richard Bradley by 0.18
seconds. The two SMP Racing ORECAs struggled to get the best from their tyres in the cool
conditions, and will start from 11th and 12th places overall.
The 6 Hours of Silverstone, the opening round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance
Championship will take place at 12 noon tomorrow (Sunday, 20th April). With variable
weather conditions expected, it’s likely to be a thriller from start to finish.
Kevin Harvick Wins Sprint Cup Race at Darlington
THE STREAK IS OVER! NASCAR FINALLY HAS A REPEAT WINNER IN 2014 - STEWART-HAAS RACING'S KEVIN HARVICK.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Luck was finally on Kevin Harvick’s side on Saturday night as he tamed
Darlington Raceway.
“This is as big as it gets in NASCAR racing,” Harvick said after winning his first Southern 500.
After a dominant run and a win at Phoenix on March 2, Harvick experienced a rash of
mechanical issues over the last five weeks. His only lead lap finish came at Martinsville
Speedway.
Yet with the new Chase system - and two wins to the No. 4
Stewart-Haas Racing team’s
credit -- Harvick has the luxury
of being able “to go for wins and
not have to worry about the bad
weeks too much”. That played
to his advantage at Darlington
Raceway. Crew chief Rodney
Childers’ call for four tires on the
last pit stop on Lap 358 offered
Harvick the boost he needed to
power through the field in the final stages of the race.
Although Harvick restarted fifth on Lap 363, with the four competitors ahead of him on two
tires and the race slowed by two additional cautions, he was quickly able to pass Jeff
Gordon and Matt Kenseth. He then set his site on the Hendrick Motorsport duo of Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.
Harvick provided Earnhardt a push to the lead on the penultimate restart on Lap 369.
However, when Harvick lined up alongside the No. 88 Chevy for the final green-whitecheckered run on Lap 373, the No. 4 Chevy blew by Earnhardt coming out of Turn 4 to take
the checkered flag.
“Hell yeah,” Kevin Harvick said after crossing the finish line.
“Burn ‘er down,” Childers replied.
Harvick, who started from the pole, led eight times for a total of 238 laps en route to his
25th career Sprint Cup victory. Earnhardt, Johnson, Kenseth and Greg Biffle rounded out
the top five.
Despite solid pit stops and a targeted approach by Childress, Harvick discovered a secret
weapon for his arsenal during Friday night’s Nationwide Series race.
“It was one of those deals where the strategy was going to be hard to overcome with the
track position without those green-white-checkers at the end,” Harvick said. “But the
cautions all lined up and this Budweiser Chevrolet was unbelievable all night. We were able
to hang in there at the end. The high line, I hadn’t showed it to them to the very end. I kind
of learned that last night in the nationwide race. It was a good tool to have in the tool bag.”
Although Harvick’s second win only elevated his team to 22nd in the point standings, with
two victories he is virtually guaranteed one of the 15 spots in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint
Cup.
Is Swan Racing Shutting Down Due to Lack of Sponsorship?
SWAN RACING, WHICH FIELD CARS FOR ROTY CONTENDERS COLE WHITT AND PARKER KLIGERMAN IN THE NASCAR SPRINT
CUP SERIES, IS REVIEWING ITS ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO COMPETE DUE TO LACK OF SPONSORSHIP.
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Swan Racing is currently weighing its options including a substantial
scaling back of its NASCAR Sprint Cup operation.
Team spokesperson Ramsey Poston told Motorsport.com that Swan is assessing its current
situation.
Other sources familiar with the situation said it’s unlikely that Swan will field more than one
car -- if any -- for the Apr. 25-26 NASCAR events at Richmond International Raceway.
The team released the following statement Thursday;
“Swan Racing is in the
process of reviewing
its current situation
and the ability to
continue to compete
in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series. The team
has been unable to
secure the kind of
sponsorship required
to effectively operate
the team. As a result,
the team
management is
exploring every
available option. We hope to be in position to provide a detailed update in the near future.”
Swan Racing made its debut in 2012 after purchasing the assets of Inception Racing. The
Brandon Davis-owned team fielded cars for the final 11 of the season, with David Stremme
(who had driven for Inception) behind the wheel.
In 2013, Stremme was replaced 26 races into schedule by a variety of racers, including the
current Swan Racing driver duo of Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman. This season, Swan
expanded its roster to two teams, an ambitious undertaking given that the organization had
just three top-20 results in its first full year of competition.
Currently, Whitt and Kligerman are 34th and 38th, respectively, in the point standings. The
best finish between the two rookies is Whitt’s 18th-place fresult at Fontana, Calif., last
month. For 23-year-old Kligerman, the transition has been more of a struggle, with his
progress slowed by an engine failure, an overheating issue and wrecks at Daytona, Fontana
and Martinsville.
IndyCar Edgy at Long Beach
THE TEMPERS ARE ON FIRE AFTER A BARN BURNER IN LONG BEACH.
The Verizon IndyCar Series has taken on a country club feel in recent years. The drivers are
all buddies. Before the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, James Hinchliffe and Ryan HunterReay even joked on camera about flipping a coin to see who was going to lead the first lap. I
wonder if those two still had their senses of humor after the race.
Humor is nothing new in IndyCar. Eddie Sachs
was known as “the clown prince of racing” in
the 60′s. Bobby Unser was not only shockingly
honest as a racer and an announcer, he was
also a born storyteller. Still is. A.J. Foyt’s
humor was always sharp and biting. Still is. So
it is nothing new that today’s racers are funny.
What’s different is the politically correct way
they interact. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long
Beach certainly changed all that.
To spice up the broadcast, NBCSN brought in Paul Tracy, four-time Long Beach winner and
notorious truth-teller. Everyone just knew he would stir the pot a little bit. Sadly, PT was
just another talking head, saying nothing controversial. Sigh. I am sure he will get the
message to go find the real Paul Tracy.
This all leads us to how a pretty good race became an entertaining one. Bad moves led to
bad feelings, sheepish honesty, and a few apologies that may or may not have been
accepted. Hopefully, it will lead to a little ill will. Then maybe Paul Tracy can get on board
and put the hammer down on some people.
One of the best products of the close racing in IndyCar is the fact that anyone can win. The
spec chassis and similar power plants mean the shoestring budgets can hold their own with
the deep-pocketed teams. You just know this
small budget competition chafes the big dogs.
The best part of the close racing is that Dale
Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson can call out Chip
Ganassi’s Scott Dixon; SFHR’s Josef Newgarden
can place the blame on Andretti Autosport’s
Ryan Hunter-Reay; and SPHM’s Simon Pagenaud
can mock the apology of Penske Racing’s Will
Power. Now THAT’S parity. The Verizon IndyCar
Series needs to have this kind of close racing
though the pack every week.. TV does not do it justice.
The irony in the series is delicious right now. The top dogs were forced to act like contrite
backmarkers. Scott Dixon apologized for pushing Justin Wilson into the wall and the
apology was UNACCEPTED. Will Power apologized for punting Simon Pagenaud with his
usual it’s-my-fault-that-it’s-your-fault line and the apology was UNACCEPTED. Ryan Hunter-
Reay apologized by saying a real racer goes for it
when he sees the chance at exactly the wrong
spot and his apology was UNACCEPTED. I just love
to see the shifty-eyed apologies of schoolboys
caught in the act without a plausible story to tell.
Not ironically, Graham Rahal was his usual self and
refused to accept any blame for anything. Never
change, Graham. Both Michael Andretti and James
Hinchcliffe were less than pleased with Hunter-
Reay’s antics.
Simmering feuds, unaccepted apologies, and possibly a little bit of hate await us at the
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Barber is narrow, twisty,
and just not conducive to the type of racing that the IndyCars are capable of right now. The
boys in back are not going to move over for reputation alone any longer. In fact, when push
comes to shove – and it will – the little guys are going to flex their muscles and push and
shove back. And consider this: Juan Pablo Montoya has not had a problem with anyone in
two races. Wait until that happens! It’s good to see some of the politically correct veneer
come off the series. This is the racing and these are the racers people want to see.
Pirelli: Intermediate Tyre the Key to the Top 10 Shootout in
Rainy Conditions
TOP SPEED OF 316 KHP ON THE STRAIGHT ON THE INTERMEDIATE TYRES.
Shanghai – For the third time in four races, qualifying was held in rainy conditions – making
this one of the wettest starts to a season in recent memory. The top 10 drivers all used
Pirelli’s Cinturato intermediate tyre to set their fastest times for the pole position shootout: the only tyre in the range that has not changed compared to last year.
With rain persisting throughout the day, the drivers used the final free practice session in
the morning to assess the wet conditions. However, with no set-up changes allowed after
qualifying, most drivers were using a compromise setting today – in order to be ready for a
dry race tomorrow, which is as equally likely as more rain.
Most drivers used both the full wet and intermediate tyre during the day, with low levels of
wear in ambient temperatures that did not exceed 16 degrees centigrade all day.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The performance of our intermediate
tyre, which clears around 25 litres of water per second at top speed, was clearly shown by
Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, who reached 316kph – that’s 196mph – on the straight in
conditions that were very wet indeed. We saw a crossover time of around 1m56s between
the full wet and the intermediate, which underlines the work we have done on the wet tyre
over the winter to bring it closer to the intermediate. These haven’t been easy conditions
and the circuit is always very demanding on tyres but wear levels have been low: practically
non-existent on the rears and just some light abrasion on the front, depending on the
team.”
The Pirelli strategy predictor:
With wet conditions today, but only a 50% chance of rain tomorrow, strategy is going to
have to be reactive. However, if conditions stay dry, theoretically the fastest way of tackling
the 56-lap race (with the best compromise between performance and track position) is as
follows: start on soft, change to soft again on lap 14 and then to medium on lap 28.
An alternative two-stop strategy is: start on soft, change to medium on lap 12, then
medium again on lap 34.
Fastest compounds in FP3:
Ricciardo 1m53.958s Intermediate
New
Massa 1m54.492s Intermediate New
Grosjean 1m54.514s Intermediate
Used
Top 10 tyre use:
Hamilton 1m53.860s Intermediate
New
Ricciardo 1m54.455s Intermediate
New
Vettel 1m54.960s Intermediate New
Rosberg 1m55.143s Intermediate New
Alonso 1m55.637s Intermediate Used
Massa 1m56.147s Intermediate Used
Bottas 1m56.282s Intermediate New
Hulkenberg 1m56.366s Intermediate New
Vergne 1m56.773s Intermediate New
Grosjean 1m57.079s Intermediate New
McLaren Taking Red Bull Dispute to High Court
RED BULL BOSS CHRISTIAN HORNER REACTED TO DENNIS' COMMENTS ON SATURDAY BY SAYING THE TEAM WILL
"VIGOROUSLY" DEFEND ITS RE-EMPLOYMENT OF FALLOWS.
Apr.19 (GMM) Ron Dennis on Saturday confirmed McLaren will likely take its dispute with
world champions Red Bull all the way to the High Court.
Earlier this month, new team boss Eric Boullier said the matter is "in the hands of our
lawyers", after Red Bull announced it had successfully wooed Dan Fallows back to Milton
Keynes.
Late last year, we reported that as well as Red Bull's aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou,
McLaren has also signed his 'deputy', Fallows.
But just as Fallows was ending his 'gardening leave' and due to start work at McLaren, Red
Bull announced that he has in fact returned to work as the reigning world champions'
newly-promoted 'head of aerodynamics'.
McLaren, however, insists it has a "legally binding contract" with Fallows.
"We regard this turn of events as completely unacceptable," Dennis, who revealed that
Fallows had even moved to Surrey prior to returning to Red Bull, told us in a statement
from Shanghai.
"He'd got no lawful right to change his mind in
that way, because he'd already accepted our
offer of employment and had already signed a
contract in recognition of that," he insisted.
"Not surprisingly, when he failed to start work on
the start date we'd agreed on, we called, texted
and emailed him, but got no response.
"It was only when he was belatedly revealed via
press release as Red Bull's head of aerodynamics
that we finally understood what had happened.
"As a result of all of this, McLaren will probably have no realistic option other than to
instigate a High Court action against Red Bull," Dennis confirmed.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner reacted to Dennis' comments on Saturday by saying the
team will "vigorously" defend its re-employment of Fallows.
"We don't see there is any case to answer," he told Press Association.
"Perhaps Ron would have been better giving me a call."
Peugeot Reveals Dakar Challenger: the 2008 DKR
PEUGEOT RETURNS TO DAKAR IN 2015.
The muscular, thoroughbred yet beast-like forms of the Peugeot 2008 DKR provide a vivid
indication of the new car’s serious desire for success. It is behind the wheel of this purposedesigned machine that Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres will defend the colours of Team
Peugeot Total on next January’s Dakar.
Three weeks after the exciting news that Peugeot,
Red Bull and Total have decided to join forces to
contest the 2015 Dakar, the car that will
spearhead the team’s challenge has finally broken
cover. The 2008 DKR shares an unmistakable
family resemblance with Peugeot’s road-going
crossover, albeit with more muscular forms and
more imposing overall proportions that have been
honed to meet the challenge that lays ahead. Its
spectacular lines are the fruit of close cooperation between the experts at Peugeot’s Style
Centre and their colleagues at Peugeot Sport’s Design Department, and the newcomer’s
likeness with the production version is quite astonishing!
Far more than just another styling exercise, the 2008 DKR features an aggressive stance
dictated by the technical constraints associated with its mission. “We provided Peugeot’s
Style Centre with a very precise brief”
explains the Project Leader at Peugeot
Sport, Jean-Christophe Pailler. “We
supplied them with the basic key
dimensions, as well as other
information such as the cabin space we
required, plus the wheel size and the
suspension travel. They also had
aerodynamic data resulting from our
early simulation work.”
Indeed, Peugeot Sport’s design team
had to answer one particularly
fundamental question at a very early stage concerning the new beast’s transmission: fourwheel or two-wheel drive? The decision effectively influenced the car’s design in two key
areas: “We carried out an in-depth analysis of what already existed in the world of crosscountry rallying and weighed up the benefits of the different solutions. In the end, we
opted for an approach that was quite different to that of the competition. Given the offroad capability of two-wheel drive transmission and its ability to run on sand, that’s the
choice we ultimately went for. It enabled us to fit bigger wheels and also to benefit from
more suspension travel.”
The 2008 DKR consequently sits on 37-inch diameter Michelin tyres (almost 94cm)! These
considerations naturally had a significant knock-on effect with regard to the work of
Peugeot’s stylists, but the fourstrong design team rose
enthusiastically to the challenge
to pen the new Lion that will
very soon take on the unique
challenges posed by crosscountry rallying. “The chief
difficulty resided in adapting the
model’s styling cues to the
different technical constraints
dictated by the hostile terrains
visited by the discipline” notes
Giovanni Rizzo, the 2008’s
exterior designer.
“There were two ways we could have approached this task: either by taking a standard
2008 and grafting on bespoke parts, or else by drawing inspiration from the 2008’s defining
overall forms to design a car that covered the constraints inherent in its mission. We
eventually decided to go down the second path to produce a fresh take on the 2008! For
example, the 2008 DKR doesn’t have rear doors, so it’s more like what a coupé version of
the model might be.”
Carrying over the road car’s styling cues to the rear of the new Dakar challenger turned out
to be relatively straightforward, but the front proved more taxing for the design team, as
Michaël Trouvé, Peugeot Design Manager, relates: “Due to the off-road capability needed,
the approach angle had to be very high. This
meant a very short overhang, which in turn
resulted in a front-end design that was
quite different to that of the production
version. Happily, the technical team didn’t
hesitate to listen to our arguments and
accepted to reposition certain parts which
could have been a problem for us. That
gave us a little freedom to design a front
end that resembled the look of the road car
as closely as possible.”
Between September 2013 and January 2014, it was this close working relationship that
inspired the 2008 DKR’s spectacular final design which represents a move away from the
cues traditionally associated with cross-country rallying. Having already contested the
Dakar seven times in the colours of Red Bull, in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive cars,
Carlos Sainz is perfectly aware of the technical constraints that go hand-in-hand with the
exacting South American stages, and he was immediately won over by the new car’s design.
“The philosophy behind the 2008 DKR marks a radical break and packs a high number of
new ideas” remarks the Spaniard.
“The end result is like no other two-wheel drive car. It is very compact and that’s good.
Having done the last two Dakars in a two-wheel drive car, I am convinced it is a solution
that can win the event. Okay, it calls
for a carefully-designed car which is at
ease on all the different types of
terrain visited by the event, but I know
that Peugeot Sport has the necessary
know-how, technology and means to
pull off what is a unique and
stimulating challenge for everyone in
the team.”
What lies beneath the bodywork
remains a secret for the moment, but the 2008 DKR’s breath-taking forms are sure to cause
a stir even before the new car starts to kick up dust as it begins to be put through its paces
in the colours of Red Bull and Total.
FIA World Motor Sport Council Meets in Marrakech
THE FOLLOWING DECISIONS WERE MADE AFTER THE WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL MET IN MARRAKECH, MOROCCO ON
FRIDAY.
FIA President Jean Todt gave an update on the Formula One Championship.
1. F1 Cost Reduction
The FIA, the Commercial Rights Holder (CRH), and all the F1 Teams have recently confirmed
their commitment to work on cost reduction. Accordingly, the FIA President Jean Todt and
the CRH Bernie Ecclestone will organise a meeting with all the F1 Teams on 1 May 2014,
followed by a F1 Strategy Group meeting, to clarify the means to achieve a substantial F1
Team cost reduction.
2. Power units
As already announced, a study on engine noise is under way with preliminary results
expected shortly.
3. New team selection process
Lastly, the FIA has launched a selection procedure for an additional F1 team(s), and
applications of a high standard have been received. In close consultation with the CRH, the
FIA has accepted the candidature of Haas Formula LLC and are in the process of conducting
further investigations for Forza Rossa.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
A number of amendments have
been made to the regulations, with
immediate effect:
- The number of passages in the
Shakedown for P1 and P2 drivers is
changed to a minimum of two runs.
- To simplify the regulations, a fiveminute time penalty will be applied
for any super special stage missed,
instead of 10 minutes.
- Cars running under Rally 2 regulations will be reseeded ahead of P1 and P2 drivers to
avoid them gaining an advantageous road position.
- Rally 2 cars will be permitted to score points in the Power Stage.
- Manufacturers are permitted to include the testing of their 2015 WRC car in their current
test sessions without being penalised by the number of days allowed in the 2014
regulations.
REGIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIPS
In the case of a dead heat, the winner of a Leg shall be determined in the same manner as
that applied for defining the winner of a rally.
ELECTRIC AND NEW ENERGY CHAMPIONSHIPS COMMISSIONS
The Sporting Regulations for the Formula E Championship were presented for consideration
(see annex for summary of regulations).
2014/15 Formula E Championship Calendar
The event scheduled for Rio de Janeiro (BRA) on 15 November 2014 is cancelled, and
replaced with an event to be announced for the date of 14 February 2015. The event in Los
Angeles (USA) will be held on 4 April 2015.
2014/15 Formula E Championship Schedule
Date Venue Country
13 September 2014 Beijing CHN
18 October 2014 Putrajaya MLY
13 December 2014 Punta del Este URY
10 January 2015 Buenos Aires ARG
14 February 2015 TBA TBA
14 March 2015 Miami USA
4 April 2015 Los Angeles USA
9 May 2015 Monaco MCO
30 May 2015 Berlin DEU
27 June 2015 London GBR
Formula E Championship Teams
The FIA has validated the following entry list:
- Andretti Autosport Formula E Team (USA)
- Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team (DEU)
- China Racing Formula E Team (CHN)
- Dragon Racing Formula E Team (USA)
- Drayson Racing Formula E Team (GBR)
- E.dams Formula E Team (FRA)
- Mahindra Racing Formula E Team (IND)
- Super Aguri Formula E Team (JAP)
- Venturi Grand Prix Formula E Team (MCO)
- Virgin Racing Formula E Team (GBR)
A timetable for a Formula E Championship
‘Call for Expressions of Interest’ from new
manufacturers was set out. The launch of the procedure is to take place on 1 September
2014, and a deadline for the submission of applications has been set for 31 October 2014.
FUNDING REVIEW COMMISSION – SPORT
Guidelines, rules and a process for the distribution of grants to ASNs for the development
of motor sport worldwide were established at meetings of the FIA Funding Review
Commission for Sport held on 5 March and 10 April 2014.
The commission will be responsible for selecting membership applications which will open
in September of this year, with a final decision on 2015 projects to be taken by the FIA
Senate in late 2014.
ASN DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE
The inaugural session of the ASN Development Task Force at a regional meeting was held as
part of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) meeting, hosted by QMMF on 27-28
March 2014.
The ASN manual providing a guide for the development of ASNs and grassroots motor sport
worldwide has been released in three languages with further languages to be issued (e.g.
Arabic). Items under discussion include support for grassroots competitions.
COORDINATION OF FIA ZONES AND REGIONS
A method and timeframe for action has been agreed for both the period 2014-2015 and up
to 2016 with the goal of: • carrying out an audit on the level of activity of each of the
Regions and Zones recognised by the FIA; • harmonising the status of the Regions and
Zones and clarify their relations with the FIA and its specialised commissions.
FIA SPORT CONFERENCE & NEXT WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL MEETING
The FIA Sport Conference will be held in Munich on 24-26 June 2014 in association with
DMSB and ADAC, under the theme of ‘Growing our sport: ASNs and industry in
partnership’. The next World Motor Sport Council will also be held in Munich on 26 June
2014.
OFF-ROAD COMMISSION
Changes were made to the starting grid positions with drivers no longer free to choose their
starting position. Pole position must be on the side determined at the time of the
homologation of the track. This change has been introduced to facilitate visualisation of the
grid when broadcasting live. For the FIA World and European Rallycross Championships,
new rules were set in the case of exceptions.
HILL CLIMB COMMISSION
For the FIA Hill Climb Masters, given the specificities of the British Hill Climb Championship,
the selection of British drivers for the Masters will exceptionally be carried out according to
criteria in line with the sporting regulations of the British Championship.
ENDURANCE COMMISSION
Changes to the 2014 World Endurance Championship Sporting Regulations were approved,
including a proposal on the ‘Full Course Yellow’ (FCY) which was agreed for cases when the
track needs to be neutralised without having to resort to the Safety Car. Once under FCY,
cars will slow down to 80 kph, line up, and maintain their distance to the car in front and
the car behind.
SINGLE-SEATER COMMISSION
The FIA has granted the status of FIA
Intercontinental Cup to the F3 Macau GP.
The FIA is working to support the local
organiser on the sporting, technical and
media side, and to help increase the
impact of the event.
The Italian ASN will launch the first FIA
Formula 4 Championship with seven
events to take place in 2014.
FIA Formula 4 Championship Schedule
Date Venue Country
08 June 2014 Adria ITA
29 June 2014 Imola ITA
13 July 2014 Mugello ITA
03 August 2014 Magione ITA
14 September 2014 Vallelunga ITA
28 September 2014 Monza ITA
19 October 2014 Barcelona ESP
MEDICAL COMMISSION
Rules governing the medical services to be provided at the FIA World Rallycross
Championship were approved, including transitional measures and the required presence
of an FIA Medical Delegate.
WOMEN IN MOTOR SPORT COMMISSION
The FIA Women in Motorsport Commission
announced the renewal of its partnership with
the CIK-FIA. Following a call for candidatures
inviting ASNs to put forward a young female
talent aged from 13 to 15 to be granted a kart
out of the 51 allocated for 2014 in this year’s
edition of the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy,
the place has been awarded to a young Spanish
driver, Ms Marta Garcia (ESP).
HISTORIC MOTOR SPORT COMMISSION
Clarifications and amendments were put forward to the regulations in force in 2013. These
concerned minimum pit stop times, use of data acquisition systems, limiting the use of onboard cameras, use of reserve cars, authorised fuel, and rules governing tyre use e.g.
limiting to four the number of slicks per driver and per competition.
DRIVERS’ COMMISSION
The Drivers’ Commission, with the support of its Chairman, Emerson Fittipaldi, has
prioritised further visibility for the FIA anti-doping campaign, increased promotion of the
work by volunteers and officials, and the further strengthening of karting as an effective
entry point into other motor sport categories.
TRUCKS RACING COMMISSION
The race scheduled for Istanbul on
4 May 2014 is cancelled.
CIK COMMISSION
In order to increase safety in
Karting, the World Motor Sport
Council gave a strong mandate to
the CIK Commission to consider the
imposition of stricter penalties for
dangerous infractions in the sport.
CLOSED ROADS COMMISSION
Delegates received an activity
report outlining proposed steps to increase safety at WRC, ERC, National and Regional
Championship, Hill Climb and Cross Country events.
ANNEX
Summary of Formula E Championship Regulations
• Two titles of Formula E Champion, one for drivers and one for teams.
• Drivers using International Licence Class B + a specific FIA E Licence issued after
completing a seminar about the safety aspects on racing in electric vehicles.
• Maximum number of events 12, and minimum 6.
• Points for both titles will be awarded at each Event according to the following scale:
1st: 25 points 6th: 8 points
2nd: 18 points 7th: 6 points
3rd: 15 points 8th: 4 points
4th: 12 points 9th: 2 points
5th: 10 points 10th: 1 point
Pole position: 3 points
Fastest lap: 2 points
• Only 10 teams will be admitted to the
Championship.
• Each driver will use two cars. Colours of race
numbers will be imposed and different
between the two cars available for each
driver.
• Testing with Formula E cars is not permitted
for drivers and competitors participating in
the championship, with the exception of
official tests organised by the promoter.
• Tyres will be limited to five (5) new front tyres and five (5) new rear tyres per event.
• Each team must have a maximum of 12 operational staff working on the cars.
• Each driver shall use no more than one motor, on gearbox and one battery pack per car
for the entire season.
• To charge the cars, only energy supplied by the supplier
designated by the event organiser and approved by the FIA
shall be used during the event.
• Special attention has been paid to all safety requirements
and prevention systems.
• Single Free Practice session of 60 minutes. Single Qualifying
Practice of 90 minutes divided into four (4) groups of five (5)
cars each.
• The grid will be in a staggered 1 x 1 formation and the rows
on the grid will be separated by 8 metres with the Pole
Position in the place designated by the FIA Circuits
Department.
• No formation lap.
• Race of maximum 60 minutes with minimum one Pit Stop
for changing cars. This change of cars will take place inside
the garage after a safety procedure similar to the one applied in the FIA World Endurance
Championship for repairing cars.
• Safety Car procedure following the FIA standards.