Fujitsu V8’s: Drew Russell Fights Back
After a difficult qualifying session that saw Drew Russell and the Novocastrian Motorsport Team struggle to find a good car setup, Drew has fought back hard in race one of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series 2008 to finish just outside the top 15.
In a race that saw almost half the racing laps completed under safety car, Drew Russell has been able to charge his way up 9 places from 25th to 16th at the chequered flag.
Through a combination of other driver’s errors and opportunistic passing moves, Drew worked his way up the order, putting him in a much better position for the rest of the weekend.
The race started poorly for Drew, getting away slowly and dropping back to 26th position going into the first corner. He was able to quickly gather it back and gained a place back through turn four.
Drew was up to 21st at the end of the second lap after further passing moves and a number of incidents on the track.
One of these incidents forced the safety car out, temporarily stopping Drew’s charge.
The safety car came in again at the start of lap 5 leaving Drew right on the tail of Shannon O’Brien. Drew went to the outside of O’Brien into turn 3, but was unable to make it stick, slotting back in behind him.
Drew was fighting hard with Joel Spychala for 18th position on lap 8 and went down the inside of him into the final corner just as the second safety car of the race was called out onto the track. As a result, Drew was forced to drop back behind him for two laps while a car was removed from the sand trap.
They were back racing on lap 11 and Drew had championship front runner Michael Trimble right on his tail. Drew fought hard keeping Trimble behind him while passing Spychala on turn one.
The safety car was out for the third time in the race before the lap was complete after another car spun off and became stuck in the sand trap.
There was just one flying lap remaining when the safety car came in with Drew sitting in 17th position, Trimble still right behind him.
On the re-start Drew was involved in a fierce battle with a number of drivers. He was able to pass Andy Knight through turn 4 whilst fighting hard to defend his position.
Drew and the Novocastrian Motorsport Team were very happy to bring the car home safely in 16th position today. Bringing it home with no damage, unlike many of the other cars in the field means they are looking forward to repeating their hard charge in Sunday morning’s race.
Drew and the Team would like to thank Lencrow for their continued support helping to get them to the track this weekend.
Eastern Creek: Astuti Motorsport Takes First Australian GT Win
Astuti Motorsport has broken though for their first win as a team in the Australian GT Championship<img id=”image1124″ after John Kaias took his Aston Martin DBRS9 to the overall victory in round four of the 2008 championship held at Eastern Creek Raceway.
After qualifying on pole position by over six tenths of a second, Kaias won two races at Eastern Creek yesterday and finished third in the other to win the round convincingly and record both his, the teams’ and Aston Martin’s first race wins in the revitalized championship.
Kaias lead early in race one dropped to a safe third behind Peter Lucas and Peter Hackett at the end of the 12-lap race.Race two, however, was different with the Aston Martin coming though from fourth place on the opening lap to run second by lap ten.
The next lap Kaias struck and passed the Lotus to take the lead where he escaped by almost three seconds to record his first GT Championship win.Firmly on top, Kaias led all 12 laps of race three to record an 11-second win and lock away the top the round overall.
Kaias now sits third in the Australian GT Championship with 239 points, just 20 from the lead of the championship with two rounds remaining – at Phillip Island and Sandown, respectively.
Kaias said that the performance was the result of a measured approach to his weekend. ”I hadn’t been in a car since the Grand Prix, but from the first practice session I just felt very comfortable and confident in the car,” he said.
”Qualifying was fantastic – I set my initial lap on a 1m33.0 and thought ‘how am I going to go quicker?’, but even with a few mistakes I was able to go quicker and get pole. Everything was going well for me in qualifying!
”I was pretty nervous prior to race one having never led a rolling start before and I was a bit frustrated to come away with third place because I knew we could do better. I put my head down in the second race and waited patiently for someone ahead to make a mistake – and when Hackett locked up I got past and then got by Peter Lucas and that was it.
”Race three was perfect and even though we had about 80kg of success ballast I was able to set a really good best lap. I was just so pleased in the end, it all came together fantastically well and it was a brilliant weekend. ”We had a small scare in that the clutch failed as we pulled into parc ferme’ – so obviously we were meant to win that race!” he added.
Team Owner Sam Astuti was delighted at his teams breakthrough win in GT racing after many wins in Formula 3 competition.
“We have been waiting a long time, but always kept the faith that the team and that John could do the job,” Astuti said.
”We have always had the speed but it was just a matter of putting the results together throughout the weekend. John was a bit nervous before race one but in the second and third races he was excellent, kept his head and did a fantastic job. It was nice for us to win when we did against another Aston Martin in the field.
”All of a sudden we are third in the championship and within 20 points of the leading Lamborghini – so I’m confident that we’re going to give it a really big shake.”
The next round of the Australian GT Championship will be held at Phillip Island, between August 8 – 10.
Technorati Tags: Australian GT Championship, Astuti Motorsport
PCC Asia: Series Sentul qualifying report
GruppeM Racing’s Tim Sugden emerged victorious from a close-fought battle to take pole position for Round 7 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia today. The Briton clocked a fastest time of 1:30.639 which, despite coming within 0.024 of a second, championship leader Darryl O’Young of Team Jebsen could not better. Third quickest at the end of the 30-minute session on Indonesia’s 3.960km Sentul International Circuit was German Christian Menzel of Team StarChase.
In Class B, it was Hong Kong’s Philip Ma who took pole with a “lucky” lap of 1:33.888, the number eight being considered auspicious in China. Tunku Hammam was second fastest in the category, ahead of Paul Tressider of Australia.
Indonesian racer Danny Chu put in his best qualifying performance so far in this his debut season with the 9th fastest time. As the only local driver in the field, and with plenty of family and friends out to watch his performance, it is obvious the youngster is responding well to the additional pressure.
Sugden laid down the gauntlet early on in the session with a 1:31.058 lap to take provisional pole, but O’Young responded by lapping in less than 1 minute 31 seconds. Sugden reclaimed the top spot mid-way through the session by bettering the Hong Kong racer’s time. Despite an almighty effort in the dying moments of qualifying, when O’Young came within a whisker of taking pole, Sugden had done his job.
Said Sugden: “It’s close around this circuit. It was shaping up to be a big fight, which it was, and the race will be the same. The surface is actually better than last year, but it’s still not good offline and has got worse as the week has gone on. This place is all about tyres.”
O’Young, racing again this weekend without his engineer, was full of praise for his team with whom he had worked hard to find a good setup: “I’m really glad to be on the front row. We’ve struggled with the car this weekend, but we’ve been able to work on it. It’s more satisfying to achieve a result that way. We’ve put a lot of effort into the set up and we had it ready just before qualifying.”
Menzel was frustrated by the yellow flags which featured in the session: “The second lap out, the tyres are in the best condition, and on my second laps, it was always the yellow flag. I couldn’t make the best use of my car, so I’m disappointed. But looking ahead to the race tomorrow, it can be very hard over this distance. We had a good long (practice) session this morning, which gives me confidence. It’s hard to find the set up on this track though with the changing conditions of the track and the temperature. It’s a gamble to try and get the good mix.”
Rounds 7 and 8 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be held tomorrow (Sunday) over 15 laps each of Sentul International Circuit.
Vijay Mallya: India Ready for F1 in 2010
India will be ready to host a Formula One grand prix in 2010, with construction of the new circuit set to begin later this year, Force India owner Vijay Mallya said on Friday.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said last year that Formula One Management had signed a 10-year deal with them and had approved two sites on the outskirts of New Delhi to build a circuit.
Mallya told a news conference in Germany on Friday that the land to build the track had already been bought and that construction would begin in October.
“The news is quite positive. I happened to be having lunch with the CEO of one of India’s biggest banks and he confirmed that they had sanctioned a facility to the developer of the Indian track,” Mallya said.
“He has actually bought the land and on October 1 construction of a brand new track will begin.
“So for the first time now I think I feel very confident to be able to say to you that there will be a brand new track and that we will have our first grand prix in 2010,” added the Force India owner, who is also the chairman of the Motorsports Association of India.
Cross Posted @ F1 Rage !
Technorati Tags: Vijay Mallya, Force One India, India, F1, German GP
Tough Day in the Office for TeamVodafone
In a series of unfortunate events, Craig Lowndes struggled through the opening race at Round 7 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Queensland Raceway today with an ongoing engine misfire forcing him from the top three to ultimately finish in 28th position.
His teammate Jamie Whincup, fared slightly better finishing ninth, but was as high as fourth before yet another racing incident with Will Davison dropped him five places.
Lowndes who qualified fourth and started well to gain one spot said he was very disappointed to again not be able to compete against the top racers this weekend.
“My weekend is now about playing catch-up Charlie and I have never started this far back on our home track,” said Lowndes.
“Russell (Ingall) and I were having a great battle until the engine misfire started and then it was a race against myself to try and better 1min 30seconds a lap!”
“I salvaged 14 points and the team will rally tonight to determine what caused the problem,” he continued.
Whincup who was reflective on his disappointing qualifying result said he should have been on the second or third row of the grid not the fifth row.
“I clearly appreciate now that qualifying really is everything in these sprint rounds,” said Whincup. “I know we have good qualifying pace and I can string a quick lap together I just need to put it together in the last sector of qualifying.”
“Our pitstop strategy was good. After the stop I was in fourth position just behind Craig, so the race was there for the taking.
“Unfortunately I got involved in yet another racing incident which sent me back five spots. Tonight the guys and I will spend some time sorting out some minor handling issues so I can hopefully move forward tomorrow,” stated Whincup.
The Queensland 400 will conclude tomorrow with the final two 38-lap V8 Supercar races to be held at 11.00am and 1.40pm.
V8 Supercar Top Ten Race 1 Results
1. James Courtney, 100pts
2. Mark Winterbottom, 92pts
3. Russell Ingall, 86pts
4. Garth Tander, 80pts
5. Mark Skaife, 74pts
6. Will Davison, 68pts
7. Jason Richards, 64pts
8. Rick Kelly, 60pts
9. Jamie Whincup, 56pts
10.Lee Holdsworth, 52pts
V8 Utes: McNally Settles In At Qld Raceway
Glenn McNally has made a measured start to his first V8 Utes event at Queensland Raceway today as he settled into the circuit in the opening two practice sessions.
Taking a similar approach to the one that worked so well in Darwin, Glenn spent the first session familiarizing himself with the circuit, setting 20th fastest lap as he found his braking markers and worked his way up to speed.
“It was just a matter of one step at a time and setting up for qualifying tomorrow,” Glenn said.
“I probably didn’t push beyond 80 or 90 percent in the first session because it is so important to learn the track without pushing too hard.”
The second session proved to be frustrating for Glenn with much new brake pads needing to be bedding in, and then a succession of red flags ruining any chance of Glenn building up to a fast lap time.
“I am in a similar position today to what I was in Darwin,” he said.
“I will do a track walk and work out where I can go faster and then just go out there and have a go in qualifying.
“To be in the top 16 in the first race is the aim so that I can get some advantage from the race 2 (reverse-top-16) format.”
Glenn has qualifying at 8.55am tomorrow and Race 1 at 12.45pm.
Team Vodafone consider a move to Holdens
After Fords cost cutting announcment to back only two teams in the 2009 V8 Supercars Series, Team Vodafone have stated they may consider changing to run Holden Commodores. Ford announced that they will concentrate their financial backing to just two V8 Supercar teams, Ford Performance Racing and Stone Brothers Racing.
In a move that would rock Australian motor sport, Team boss Roland Dane could not rule out putting V8 Supercars star Craig Lowndes in a Commodore after Ford’s controversial cost-cutting bombshell.
After being dumped by Ford management, Dane assured the future of Team Vodadone - but he couldn’t guarantee Lowndes would be driving a Falcon next year.
“Our contact with Ford runs to the end of the year,” Dane said.
“We would never say we would never run Holdens. We might. It would, however, be better for the category if there is an even spread of manufacturers.”
The prospect of Lowndes driving a Holden will leave Blue Oval fans gutted. One of the most recognizable faces in Australian motor sport, Lowndes is contracted to both Ford and Team Triple Eight until the end of 2009.
Lowndes said he could not rule out a move to Holden, where he started.
“I have no animosity towards Ford,” Lowndes said.
“And I have no plans (to switch to Holden) in the immediate future. I have a contract with Ford, but who knows down the track?”
Lowndes, who launched his new-look Triple Eight car for the Darwin round of the V8 Supercars on Thursday, was shocked by Ford’s decision to dump Team Vodafone, Dick Johnson Racing and former Bathurst winner Jason Bright’s Britek Motorsport.
“It is a bit of a shock for the team,” Lowndes said. “We all want to continue the relationship and win races. Personally, I have a contract with both Ford and Triple Eight for both this year and next year. “I can’t see anything changing for me, but certainly for the structure of the team.
“If we do lose a sponsor, I am sure Roland will have a plan to replace them. “I just have to concentrate on winning races. It will be a big change to say goodbye, but I am sure Roland has a back-up plan to the expenses.”
Dane blasted Ford after a journalist informed him of the car manufacturing giant’s decision to axe the team.
“It has been coming for a couple of weeks, but I was still surprised,” Dane said.
“A journalist actually told me before them (Ford). I am upset at the way they handled it. I am very surprised because we have won far more than any other Ford team in the last three years. It is their decision to make — we have had sponsors in the past and they come and go. It is up to us to replace them.”
Technorati Tags: Ford, V8 Supercars, Team Vodafone, Craig Lowndes
V8 SuperCars Get Greener in 2009
V8 Supercars are set to become green machines and run on ethanol in next year’s championship as part of a radical proposed shake-up of the sport for 2009. A V8 Supercars board meeting is set to consider a raft of decisions which will have far-reaching implications for the sport.
Top of the agenda is understood to be the long-awaited introduction of a more environmentally friendly fuel, using 85 per cent ethanol, from next year.
Also under discussion will be scrapping the compulsory pit stop window during races, doing away with the current sprint race format, and compressing some event weekends to two days rather than three.
V8 Supercars officials refused to comment on the proposed shake-up.
But they had flagged the prospect of ethanol for 2009 at the start of this year, though there were concerns how it would affect car performance, engine set-up and just how environmentally friendly the fuel actually was.
It is understood a sub-committee has been investigating the viability of the 85 per cent ethanol fuel, and results have been sufficiently promising for the project to go from drawing board to reality for next year.
V8 Supercars currently use a five per cent blend of ethanol, which is made from sugar cane.
While cars use on average 25 to 30 per cent more fuel with the new ethanol blend, the move is still believed to have major environmental benefits over the current fuel, will lower costs and could also lead to more exciting racing.
Because car fuel tank sizes would remain the same, more pit stops would be needed and different pit strategies are likely to come into play - especially if the compulsory pit stop window is axed for 2009.
Compulsory pit stops have been criticised for leading to contrived racing, with all teams tending to use similar strategies and risks rarely rewarded, especially in shorter events.
The board is also likely to act on revamping the current three-race sprint format.
Many inside the sport believe it leads to dull racing as teams drive conservatively in the opening race to ensure good grid position for the rest of the meeting.
The recent Darwin round, in which races one and three were virtual processions, are believed to have put the issue in sharp focus once more.
This weekend’s round seven of the championship at Queensland Raceway is also a three-race sprint round.
Technorati Tags: V8 Supercars, Sandown Raceway, Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander, Rick Kelly, Steven Richards, Asian Motor Sports
Aussie F3: Winslow still fighting - on and off track
James Winslow produced the performance of this season’s Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Championship as he blitzed the rest of a high-class field in race two of the latest double-header at Eastern Creek.
Having again managed to piece together a budget for the weekend, the Briton showed what he was capable of by lapping almost a second a lap faster than anyone else as he waltzed to victory by a massive 11.8secs, moving to within touching distance of the championship lead despite his precarious existence in the series.
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Caratti Charge Continues to Eastern Creek Pole
Nathan Caratti has recorded the fastest ever official lap by a Formula 3 car around Eastern Creek raceway en route to taking a pair of convincing pole positions ahead of this weekends’ sixth round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.
Caratti banked a 1m23.1216 this morning to take his second pole position of the season in commanding fashion, ahead of team-mate James Winslow and Leanne Tander – the big improver after a frustrating day of practice yesterday.
He repeated the effort in the second session, holding off Winslow by a smaller margin to take the second 1-2 qualifying result for Team BRM in the one day, and his third pole of the year.
The championship leader extended his 18-point margin by a further two points to place him a full race ahead of both Winslow and Tander in the Gold Star standings.
Tander qualified third for both races tomorrow with Liverpool driver Mat Sofi (Total Developments / Transwest Racing) fourth on both occasions.
Caratti said that he was looking forward to starting the first race from pole position – his earlier season pole at Eastern Creek coming to naught after the race was canceled due to heavy rain.
”It will be nice to start a race from pole for the first time this year – I seem to go well at this track because I’ve got three poles here this year so it’s been good to me,” Caratti said.
”It’s been a good day - the team has done a great job so far and the car is really sorted. The key to the race will be getting a good start and trying to build a margin in the first few laps like we did here earlier this year. If we can do that we’ll be looking good.
”I’m also hoping Chris (Alajajian) can come though and take some more points off of Leanne to help our championship,” he added.
Winslow qualified second by may prove to be a threat in tomorrows’ races after electing to conserve tyre use ahead of tomorrow’s two demanding, 14-lap races.
”We probably did seven or eight laps less than Nathan and even more less than Leanne,” Winslow said.
”I think we’re looking quite good for tomorrow with a couple of front-row starts. The tyre wear was obvious here today with times a second slower in the second session – so we probably lost a pole position to give us good tyres tomorrow.”
The two Team BRM drivers were a solid margin ahead of the chasing pack in qualifying today, with Tander seven and eight-tenths behind in the two sessions, respectively.
The next group of cars were closely bunched, however with Tander, Sofi, Piccola’s Justin Tate and the Scud Racing entry of Stuart Kostera closely matched.
Amidst the leading cars for the second time in a row was the National Class pacesetter, Tim Macrow.
After stunning with top-four efforts at Phillip Island, Macrow was again inside the top six today in his R-Tek F3 National Class Dallara after qualifying sixth for race two tomorrow.
Macrow led an impressive Mathew Radisich (#32 TanderSport) in both National Class sessions today with class championship rivals Lee Farrell and Chris Gilmour behind on both occasions.
“It’s not going badly so far,” Macrow said.
”We improved the car between sessions and got it a bit closer to where we thought it should be. We should be able to run with some of the 307 cars tomorrow.”
Andrew Mill edged closer to his first F3 title after scoring double pole positions in the Formula 3 Trophy Class today, scoring 13th for both races but less than half a second from the leading group of drivers behind the wheel of the later-spec F3 National Class Dallaras.
Mill, driving his Property Solutions Group Dallara, can clinch the Trophy Class championship with two solid results tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s Shannons Nationals event at Eastern Creek will feature two, 14-lap races that make up round six of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star.
Technorati Tags: Shannons Nationals, Australian Formula 3, F3, Eastern Creek
