the racing magazine: issue 5, 2014

thenationals.com.au

4 Speed Shots

8 Pitlane Whiteboard

10 Feature AMCHAMP OVER THE YEARS

13 Feature BIG KEV, TAKE TWO

16 Feature THE FIRST 250

18 Feature A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN STOHR

21 Round 5 - Categories & Entries

28 Meeting News

30 Television Coverage Lap Records

Publisher Australian Motor Racing Pty Ltd

Editor Richard Craill

Art Director Sarah Anesbury - 121 Creative Hilton

Writers Richard Craill, Amanda Jackson & Garry O’Brien

Chief Photographer: Nathan Wong

Production Kwik Kopy Printing Hilton

Feedback We want your feedback. Please email us at [email protected]

Advertisers If you would like to advertise in the next issue of The Racing Magazine please contact 0414 294 153 or email [email protected]

Disclaimer While reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information provided, Australian Motor Racing Pty Ltd make no representation, express or implied, as to the accuracy, currency, reliability or suitability. Australian Motor Racing Pty Ltd expressly disclaim responsibility for any damages that may be caused by or in connection with the information provided.

THENATIONALS.COM.AU | 3

ESCAPING THE RAT RACEBy Richard Craill

WHEN I WAS a kid family holidays would generally involve, first and foremost, long distances in the back seat of my folks’ cream VH Commodore Wagon.

Back then, road trips were a combination of boredom and barely-managed stress. I’ve never been able to sleep in moving objects so the 4-am getaways resulted in me being awake for what was usually a 14-hour day trip to the Eastern states, somewhere, so I would usually end up (more) irritable and grumpy.

I’d always try and find interesting ways to pass the time, however. One trip to Canberra, I kept a very meticulous log of the petrol stations we passed en-route. If memory serves, there were more Shell servo’s than my favourite Mobil’s (they sponsored Brock, you see).

In the end, the folks managed somehow to keep the sibling and I entertained, attempting to play music we could mostly agree on, all the while navigating their way across the country. But it was hard work for all and by the end you were stuffed for most of your holiday.

Strange, then, that claustrophobia, boredom, tiredness and bickering back then results in me being absolutely delighted when the opportunity arises to jump in a car and just drive.

The Motorsport industry we work in thrives on being busy. Almost everyone is caching the latest possible flight and then rushing to and from the circuit to a function, event, media stunt or waiting dinner opportunity. Rush, rush, rush.

It’s complete madness. This year I put a blanket ban on booking any flights that could even remotely-involve the term, ‘red-eye’. There’s still the occasional 6am sortie out of Adelaide, but the days of me jumping on the 1:35am QF to home from Darwin are long gone. It is utter stupidity and rules me out of life for three days. I’ll whack some more pain on the Visa card and stay an extra night, thanks.

On that subject, these days I am also making a concerted effort to drive to circuits a bit more. It started to a road trip to Bathurst (from Adelaide) for the 12-hour earlier this year and later, I’m planning a jaunt for a few back-to-back races in Victoria.

For starters, it’s much more relaxed. There are no pestering security guards, always checking the dark recesses of your bag for what they think is a knife, but is actually a four-year old packet of buttermenthols. Aside from the need to ultimately arrive at your destination at a prescribed time there are no deadlines. No check in lines. And, when you add in the cost of plane tickets, rental cars, airport parking and the like, it’s cheaper, too.

But I think the best thing about it is that, where once road tripping ensured you had very little democratic rights in the whole process today it really is almost the complete opposite:

These days, it really is the last bastion of free travelling and I, for one, plan to embrace it more.

And I still like a good Servo.

Photo by Joel Strickland – Nikon D3s, 16mm, 1/500th at f2.8 ISO 4000.

THE Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge enduro race at Winton Raceway ran a little later than perhaps expected but the result was worth the wait. Winton’s usually unpredictable weather turned on the rain and the sunshine at the same time, with sensational results. The day really did all come up rainbows for Fraser Ross, pictured here, too. He won the race, won the round, and extended his very handy championship lead.

RAINBOW ON ROSS

THENATIONALS.COM.AU | 54 | THE RACING MAGAZINE

6 | THE RACING MAGAZINE THENATIONALS.COM.AU | 7

THIS IS HOW magazines looked in the early-to-mid 1970s, in particular, the 1975 issue of ‘Giant Killers’ that we reference on our cover and in our AMChamp history feature a little later in this publication. We love the

old-school look (look beyond the paper, which hasn’t lasted the 40-year gap between then and now as the words and images) and the massive detail included in the report. It’s a sensational look back at how the sport was

covered and, when you look closely, not a massive amount has changed. Paper is better, photos in colour and if anything there’s probably less words used these days. But the story? Well, that remains key.

FLASHBACK ‘74

This column nearly didn’t make it this round due to a clash with a V8 Supercar test day. At the last moment, while editor was furiously emailing @ PitlaneWB’s Manager with the line “While I’ve seen your form with women and appreciate you’re not faced with the problem of having two dates in the same year very often: How hard can it be?” followed by a rant containing the words “You’re like Dylan Thomas, you’ve somehow found an unexplainable way not to finish this!” (Sorry, Dylan, we promised to stop bringing that up. –Ed) these words magically appeared in his inbox:

People who have read this column know that I love a rant about the good old days, when Ferrari was number 27, you could still talk on RaceCam during the race, and Jim Richards was sufficiently not concerned about his Shannons sponsorship (see what I did there Ed? Paying the bills!) enough to describe the crowd as a whole, anatomically.

Rule makers sit in rooms at the end of each season, and spend hours and hours debating about which pieces of technology they should ban for next year, but forget the one key component that makes races all around the world more boring.

Forget ABS, traction control, aerodynamics, slick tyres or turbochargers: What we really need to ban is… Wait for it… Electronic timing.

These days, if you have a failure in timing, a representative of the great Greek God of timing, Dorian, issues an edict from upstairs, usually along the lines of “You forgot to charge the transponder again, didn’t you?”

Then if you’re really unlucky, they come down a visit you with a large coat hanger thingy and wave it under your car and confirm that you can receive SBS2 and that all important seventh home shopping channel that Channel Ten has launched in a desperate but fruitless attempt to be profitable again, before letting you back on the circuit.

But I long for the good old days. When you needed real skill in timing. The human element - making it all work.

Who can forget the amazing feats in the 1987 Bathurst? Sideways they were, three of them as the storm came through: Papers flying everywhere on a moving table, still keeping track of the times. “They’ve forgotten lunch,” said Garry Wilkinson on the coverage. Indeed they had. Classic television.

Like all banning of technology in racing, banning electronic timing introduces the great creator of drama in sport: The human error.

At the very least, a timing blunder ends up with three team owners having a whinge to anybody with a microphone within a 500 metre radius.

Frankly, I’m sick of seeing just Roland Dane on the telly, having a whinge that his sandwich wasn’t made with free range eggs or some such. Where’s Garry Rogers, and Kim Jones? We need them back, and this is the way we do it.

At its best it ends up with classic TV moments like when Arie Luyendyk finished two laps ahead in an Indycar race in 1997, and quite rightly thought he should take possession of the winner’s trophy from apparent winner A.J. Foyt.

“I’ll just go and fetch it from winner’s circle, as that A.J. Foyt is quite a reasonable fellow, and I’m sure he’ll give it to me.” he thought. The result: A.J Foyt and “bitch slap” are now searchable terms on YouTube.

They eventually worked out the winner of that one: two days later, presumably once the postal and pre-poll laps were counted. In the meantime, it was excellent drama.

These days unfortunately, we rely purely on the incompetence of race control alone. Maybe an incorrect deployment of a Safety Car, or if we’re really lucky, Dylan Thomas finding a new inventive way to lose a motor race that not even CAMS have thought of yet.

What motorsport needs is drama, and drama comes from the human element. But it’s about time the regulators thought about all the technology they could ban, not just the gizmos in the cars.

* It goes without saying (but I’ve had an eraser held at my throat until I finish writing this bit, so I’ll say it anyway) that the views expressed in this column are most certainly, totally, absolutely and wholly 100% those of the whiteboard and NOT this publication or it’s associated entities.


PITLANE WHITEBOARD

It’s the anonymous Twitter account pretending to stand for people who will not go quietly into the night, people who will prevail, and people who will never surrender for today we

celebrate our independence day. Or something like that. Anyway, we ran out of interesting things to say here a long time ago so we’ve taken to quoting Roland Emmerich disaster movies.

Anyway, you should enjoy this because the ‘ol WB has put down the sweetness and light that marred the last few columns and has got the (sarcastic) knife out again. Anyway…

8 | THE RACING MAGAZINE

DID YOU KNOW that should Mazda win the AMChamp title this year, it will make it exactly 30 years since the Hiroshima-based marque last won the championship back in 1984?

Mazda won two Manufacturers Championship/endurance championship titles, a 1983 tie with Holden coming prior to their success alone in 1984. If they can win it again this year – thanks to the efforts of the Grand Prix Mazda and Osborne Motorsport teams – it would mark the longest gap between AMChamp titles for any brand.

A majority of brands competing in this years AMChamp series have all some pedigree in Manufacturer-based motorsport down under.

Toyota won it in 1981 and 1989, Ford are five-time champions and BMW won it twice during the Group A era, probably not coincidentally in the same years that Jim Richards won the ATCC, and once again in 1994 thanks to Tony Longhurst’s efforts – once he’d gotten over punching Paul Morris at Winton.

Mitsubishi, meanwhile, have won the last five consecutive championships. Can they be beaten this year?

LONG TIME BETWEEN DRINKS

Follow the Pit lane Whiteboard on Twitter: @pitlaneWB

can be tracked through a series of rebranding efforts in subsequent years. In 1977 it was branded the ‘Australian Championship of Makes’, but really everyone knew it as the Endurance title. As such, it assumed this title proper in 1981 – the first year that a brand other than Ford or Holden won the crown. Run over a class-based system rather than purely outright results, it was Toyota who clinched the

title in 1981 by scoring maximum class points in each of the four races held. The Manufacturers Championship title returned in 1985 but outside of the brands themselves, most people paid little attention, the focus remaining on the long-distance series of races held at the end of the year. Remarkably, a string of different brands still managed to win the title in this era with Toyota, Nissan, Mazda,

Holden, BMW and Ford all winning at least one Manufacturers crown in the 80’s. The title was benched between 1991 and 1993 as Australian Touring Car racing began its second great upheaval; the first being the switch from Group C to Group A in 1985. This time it was the turn of international Group A to fall by the wayside and the domestic V8 product to take the limelight with a Holden-versus-Ford lockout that continued from 1993 all the way to 2012.The early 1990s also generated what would ultimately be the V8-versus-two litre war; the return of the Manufacturers Championship brand in 1994 a key piece in the early stages of that battle. The title was bestowed on the first properly stand-alone two-litre series to be held in Australia, for the international two-litre formula called Super Touring. BMW won the title that year and finished 1-2-3 in the process, but most people recall that season for something other than domination by the Bavarian marque.Instead, it was a climactic race finish at a dark and moody Winton between teammates Paul Morris and Tony Longhurst that stole the headlines that year – Longhurst laying into Morris after the pair ended up parked in a concrete barrier at the end of a dramatic race. YouTube it – it remains some of the most classic footage on the internet today. With the advent of Super Touring, the Manufacturers Championship brand was benched again in 1995 and this time would stay parked, quietly, for fourteen years – only to be resurrected in 2008 in conjunction with the Australian Production Car Championship. Using a formula that saw manufacturers allowed to nominate two point-scoring representatives per marque, Hyundai Australia won the title ahead of rivals Toyota. Much is now, of course, recent history; several years of building Production Car racing in Australia has the Australian Manufacturers Championship – AMChamp – running under its own title, the battle of the brands in the forefront of the series promotion and branding. And in the end, despite all the end, the sport really has come full circle with one of the oldest championship ‘brands’ in Australia being battled out by production-based cars in a series of long-distance races around Australia. The more things change…


AMCHAMP OVER THE YEARS

AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURERS Championship. AMChamp. Endurance Championship. Manchamp. AMC: It’s production-car racing by any other name. Since 1971 the series has provided the outlet for the manufacturers, rather than the teams and drivers, to compete for racing success. We chart the 43-year history of this sometime unheralded championship. Words: Richard Craill

THE 1975 issue of ‘Giant Killers’ is one of my favourite magazines. It is, for all intents and purposes, a publicity exercise by General Motors-Holden to promote their massive success in Australian Motorsport for the calendar year of 1974 and it was one of the first a youthful version of me got my hands on and delved into that charted some sensational Aussie motorsport history.

Amongst the reports of ‘Giant Killing’ in the Touring Car Championship, Colin Bond’s ‘Sun 7’ series win, reports from the South Pacific Touring Car Series, XU-1 rally victories in the ARC and a feature on the extraordinary Craven Mild HQ Sports Sedan, was a report on the 1974 Manufacturers Championship.

Third only in billing to a column by the engineer of much of Holden’s success at the time – Harry Firth – and a report on Peter Brock’s maiden Touring Car Championship title, the ‘Manchamp

‘74’ report heralds Holden’s victory in the battle of the brands.

It was a wrap on the fourth running of a major national championship that has stood the test of time – despite taking on many shapes, names and forms across the 40-plus years since.

Won by Holden, the inaugural AMChamp series was held in 1971 over five touring car rounds spread throughout the year. Unlike later seasons, it did not include Bathurst’s Hardie Ferodo 500; though it would be included the following season.

Instead, the season began with the Rothmans 3-hour at Mount Panorama, a race won by Allan Moffat. Victories by Colin Bond in the next three rounds at Warwick Farm, Sandown and Phillip Island, however, gave Holden an edge that even the great Ford hero could not beat. Even though he won the final round at Surfers Paradise, Holden had enough points to clinch the inaugural

Manufacturers crown by two points over their blue-oval arch rivals.

Fast-forward to 1974 and the series had established itself firmly as the mainstay of the second half of the domestic touring car year. Once the ATCC was done and dusted, a series of endurance races made up the schedule that included the two big ones; namely, Bathurst and its traditional Sandown warm-up a month before.

As the Giant Killers magazine heralded, Holden won the ’74 series mainly thanks to the efforts of the works Dealer Team and Colin Bond, who won three of the five rounds. Crucially Sandown and Bathurst – the races that most remember – went to Ford, with Moffat winning in Melbourne and the famous Torana failure at Bathurst holding the great race to John Goss and Kevin Bartlett in their privately-entered Falcon hardtop.

The Manufacturers Championship brand was only used between ’71 and ’76 – but its lineage


BIG KEV, TAKE TWO

SYDNEYSIDER-TURNED-BRISBANITE Kev Herben may be a relative newcomer to the Australian Manufacturers Championship after joining part-way through 2013, but he has already carved out a reputation as a true character of pit lane. The Racing Magazine caught up with the Honda Integra pilot to find out what makes him tick. And wear the crazy hats...

Words by Amanda Jackson. Photos by Nathan Wong.


The Racing Magazine: You were pretty excited after the class win at Phillip Island with co-driver Luke King, with the pair of you 1-2 in the class standings following that performance. How do you sum up the season so far?

Kev Herben: 2014 has been pretty fun so far. The result at Phillip Island was a great relief and a total buzz. It followed on from our great run from Sandown where we had the race win within reach but it slipped away. Luke King and our strategist Luke Ellery work hard at getting the most out of our little Rhonda and to finish ahead of seasoned competitors and quicker cars (6th outright twice) really was satisfying and I was happy to show it.

TRM: You are known as a bit of a character and have appeared on social media in some great outfits already this season - what inspires this playful side and what can we expect from you for the rest of the year?

KH: Be fast. If you can’t be fast, be good looking. If you can’t be good looking, be funny. Warren Luff is fast, Klark Quinn is good looking, Richard Craill is funny (More coverage for you,

Kev! – Ed). I’m struggling to be any of those, but I try…there are some seriously serious people around pit lane, so I like to break the tension. At Sydney Motorsport Park, if we get an outright podium, I might just get the birthday suit out!

TRM: You have proclaimed your love publically for your 2014 AMCHAMP chariot, who you have dubbed ‘Rhonda’ - what is it about Rhonda that makes you love her so? How does she line up against the other competitors?

KH: Rhonda is a lovely one. Reliable, tight, with great curves and all the right noises. You can take her out and treat her gently or drive her hard for hours and she never bats an eyelid. There are some great looking cars on the AMCHAMP grid but I think Rhonda has to be one of the best looking on the grid. Not that I’m biased at all…

TRM: After joining the AMCHAMPS in 2013, this will be your first full season - is there anything unexpected you have found since joining the Series and what have you liked most about it so far?

KH: I’d have to say the preparation is boggling. The Conroy Motorsports team are a great bunch and make sure nothing is left to chance. Terry Conroy and Steve Kennet-Tribe are meticulous in their prepartation of Rhonda and deserve all the credit for her performance. What I like about this series are these longer races - endurance racing is what I always really wanted to do. The compeition in Class D is healthy too and it livens up our racing.

TRM: What keeps you busy between AMCHAMP rounds - do you indulge in other racing or have other hobbies or activities that take up your time?

KH: Following on from above, Goldie is my attention grabber. I’m now expanding my race experiences to more powerful, rear wheel drive cars running the CAMS NSW Production Touring car rounds. I work for myself and running a business has its time consuming occasions. Kandi Warehousing installs storage systems in warehouses (pallet rack, industrial shelving, mezzanine sytems etc). It’s like playing with big Mecanno and is pretty good fun.

The Class D battle is a tight race, and no more so than in the Conroy Motorpsorts garage which is home to 2 of the 3 Class D entrants, which sees Kev Herben and Luke King pitted against stablemates Jake Williams and Geoff Rand in near-identical Honda Integras.

Given the tight 2014 battle so far which has included a class lead change between the sister cars in the final metres of round one and the score currently levelled at one win each, we asked Herben how the stablemates are getting along as the season progressed:

“We all secretly plot the others undoing,” laughed Herben. “We carry banana skins in Rhonda to throw at the 21 car to slip on, Mario Kart style. They carry laxative powder and try to spike our drinks in the garage, while Luke coaches me to take silly apexes and I make him ‘conserve’ fuel and tyres in the race! In all seriousness, we get on okay - but only when we’re not fighting for the Honda Integra world championship for class D sheepstations!”

“As far as approaching the battle, the diplomat in me wants to simply say that we work on a strategy to complete the race the quickest we can and whatever happens, happens; but the competitor in me says we just want to win – our side of the garage focuses on beating the other Conroy car, just as they try to beat us, and we both try and beat the other Class D entrant – the Toytoa. When it comes down to it, class points are what we are fighting for so of course we are in competition, if we end up in front of the any of the other class racers that is just bragging rights.”

For more of Kev’s antics, like him on Facebook at ‘K Racing’ or follow Luke King at ‘Luke King Racing’.

TEAM MATES

WHILE THE outright battle for AMChamp races hogs a lot of the limelight, the inter-class battles have gone to a new level this year, too – including some feisty inter-team rivalry between the Conroy Motorsport Honda team ‘mates’. AMANDA JACKSON investigates.

TRM: Do you think your role as a businessperson as director of Kandi Warehousing influence your racing decisions, either on or off the track?

KH: The biggest influence would certainly be off track, dictating when and what I can race, really. On track, the only thing in my mind is trying to hold on for dear life and to not dirty the seat of my race suit....

TRM: What do you think of your co-driver Luke King?

KH: Luke is a gun driver. He has a great natural talent and a totally competitve spirit. His role in the team is two fold as he is also a driver coach to myself. I am really pleased to see the support he is getting from his sponsors, he is very motivated and ambitious and works just as hard off the track as he does on it, so I think it would be great if he could get some more solid support behind him to help him achieve his goals.


THE FIRST 250In 2013, the Radical Australia Cup trialled a new format that they called the Radical 250; two, back-to-back 125km races on a crisp and clear Sunday morning at Sydney Motorsport Park. One year on, we reflect on the series’ first foray into proper, all-out endurance racing. WORDS: Richard Craill IMAGES: Nathan Wong

AGAINST PERHAPS the toughest ever field the series had ever assembled and in the longest race the series has ever held, Radical Australia Cup (RAC) series leader Neale Muston continued his domination of the class in the inaugural enduro.

Muston won the SR8 class of the inaugural First Neon 250 endurance event held at Sydney Motorsport Park, taking both 45-minute ‘legs’ of the 250km enduro.

SR3 driver Simon Haggarty scored two victories in the four-cylinder class battle to take honours in the Radical Australia Cup ‘race within a race’ – the pair scoring equal points for the weekend.

With a unique format that gave ‘pro’ drivers a chance to race amongst themselves and regular RAC competitors in the second leg, Muston was still able to come through to win both parts of the enduro.

Muston won the opening 45-minute stanza comfortably over Ash Samadi and Richard Kimber, the first leg interrupted by one, two-lap safety car period to remove the stranded Django Racing SR8 driven by John Corbett.

Corbett and former international Aussie open-wheel ace Nathan Antunes were a favoured podium combination, though a failure to score points in the opening leg would rule them out of trophy contention regardless of the pro-drivers performance later in the event.

Another fancied combination to strike dramas early was the #9 Radical Australia SR8 RX entry of Chris Medland and James Winslow; Medland dropping from fourth to ninth on lap six. Finishing the first leg eighth put a damper in their chances for an overall placing, with consistency across both legs critical to a big overall result.

Simon Haggarty convincingly won the SR3 battle, edging out Nick Kelly by two seconds and Peter Paddon by a further three in a close battle.

Following a 25-minute break, the second leg saw the ‘pro’ drivers installed in the cars for the next 45-minutes.

James Winslow rocketed up eight positions on the opening lap of the second leg, incredibly jumping from the fourth row of the grid to an early race lead.

From there he pulled away from Muston, breaking the lap record on lap eight in his effort to extend as big a margin as possible – however, it wasn’t large enough when his time to visit pit lane for a compulsory drive-through penalty came around on lap 13.

Pro drivers were assessed a drive-through handicap as part of their status this weekend, the 30-odd second trundle through the pits at 40km/hr dropping Winslow from the lead to third position.

An earlier safety car also cost him opportunity to extend the margin required to pit and resume his race within close proximity to his nearest rivals.

The Briton then chased down Ash Samadi and passed him with seven laps to go before setting about after the race leader - but the margin would be too great: Winslow got to within seven seconds of Muston by the end of the race, but didn’t quite have enough to catch the runaway leader.

With Winslow second and Samadi third, Nathan Antunes finished the race fourth and Simon Haggarty fifth - first of the SR3s. Ben Porter and Liam Talbot were second and third, respectively, in the SR3 class.

Showcasing the depth of the field and the hot pace at the front, the lap record fell in both legs of the race - five drivers ultimately lapping underneath Neale Muston’s existing Sydney Motorsport Park Grand Prix Circuit benchmark.

Muston took 1.2 seconds out of his previous best in the first leg, before Winslow lowered it further to a remarkable 1m25.70s in the second. Muston set the second fastest lap of the second leg, ensuring that he took a full 1.9s out of his existing 1m28s lap record across the weekend.

The final results ensured Muston (62 points) beat home Ash Samadi (50) and James Winslow (49) in the SR8 battle, whilst it was Simon Haggarty (62 points) on top of the SR3 class and ahead of Ben Porter (47) and Liam Talbot (46).

The first Radical 250 enduro was a success, with the innovative format throwing up unpredictable racing and varied results. Every series needs a ‘hallmark’ event – and it looks like the 250 might just be that for the Radical Australia Cup.


A LOOK AT WHAT’S IN STOHR


WORDS: Richard Craill IMAGES: AP Racing and Joel Strickland

THE CARS

THE MODEL raced locally is the WF1 and is powered by a Suzuki GSXR 1000 engine, that utilises a simple-yet-effective wet sump oil pan to reduce costs. The Suzuki package sees about 165hp produced at the rear wheels.

Structurally, the car is made from a semi-carbon tub with steel front and rear ‘clips’ – the pieces that hold the front suspension, rear suspension, engine and bodywork components.

Much like open wheelers, the car utilises a transaxle gearbox and a Williams limited slip differential. Four-pot Willwood calipiers on custom vented Disc Brakes allow the car to stop with plenty of force.

Like most in the class, the car has a six-speed sequentially shifted and pneumatically controlled gearbox with the de-rigour Paddle Shifters behind the wheel. The car has an auto-blip function (much like the current crop of GT3 cars) and a clutch only used when leaving the pits, on race starts.

Like most cars of its type, the Stohr produces pretty remarkable aero stats, with the company claiming that it produces twice the cars weight in downforce. So, like the old F1 stories, you find a tunnel long enough and with a smooth roof, you could theoretically drive one of these things upside-down. But we don’t recommend you try that at home...

WEST Race cars dominate, numerically at least, the Australian Sports Racer scene and if it were a spec-formula then this would not be a surprising fact.

However, it isn’t: the series encourages Sports Racing cars of all types to join the fun and that’s why it would be wise to keep an eye on the exploits of AP Racing – the team headed up by champion racer, Adam Proctor.

The team is running two cars in this year’s Sports Racer series but they aren’t Wests. Instead, the team specialises in the US-based Stohr chassis which means that this series immediately offers more than many others; diversity in chassis brands and a rivalry outside of the drivers and teams.

Across the opening few rounds of the series this year there has been nothing between the Wests and Stohrs and more often than not they have spent a lot of the time locked together in combat. It has the potential to provide a thrilling championship this season.

So, here’s what makes these cars and the company behind them tick.

THE STOHRY

STOHR cars was founded by its eponymous founder, Lee Stohr, in 1991 in Portland, Oregon before bring purchased by a company called Dauntless Racing in 2014 – shifting manufacture of the cars to Vacaville in California. The brand has been incredibly successful ‘stateside, notching up 13 SCCA (Sporting Car Club America) titles in its class. Domestically, the brand has notched up three Australian Sports Racer titles and two state championships for Sports Racing cars. So, plenty of success, then. Locally, Adam Proctor’s AP Racing outfit, based in Western Sydney, was appointed the local distributor in 2011.


ROUND 5 SYDNEY MOTOR SPORT PARK, NSW

SHANNONS AUSTRALIAN MOTOR RACING NATIONALSROUND 5, SYDNEY MOTOR SPORT PARK • JULY 11-13, 2014


PROMOTERSThe Australian Racing Drivers Club Limited Tel: 02 9672 1000 Fax: 02 9672 0208 E: [email protected]

AUTHORITYThis meeting is conducted under the International Sporting Code of the FIA, the National Competition Rules of the CAMS Ltd, the Race Meeting Standing Regulations of CAMS, Phillip Island Standing Regulations 03/2012, and Supplementary Regulations issued for this Meeting. CAMS Permit : 814/1307/02

MOTOR RACING IS DANGEROUSIn exchange for being able to attend or participate in the event, you agree:• to release Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Ltd

(“CAMS”) and Australian Motor Sport Commission Ltd, promoters, sponsor organisations, land owners and lessees, organisers of the event, their respective servants, officials, representatives and agents (collectively, the “Associated Entities”) from all liability for your death, personal injury (including burns), psychological trauma, loss or damage (including property damage) (“harm”) howsoever arising from your participation in or attendance at the event, except to the extent prohibited by law;

• that CAMS and the Associated Entities do not make any warranty, implied or express, that the event services will be provided with due care and skill or that any materials provided in connection with the services will be fit for the purpose for which they are supplied; and

• to attend or participate in the event at your own risk.

You acknowledge that:• the risks associated with attending or participating in the

event include the risk that you may suffer harm as a result of:• motor vehicles (or parts of them) colliding with other

motor vehicles, persons or property;• acts of violence and other harmful acts (whether

intentional or inadvertent) committed by persons attending or participating in the event; and

• the failure or unsuitability of facilities (including grand-stands, fences and guard rails) to ensure the safety of persons or property at the event.

• motor sport is dangerous and that accidents causing harm can and do happen and may happen to you.

You accept the conditions of, and acknowledge the risks arising from, attending or participating in the event and being provided with the event services by CAMS and the Associated Entities..

OFFICIALS OF THE MEETINGSeries Director: Rob CurkpatrickClerk of Course: Michael Hancock Deputy Clerk of Course: Vince Morgan Clerk of Course Assistants: David Ellem, Evan Jones, Gary Peterson, Ronda Turner, Terry Thompson Series Steward: Steve Lisk Stewards: T. Davidson, K.RossSecretary of the Meeting: Brian Goulding Secretary of the Meeting Assistants: Doreen Butchers, Laura Campbell, Jean Cook, Andrew Johnstone

Race Control: Karen Beldzinski, Sandra Hopkinson, Rodney Schwalbach, Allen SeeEmergency Co-Ordinator: David Martin Safety Car Driver: John Cotter,

Sandra Brand assisting Course Car Driver: Andrew Brand Circuit Co-Ordinator: Peter Layland Circuit Co-Ordinator Assistants: Paul Soster, Gordon

Manhood, Grant Calnan Noise Meter: TBA Starter: Derek Taylor, Kerry TunksC.R.O: Neil Turner Commentary: David Conole,

Darren Smith Chief Scrutineer: David Healy Scrutineers: Greig Black, Dennis Castellarin, Michael Chin, Norm Crompton, Virginia Crompton, Steven Dimmock, Steve Gifford, Oliver Harling, Ronald Henson, Bill Jones, Peter Kemp, Janet King, Anthony Koomen, John Lewis, Tony Martin, Ern Mitchell, Ian Mitchell, Keith Neville, Elaine Nikiforoff, Nicholas Nikiforoff, Sandy O’Sullivan, Robert Panetta, Allan Parsons, Glenn Pincott, Katia Pincott, John Read, Murray Slana, Lance Smith, Zayn Smith, Raymond Tabet, Mike Walsh, Jeffrey Williamson, Kim Woodward, John WoottonChief Fire and Rescue: Tony Limn Fire & Rescue: Simon Bailey, Greg Bretherton, Trevor Butterworth, John Ferguson, Dave Fitchett, Brian Johnson, Martin Kappeler,Moniqui McAuley, Robert Murphy, Andrew Palmer, Rex Ryeland, Murray Shorten, Reed Southerton, Simon Swyer, Russell Turner, Calhan Williams, Brett WrightChief Recovery: William Stacey Recovery: Russell Avery, Loren Bennett, David Berger, Nathan Clark, Neil Condon, John Dwyer, Adam Gard, Rodney Gard, Andrew Grosse, Dennis Grosse, Joanne Hodge, Ken Hodge, Sara Martin, Aleks Novakovic, Nicholas Parkes, Bob Priest, Stephanie Priest, Amanda Ridley-Elliott, Jacqueline Stacey, Joanne Stacey, William GH Stacey, Kevin Williams Chief Flag Marshal: Mark Black Flag Marshals: Alan Bishop, Craig Bracher, David Brooks, Warren Brown, John Buchanan, Chris Cabrera, Peter Carpenter, Wayne Castles, Geoffrey Chisholm, Elinor Cottrell, Barry Cox, Graeme Crowden, Stewart Curtis, Anthony Davis, Emily Duygan, Allan Firth, Derek Fleming, Adrian Forbes, John Garaty, John Garay, David Garland, Danny Gordon, Michael Gray, Steven Gurton, Heather Helvie, Sid Herold, Alex Hopkinson, Trevor Inglis, David Kay, Michele Klimenko, Abhijeet Krishna, Kylie Levingston, Sue Levingston, Adam Luczak, Nik Masters, Samba McHolme, Bob Millard, Stephen Navaratnam, Trevor O’Connell, Graeme Palmer, Alfred Parisek, Nick Price, Graham Pulley, Mark Pulley, Utkarsh Rai, Roger Romano, David Rome, Michael Rovere, Phillip Sadler, Corey Slade, Samantha Stratford, Phil Swan, Russell Waters, Graham Wells, David Westling, Max Wolf, Paul Woodcroft, James CookSector Marshals: John Burgess, Steven Burgess, Rod Edwards, John Gleeson, Alan Grix, John McGarry, Raymond Morris,

Bryn Price, Phillip Revill, Jason Szarometa, Bruce Taylor, Tony Thorne, Colin TooneChief Grid Marshal: John Spies Grid Marshals: Geoffrey Baker, Mark Baxter, Margaret Beecham, Melissa Beecham, Ross Beecham, Martin Bishop, Robert Campbell, Trent Dunk, Stephen Foster, Thomas Gosewincel, Elizabeth Nagy, Keith Nicholls, Dwayne Palmer, Ryan Palmer, Keisha Rignold, Ron Roberts, Clay Small, Brett SmithChief Pitlane Marshal: Gordon White Pit Lane: Phil Holt, Natalie MartinChief Timekeeper: Lisa Drayton Timing: Kim Brooks, Teena Lamb,

Aaron Splitt, Brian WhiteChaplain: Richard Cormick,

Esther Yeo, Steve YeoChief Medical Officer: Supplied by Ambulance

Services Australia Signology: Andrew Johnstone,

Liam Curkpatrick

Acknowledgment is also made to the many officials who will be assisting at the meeting but whose names were not available when this programme was printed.

ENTRIESThe organisers accept entries and drivers’ nominations in good faith. Every effort is made to adhere to the printed programme of competitors, but the promoters cannot accept responsibility for the failure of any driver to appear. Although every endeavour is made to avoid inaccuracies in the description of competing cars, the organisers accept no responsibility for any that may occur. The organisers reserve the right to postpone, abandon or cancel the meeting or any part thereof.

PROHIBITED AREASThe Organising Committee of today’s races has made every effort to ensure the safety of spectators at this meeting. In the interest of public safety, all areas other than the official spectator areas are PROHIBITED. The spectator areas are plainly defined and spectators are requested to keep behind the safety fence at all times. In the event of an accident on the circuit, the public MUST remain behind the safety fence as their entry to the track may cause further accidents and hinder officials.

SAFETYThe fencing erected around the circuit is there for your protection. It is forbidden to sit, stand or climb on it.

MESSAGESThe organisers regret that announcements to assist spectators cannot be made over the public address system except in cases of genuine emergency.

COPYRIGHTAll material in this magazine/program is copyright and must not be used without permission of the publishers. The opinions of the contributors are not necessarily those held by the publishers or race organisers.

ROUND 5 SYDNEY MOTOR SPORT PARK, NSW ROUND 5 SYDNEY MOTOR SPORT PARK, NSW


SCHEDULESUNDAY 13TH JULY

700 Gates Open

900 Warm up Radical Australia 250 5 mins

910 Race 4 Australian Superkart Championship 10 laps

940 Warm up Aust Manufacturers Championship 5 mins

945 Podium Australian Superkart Championship (Hinxman Room)

950 Race 2 Australian Sports Racer Series 9 laps

1015 Race 1 (1) Radical Australia 250 Part 1 50 min

1115 CPS Radical Australia 250 CPS 25 min


1145 Podium Australian Sports Racer Series (Hinxman Room)

1140 Race 1 (2) Radical Australia 250 Part 2 50 min

1310 Podium Radical 250 (Hinxman Room)

1300 Race 1 AMChamp - Australian 4 Hour 4 Hours

1720 Podium Australian 4 Hour (Hinxman Room)

SCHEDULEFRIDAY 11TH JULY

700 Gates Open

915 Practice Australian Superkart Championship 15 min

935 Practice Radical Australia 250 20 min

1000 Practice Australian Sports Racer Series 20 min

1025 Practice Australian Manufacturers Championship 20 min





1220 Practice Officials Break 30 min






1520 Sponsor Rides Radical 30 min

1550 Sponsor Rides Amchamp 30 min

SATURDAY 12TH JULY

700 Gates Open

910 Practice 1 Australian Superkart Championship 20 min

935 Practice 1 Australian Sports Racer Series 20 min

1000 Qualifying 1 Australian Superkart Championship 15 min

1020 Practice 1 Aust Manufacturers Championship 20 min

1045 Qualifying 1 Australian Superkart Championship 15 min


1140 Qualifying 1 Australian Sports Racer Series 20 min


1240 Qualifying 1 Aust Manufacturers Championship 20 min

1310 Qualifying 1 Radical Australia 250 20 min

1340 Qualifying 2 Aust Manufacturers Championship 20 min


1440 Qualifying 2 Radical Australia 250 20 min




AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIPON THE WEB: WWW.AMCHAMP.COM.AU

Car SPONSOR DRIVER state VEHICLE11 Lovton Coal Michael Benton Qld Falcon FG FPV GT

co-driver Geoff Russell NSW

13 Osborne Motorsport Colin Osborne NSW Mazda 3 MPS

co-driver Hadrian Morrall NSW

14 Kandi Warehousing Kevin Herben Qld Honda Integra DC5

co-driver Luke King NSW

18 Sherrin Rentals Grant Sherin Qld BMW 135i

co-driver Iain Sherrin Qld

19 Sherrin Rentals Michael Sherrin Qld BMW 135i

co-driver David Ayres Qld

20 Eastern Creek Karts Garry Holt NSW Mitsubishi Evo 10

co-driver Stuart Kostera WA

21 Disc Brakes Australia Jake Williams NSW Honda Integra DC5

co-driver Geoff Rands NSW

28 GWS Personnel Peter O'Donnell NSW BMW 335i

co-driver John Bowe Vic

31 Osborne Motorsport Nick Lange Qld Mazda 3 MPS

co-driver Brock Giblin Qld

33 Castrol/Turbosmart/DBA/Bilstein Glenn Seton Qld Mitsubishi Evo 10

co-driver Aaron Seton Qld

co-driver Bob Pearson NSW

34 AAW Australian Auto Wreckers George Karadimas Vic Ford Falcon XR6T

co-driver Lauren Gray Vic

35 Sennheiser/Ric Shaw Racing Ric Shaw NSW BMW 130i

co-driver Michael Sloss NSW

36 Grand Prix Mazda Jake Camilleri Qld Mazda 3 MPS

co-driver Scott Nicholas Qld

40 Alphera Financial Services Beric Lynton Qld BMW 1M

co-driver Tim Leahey NSW

42 Disc Brakes Australia Dean Evans NSW Mazda 323 Astina

54 Donut King Tony Alford Qld BMW 1M

co-driver Ryan McLeod Qld

55 Kintyre Racing Glyn Crimp WA Audi TT RS

co-driver Matthew Cherry WA

83 CXC Global Dylan Thomas NSW Mitsubishi Evo 9

co-driver Darren Williams NSW

86 Pedders/ToyotasRS Racing Grant Phillips Vic Toyota 86 GTS

co-driver Andrew Turpie Vic

87 Franck Donniaux NSW Renault Clio RS200

co-driver Carly Black NSW

88 Network Clothing/Dentbuster Mark Eddy Vic Renault Megane RS265

co-driver Francois Jouy NSW

For more entry information, visit www.thenationals.com.au


Car SPONSOR DRIVER state VEHICLE1 Excalibur Racing Neale Muston NSW Radical

2 Industrial Parks pf Australia Michael Shaw NSW Radical

3 Vantage Freight David Crampton NSW Radical

5 Axiom Wealth/Radical Aust Simon Haggarty NSW Radical

6 Axiom Wealth Management Tony Haggarty NSW Radical

9 Radical Australia Chris Medland NSW Radical

14 Rover Coaches Aaron Lewis NSW Radical

17 PJS Air Peter Johnston NSW Radical

24 Taylor Collison / Badge / Laucke Flour Mills Michael Whiting SA Radical

28 First Neon Trent White NSW Radical

co-driver David White NSW Radical

31 First Focus Peter Paddon NSW Radical

33 RAW Racing Tim Berryman NSW Radical

68 RAW Racing Kim Burke NSW Radical

78 Radical Australia Greg Smith NSW Radical

86 Radical Australia Oliver Smith NSW Radical

88 Radical Australia Rowan Ross NSW Radical

99 Industrie Nick Kelly NSW Radical

RADICAL AUSTRALIA CUPON THE WEB: WWW.RADICALSPORTSCARS.COM




AUSTRALIAN SPORTS RACER SERIESON THE WEB: WWW.SPORTSRACER.COM.AU

Car SPONSOR DRIVER state VEHICLE1 AP Racing Adam Proctor NSW Stohr

2 AP Racing Darren Barlow NSW Stohr

3 West Race Cars Aaron Steer SA West

14 Ken's Exhaust Systems Roger I'Anson SA West

53 Bryan Stoeckel Jonathan Stoeckel VIC West

56 West Race Cars John-Paul Drake QLD West

61 Laucke Flour Mills Mark Laucke SA West

66 West Race Cars Jason Makris SA West

88 CRC Industries/ Kitten Gerrit Ruff SA West

West Race Cars James Winslow NSW West


AUSTRALIAN SUPERKART CHAMPIONSHIPON THE WEB: WWW.SUPERKARTSAUSTRALIA.ORG

Car SPONSOR DRIVER state VEHICLE1 Coach Design Russell Jamieson Qld Anderson/Maverick

6 MJR Bricklaying/Slipstream Signs Martin Latta Vic Anderson/Maverick

7 Wizzer Engines/ SKE Tony Lappas SA SK EVO

8 Ciscos/Art Motorsport/KPI Anton Stevens Vic PVP

10 Dunlop Kartsport/BRC Engines Gary Pegoraro Qld Anderson/Maverick

12 Rockpress Metal Fabrications Phil Silcock Qld Avoig Elise PSR

14 Top Torque Engines Matt Bass Vic Anderson/Maverick

20 Redback Racepaint (ACT) Paul Campbell NSW Avoig Elise Mk3

21 Slipstream Signs/Williams Racing Dale Williams Vic Stockman/MR2

22 Supersonic Global Payments Jason Akermanis Vic Anderson/Maverick

23 Floth Sustainable Building Consultants Timothy Philp Qld Avoig Elise

26 Bakker S'karts/Ringwood Kart Centre Garry Haywood Vic Bakker X4

29 Ilya Harpas SA Anderson/Maverick

30 Middletons Printing, Anderson, Fuhi Xerox Jason Smith Qld Anderson/Maverick

32 Linra Properties Lindsay Jamieson Qld Stockman/MR2

33 Suburban Accounting & Taxation Serv Kristian Stebbing Vic Anderson/Maverick

34 Stockman Superkarts Jeff Reed NSW Stockman/MR2

37 JSR Racing Sam Rose NSW PVP/FPE

39 Adam Stewart NSW Italkart Rapido

41 Wizzer Engines/BRC Brendan Luneman Vic Anderson/Maverick

43 Stockman Superkarts/Macs Marine Warren McIlveen NSW Stockman 115

46 IN-2-KARTS Mark Robin NSW Stockman/MR2

47 DHM Auto Solution/Exclusive Auto Centre Sean Maberly Qld Anderson/Maverick

60 G.R. Industries Frank Giglio NSW Stockman/MR2

62 Giova Racing John Pellicano NSW Avoig Elise

63 Giova Racing Aaron Cogger NSW Anderson

65 Jason Laker Qld SKE 01

68 SHIFTMN Michael Nicholas Qld Stockman/MR2

69 Carbon Treatment Mehmet Sinani NSW Stockman/MR2

75 Linra Properties Stewart Bell Qld Stockman/MR2

76 L & J Custom Kitchens & Joinery Lee Vella NSW Avoig Elise

81 Lewis Plumbing Qld, Z1K, DHM M'sport Daniel Lewis Qld Anderson/Maverick

96 DLR Racing/Secret Squirrel Racing Dalton Rowell NSW Stockman/MR2



ROUND 4 - WINTONIN RACES WHERE passing opportunities were at a premium, Queenslander Jordan Lloyd added his name to the illustrious list of Australian Formula Ford round winners at the Shannons Australian Motor Racing Nationals by racing his way to the front. Lloyd won two races in the ultra-competitive Formula Ford series to secure his maiden victory as six national categories offered a mix of dominating performances and highly competitive racing during round four of the Shannons Nationals at Winton Motor Raceway.Ryan Simpson continued his dominant ways in the Kumho V8 Touring Cars while Fraser Ross had to fight all the way to score a home-turf round win in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Pirelli.A blinding start from the second row of the grid was the key factor in helping the Toowoomba-

based Lloyd win his first ever round of the Australian Formula Ford series.The BF Racing driver started race two on Sunday morning from third place– by virtue of his race one result on Saturday – but flew from the line and passed James Golding and race one winner Thomas Randle on the run into turn one.That move was key in giving him track position during a tense day of racing where the close nature of the field and Winton’s twisty layout left overtaking opportunities at a premium.Lloyd won race two and backed that performance up with victory in the third race to seal his maiden round victory.A trio of second-place finishes across the three races saw James Golding second for the round with Randle’s race one victory helping him score the final podium position after scoring a pair of thirds on Sunday.

Cameron Walters won the Kent class for Formula Ford 1600 cars ahead of James Garley and Jimmy Bailey.Formula Ford will now enjoy a two month break before returning to action during round six of the Shannons Nationals at Queensland Raceway, in August.Travis Lindorff won the Dial Before You Dig Saloon Car Challenge, backing up his race one victory on Saturday with another commanding performance in Sunday’s 30-lapper.The Holden driver led from the start and emerged back in front following the compulsory pit stops and was never headed from there, taking a 1.1 second victory over Gavin Ross with Shawn Jamieson third – the top three cars covered by less than three seconds at the line in the safety-car free race.Lindorff won the round ahead of Gavin Ross with Luke Westall grabbed third overall and ended the day as the leading Ford driver.Ryan Simpson continued on his merry way to dominating the Kumho V8 Touring Cars Series this year as he took his second consecutive round ‘clean sweep’ this year.Simpson dominated the first round at Mallala in April and the only time he looked like being headed during the three races at Winton was on the run to the first corner – after that the ex-Triple Eight Falcon was untroubled en route to victory.Justin Ruggier finished second in all three races at Winton and secured second overall with Matt Chahda bouncing back from a difficult start to the weekend to score third in the final race.While Simpson was relatively unchallenged in executing his clean sweep of the V8 Touring Cars, Fraser Ross certainly didn’t have it all his own way attempting to do the same in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Pirelli.The local driver won a dramatic 30-lap Jim Richards Enduro trophy race on Saturday night, his second such win of the season. On Sunday,

he didn’t have things his own way in the pair of shorter sprint races, either. Ross, looking to win at his home track for the first time, had to survive nearly two-thirds of race two being held under Safety Car before he could claim victory.He then had to spend seven of the scheduled ten-lap duration behind season-long rival John Goodacre as the pair staged a thrilling battle for the race lead. Goodacre started second in both of todays races however his fast-starting ability saw him take the lead early in both.In race three he doggedly held out Ross for most of the race before the championship leader could finally squeeze his way through and grab the win. Goodacre finished second for the round with Peter Fitzgerald thirdTim Miles won the B class, for older model 997 GT3 Cup Cars, ahead of Andrew Macpherson and Matt Cambell.

Tony Ricciardello dominated proceedings in the Kerrick Sports Sedan National Series after an early challenge from bitter rival Darren Hossack ended after the first race.

The long warring pair staged another epic duel in race one however fuel pressure issues ruled Hossack’s Audi out of both races two and three – leaving Ricciardello’s Alfa mostly unchallenged en route to another trio of race victories.

Stephen Tamasi finished second for the round and reigning champion Bruce Banks returned to the podium in third.

Roger I’Anson won his second Australian Sports Racer Series round in a row, backing up his performance on home turf at Mallala with another trio of wins at Winton, across the border.

Stohr racer Adam Proctor recovered from an off in race one to score second for the round with Aaron Steer third in his West.



LAP RECORDS SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK Grand Prix Circuit

CATEGORY DRIVER VEHICLE DATE TIMEOUTRIGHT Nico Hulkenberg (GER) A1 Lola Zytek 4/02/2007 1.19.142

SPORTS CARS

Group 2A James Winslow Radical SR8 14/07/2013 1.25.7027

Sports Racer Adam Proctor Stohr WF-1 28/05/2011 1.27.1481

Supersports George Miedecke Radical SR3 14/07/2013 1.29.4591

COMBINED TOURING

Group 3E Glenn Seton Mitsubishi Evo 10 21/04/2013 1.43.3983

SUPERKARTS Russell Jamieson Anderson Maverick 24/03/2013 1.28.1409

TELEVISION COVERAGESHANNONS NATIONALS TV

Speedweek on Sunday at 2pm on SBS1

ROUND 5 SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK Show 1 Sunday 27th July

AMChamp-Australian 4 Hour

Show 2 Sunday 3rd August

Radical Australia Cup

Australian Sports Racer Series

‘SHANNONS NATIONALS’ ON FOX SPEED Visit www.thenationals.com.au for complete TV schedule

LIVE INTERNET TV FROM 9.00AM ON SUNDAY via www.thenationals.com.au

the racing magazine: issue 5, 2014

Documents

racing magazine

accuracy of information

hour day trip

years13 feature big

rat raceby richard craillwhen

combination of boredom

road trips

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