V8s: Whincup and Dumbrell’s epic Bathurst Victory

This was originally posted on Richard’s F1…check it out here!

Paul Dumbrell put it perfectly:  “You would not get a better motor race. You couldn’t have written it like this”…and what a great race it was!

A gruelling 30 last laps lead to a photo finish with Jamie Whincup crossing the line a mere 0.3s in front of rival David Reynolds to win the 50th Bathurst 1000 in a magnificent finale. 

In front of a record breaking 57,939 strong crowd (bringing the cumulative crowd for the four days to 207,205), Whincup took his fourth win at Bathurst for the TeamVodafone Holden Commodore with his co-driver Paul Dumbrell taking his first win, in disbelief. 

“I honestly didn’t think we were getting home,” Dumbrell admitted after the race.

But get home they did.  Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff finished off the podium for Team Vodafone after they fought from the middle of the pack due to the claim third. 

James Courtney and Cameron McConville came in fourth, followed by Michael Caruso and Greg Ritter for Fujitsu Racing who put in a solid performance.

There was the usual Bathurst drama, with Steve Owen crashing the VIP Petfoods car on Lap 55, smashing into the barriers but coming out unhurt, and a total of six safety car interventions. 

Unfortunately for pole sitter Will Davison, his name is among those who didn’t make the 161 laps; Davison and McIntyre broke a watt’s linkage and finished their day on lap 131.  Davison’s wasn’t the only big name to crash out, with defending champions Garth Tander and Nick Percat crashing out early on lap 38 and ultimately coming 25th.

Other non finishers included Johnny Reid’s Tekno Commodore (broken gearbox), Team iSelect’s Taz Douglas and Scott Pye (due to engine problems) and Team Hiflex Racing’s Tony D’Alberto and Dale Wood (for steering arm issues). 

It was definitely a race to be remembered, with nothing certain until the cars crossed the finish line.  Whincup said as much:

“It wasn’t over until the last corner of the last lap. I was trying to juggle tyres, petrol and conserve over the top – it was crazy stuff.” said Jamie, after his win.

David Reynolds, with Dean Canto in P2 (The Bottle-O Falcon) was a little more subdued, blaming his nerves for his [still amazing] finish, although the up and coming driver definitely did display his maturity and potential. 

"This could be life changing this race. If we had won it would have been life changing. It was close but I was not brave enough on the last lap.

"It is not just me for Dean as well. I said if I was going to get on the podium it would be a good one, so second at Bathurst was not too bad."

Whincup’s teammate Craig Lowndes, praised the TeamVodafone crew:

"There's no doubt TeamVodafone have the right car and driver and team behind them. This was what Jamie said that it is all about a team effort.

Mark Winterbottom, who qualified in P3 for Ford Performance Racing, only managed P11 in a rough race for the Winterbottom/Richard’s duo.

“It’s a shocker today. You can’t do much different though. The tyres just kept letting go. You were always copping the punches. The last tyre set let go in 10 laps. It’s frustrating but that’s Bathurst.

The pole sitter Will Davison, coming in 24th, had no words for what was a nightmare on the track for the FPR Falcon.  

“I’m speechless. I can’t believe how bad today went. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. It started so well but it just wasn’t our day.

“The car was good in the first stint. To top it off, I had the wildest ride of my life.  I had zero brakes. I was nursing a damaged tyre and I came onto Conrod and I felt a big bang. The anti-roll bar broke, I ran over it and it cut the brake lines and I touched the brakes into the Chase and I aimed for the gravel and I was sure it was going to roll.”

Ah, how Bathurst bites.

Some interesting Bathurst facts about this race (Courtesy of V8Supercars)

*    The youngest-ever combination in the race – 20-year-old Jesse Dixon and 18-year-old Cameron Waters – finished a creditable 20th in the Shannons carsales.com.au Commodore, three laps down on the winners.

*    A total of 19 cars finished on the lead lap at the end of 161 laps, equaling the record set in the last two years in 2010 and 2011.

*    There were nine different cars that led laps in yesterday’s race, though none more than winners Whincup and Dumbrell. Their #1 Commodore led 102 of the 161 laps, the most by a winning car since Whincup paired with Craig Lowndes to win in 2008.

*    The fastest lap of the race was 2m09.5962s on lap 139 set by Shane van Gisbergen, who ultimately finished 12th.

Next on the calendar…the GC600! Stay tuned for all the Goldcoast V8 happenings on Richard’s F1!

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via V8Supercars.com and Getty]

V8s: The Championship heads Stateside

I published this initially on Richard’s F1…check it out here!

The V8 supercars Championship has confirmed it will be holding a round across the pond in the motorsport state of Texas, joining NASCAR, Indycar and from this year, Formula 1 on the Circuit of the Americas.  The round will be held on May 17-19 in 2013, broadening the scope of the Series to the United States.

This will be the Championship’s sixth international round, with races being held in twice in New Zealand and in China, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi previously. 

It will be a great opportunity for our Pacific cousins to see a sample of Australian motorsport, and this was a sentiment reflected by David Malone, V8 Supercars CEO.

"It’s fantastic to be part of Circuit of The America’s events roster for the coming year and to bring V8 Supercars’ unique brand of action-packed racing to our growing U.S. fan base," Malone told V8supercars.com.au.

"The Austin circuit is coming together beautifully and will offer our teams and drivers fabulous facilities from which to compete - and one of the most challenging road courses ever designed.

It will definitely be an exciting time for the Austin circuit which is welcoming Formula 1 for their penultimate round in November this year.  The weekend of the V8’s in 2013 will also be busy, with the NASCAR All-Star Race on the same weekend and the Indianapolis 500 the weekend after. 

Winterbottom likened the purpose built F1 track to the Great Mountain’s track: Bathurst.

"It is probably as close to the Bathurst as any track I’ve seen, purely because of the angulation," he said.

"You’ve got blind corners, you’ve got the length, you’ve got the speed, and I think this is going to build up to be a historic track for America as well.

"The circuit’s topography, including the dramatic changes in elevation, will make for some really fun racing and a great show for fans."

It should be a cracking round at any rate, and it will be good for the American fans to get a taste of Aussie action!

Bring it on…

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via Speedcafe.com via Mark Evans/News Limited]

The Great Mountain Strikes!

This was originally posted on Richard’s F1…check it out here!

Friday’s Formula Ford morning qualifying practice brought this weekend’s first crash with Shae Davies and Garry Jacobson colliding at the top of Mount Panorama. 

Davie’s car stalled and spun at McPhillamy park; left in the middle of the track Jacobson then sideswiped the Spectrum in spectacular fashion. 

Anton De Pasquale, Jacobson’s team mate avoided the incident and was slightly shaken up. 

“I saw the yellow flag just before I turned left at McPhillamy Park,” De Pasquale told Speecafe.com.

“Garry was ahead of me. He went left. I went right, and I only just missed him. It was a pretty scary moment.”

Davies was cleared of serious injury however Jacobson was airlifted out of the scene with suspected broken bones. 

Mount Panorama is sure to provide an exciting but hopefully safe weekend…

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via Speedcafe.com]

V8s: Vodafone, Trading Post, now Orrcon Steel...(and a little Stoner)

The challenge for teams to secure naming rights partners in 2013 continues, with Orrcon Steel joining Vodafone and Trading post in reducing their sponsorship of prominent V8 teams next year.   Check out the initial post here…

A move that is said not to have anything to do with performance (as they are doing pretty well!) Orrcon Steel is reducing its support for Ford Performance Racing and Mark Winterbottom’s #5 car in the V8 Supercars Championship citing maturity of their program. 

"Orrcon Steel has enjoyed a successful relationship with FPR and Mark Winterbottom and that is why we are staying on with the team, albeit in a reduced capacity from next season," said the company's Managing Director Leon Andrewartha.

"The team is enjoying its best ever season so our decision is in no way related to their performance."

"As a company we need to focus our efforts on our core business and after 11 years in the series we feel our program has reached its maturity."

Orrcon Steel has been the naming rights sponsor of the #5 car since 2007 and has supported Larkham Motorsport and WPS Racing in the past. 

This is the third in a series of naming rights sponsors reducing their sponsorship after Trading Post dropped Will Davison’s #6 car.  Team Vodafone will also be remained next year, as we welcome Redbull to the fray…

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In other (slightly related) news though, Casey Stoner has staunchly denied rumours that he will be racing in the V8 series in 2013.  Seems like the World MotoGP Champion just wants to spend time with his family…

"Am I going to race V8s next year? No, I'm going to stay home and watch my little girl grow up for a while," Stoner said.  "I want to enjoy myself and be free. Number one, I will enjoy my family and not have to stress about the next race."

He will be missed, but I am sure his daughter will appreciate his reprioritising.  Good on the lad for making a difficult decision, but I am sure we haven’t seen the last of him yet. 

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via Herald Sun and FPR]

V8s: Back-to-back wins for Lowndes!

What a weekend for  Craig Lowndes at the Coates Hill Ipswich 300!

The Team Vodafone driver took his fifth consecutive win at Queensland Raceway this afternoon, in a definitive and honestly one could say, annihilating performance (other suitable adjectives include conclusive, dominating…you get the picture).   Check out my initial post at Richard’s F1 here!

Race 17 began with FPR on pole and Winterbottom lead for the first few laps, however Lowndes quickly took the lead late during turn six in a deep braking manoeuvre and led comfortably for the rest of the 65 laps.  In fact, the biggest issue Lowndes had towards the end of the race was traffic! Life is good for a race driver when all you have to deal with is traffic…of the cars you are lapping!

Winterbottom held onto the second spot though and cruised in 2 seconds after Lowndes, while Whincup was a little further back, 14 seconds behind.  Will Davison, Fabian Coulthard, Russell Ingall, Shane van Gisbergen, Tim Slade, Michael Caruso and Steve Owen made up the rest of the top 10.

Jacques Villeneuve again found the 24th position, after contact with David Wall on the opening lap sent him seeing daisies, spinning more than a few hundred degrees on the grass.  It was unfortunate for the former F1 driver, who was looking to improve a little more significantly on his Townsville appearance. 

The top two teams ran a similar strategy, both pitting in laps 9 and 38. 

Reynolds also struggled early on with a puncture which set him back to finish with the wooden spoon, while Rick Kelly also ended up at the wrong end of the grid table after he had to pit a third time towards the end of the race.

There were only two cars that didn’t finish the race; Webb and Holdsworth both struggled with mechanical issues and in fact led to a fire in the IRWIN car. 

It was an interesting race with a great crowd, a few snags to see and some decent overtaking at the beginning, and what it does mean is that TeamVodafone now has won six races, after FPR’s seven race streak at the beginning of the year.  Didn’t hurt to see a few burnouts either, now that TeamVoda didn’t have to worry about conserving the engine…

What will Sydney hold?  Do you think TeamVodafone will keep dominating? Do any of the other teams have it in them to challenge the mighty top two?  The Championship moves to NSW and Sydney Motorsport Park later this month.  Stay tuned!

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2012 V8 Supercars Coates Hire Ipswich 300 – Race 2 Result (65 laps):

	Driver		Entry / Team	Laps	Result
1.	Craig Lowndes		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	65	1:18:23.0855
2.	Mark Winterbottom		Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	65	+ 0:01.9759
3.	Jamie Whincup		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	65	+ 0:16.1453
4.	Will Davison		Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	65	+ 0:23.7223
5.	Fabian Coulthard		Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	65	+ 0:32.5279
6.	Russell Ingall		Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	65	+ 0:33.3190
7.	Shane van Gisbergen		SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	65	+ 0:34.6744
8.	Tim Slade		Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	65	+ 0:36.1075
9.	Michael Caruso		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	65	+ 0:41.4618
10.	Steve Owen		VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	65	+ 0:55.2013
11.	Steven Johnson		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	65	+ 0:57.2685
12.	Michael Patrizi		Tekno Autosports	65	+ 0:57.7027
13.	Tony D’Alberto		HIFLEX Racing / Tony D’Alberto Racing	65	+ 1:06.2307
14.	James Courtney		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	65	+ 1:07.7522
15.	Garth Tander		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	64	+ 1 lap
16.	Todd Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	64	+ 1 lap
17.	Jason Bright		Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	64	+ 1 lap
18.	Dean Fiore		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	64	+ 1 lap
19.	David Wall		Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	64	+ 1 lap
20.	James Moffat		Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	64	+ 1 lap
21.	Karl Reindler		Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	64	+ 1 lap
22.	Taz Douglas		Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	64	+ 1 lap
23.	Alexandre Prémat		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	64	+ 1 lap
24.	Jacques Villeneuve		Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	64	+ 1 lap
25.	Rick Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	64	+ 1 lap
26.	David Reynolds		The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	62	+ 3 laps
	Not Classified
DNF.	Lee Holdsworth		Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	55
DNF.	Jonathon Webb		Tekno Autosports	54

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via V8 Supercars Media]

V8s: Lowndes takes Pole at 2012 Coates Hire Ipswich 300

Bouncing back from engine problems in practice this morning, Craig Lowndes has scored pole position for Race 16 at the Coates Hire Ispwich 300 with a record breaking lap.  Check out the initial post of Richard’s F1 here!

An engine change allowed Lowndes to take his fourth pole of the season after sitting out the final practice.  Whincup was less than two tenths behind his team mate for a TeamVodafone front line and FPR took out the second row; Winterbottom and Davison in third and fourth respectively.  Coulthard, Van Gisbergen, Reynolds, Ingall, Caruso and Holdsworth made up the rest of the top ten. 

David Reynolds had done quite well and sat at the top of the grid until the final green tyre runs, but like IRWIN Ford, weren’t able to hold onto pole position.  Lowndes’s time came in the dying minutes of qualifying, and Winterbottom completed his last lap after the chequered flag.

Villeneuve is giving himself a little bit of a challenge in his bid to do better this race, but he avoided the bottom spot by pipping David Wall by a few thousandths (31 thousandths, to be exact!) of a second.  

Race 16 will take place at Queensland Raceway in a couple of hours time, 16:05 EST. 

Stay tuned for more race reports!

	Driver		Entry / Team	Result
1.	Craig Lowndes		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	1:09:2218
2.	Jamie Whincup		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	1:09:3795
3.	Mark Winterbottom		Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	1:09:5060
4.	Will Davison		Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	1:09:5676
5.	Fabian Coulthard		Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	1:09:6480
6.	Shane van Gisbergen		SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:6865
7.	David Reynolds		The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	1:09:7106
8.	Russell Ingall		Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	1:09:7174
9.	Michael Caruso		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	1:09:7293
10.	Lee Holdsworth		Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:7338
11.	Dean Fiore		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:7339
12.	Tony D’Alberto		HIFLEX / Tony D’Alberto Racing	1:09:7632
13.	James Moffat		Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:7645
14.	Jason Bright		Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	1:09:8001
15.	Tim Slade		Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:8280
16.	Steven Johnson		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:8508
17.	Rick Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	1:09:8619
18.	Garth Tander		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	1:09:8652
19.	Alexandre Prémat		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	1:09:8722
20.	Steve Owen		VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:8783
21.	James Courtney		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	1:09:8846
22.	Jonathon Webb		Tekno Autosports	1:09:8924
23.	Michael Patrizi		Tekno Autosports	1:09:9696
24.	Todd Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	1:10:0071
25.	Taz Douglas		Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	1:10:0932
26.	Karl Reindler		Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	1:10:3348
27.	Jacques Villeneuve		Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	1:10:7275
28.	David Wall		Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	1:10:7306

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via Speedcafe]

V8s: 2012 Coates Hire Ipswich 300 Preview

Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome back from a little V8 break to the eighth round of the series, the Coates Hire Ipswich 300!

In keeping with the Sunshine State vibe, we travel down the coast to South East Queensland and will spend the weekend at Queensland Raceway, the lovely Paperclip circuit and – at the time of writing – blisteringly cold temperatures!

Well, weather talk aside, let’s see what is in store for us this weekend… (Read more at the original post on Richard’s F1!)

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The Circuit

2012 V8 SUPERCARS COATES HIRE IPSWICH 300

Date:	3-5 August 2012
Venue:	Queensland Raceway, Ipwich, Queensland
Lap Length:	3.12 km
Race Lap Record:	1:10.1637, Jamie Whincup (Holden Commodore VE II) – 2011

Event Schedule:	Free Practice Session 1	Fri 13:00-13:30
	Free Practice Session 2	Fri 14:10-14:30
	Free Practice Session 3	Fri 14:45-1505
	Free Practice Session 4	Sat 10:10-10:40
	Free Practice Session 5	Sun 10:05-10:35
	Race 1 Qualifying	Sat 13:25-13:45
	Race 1 (45 laps, 140km)	Sat 16:05-17:15
	Race 2 Qualifying	Sun 13:00-13:20
	Race 2 (65 laps, 200km)	Sun 15:35-17:15
2011 Winners:	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 1
	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 2
	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 3

Drive a few clicks west of Brisbane into Ipswich (if you’re feeling adventurous) and you will come across the lovely Queensland Raceway. 

If we are to be honest, it probably isn’t the most loved track of the season, dubbed the ‘Paperclip’ because of its relatively simple six turn design and lack of elevation.  Furthermore, the changing temperatures cause all manner of difficulties for the teams as the grip levels change throughout the day.  The track does have a new surface though, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out, especially in terms of tire wear.

It must be said: though it is fairly simple, there is usually relatively entertaining racing.  Turns 1, 3, 4 and 6 (most of the turns!) provide pretty good overtaking opportunities and a great spectacle.  The 3.12 km track averages about 162 km/hr speeds, with a top speed of about 255km/hr. Not too shabby.  Good spectator views are also a bonus.

11 of the 29 cars in the series do call this track home, so there is a small home crowd advantage…to almost a third of the cars.  Welcome to the ‘swich! 

Interesting fact? Queensland Raceway shares a precinct with the Willowbank Raceway dragstrip, home to the infamous Winternats!

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Rewinding to 2011

2011 was a clean sweep for Craig Lowndes, who took all three races quite easily in his Holden Commodore VE2 for TeamVodafone.  Tim Slade joined Craig on the podium in second place in the first race on Saturday and on Sunday.  Tim Slade was pipped out of second during Saturday’s Race 17 however by Jamie Whincup (who had taken the third spot in the previous race). 

Race 16 & 17 saw a return to the format of two 22 lap sprint races with a 15 minute pit lane service in between the two races. 

Check out the videos below for a few more highlights of the Saturday and Sunday races.

 

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Facts, Stats & Predictions

Well looking from a championship point of view, it will be interesting to see how the break affects the performance of the two heavyweights this season, FPR and Triple 8.  Between them, they have won the 15 races of the season so far… will anyone on the grid be able to challenge that?

The other big piece of news would be the return of former F1 World Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve to the circuit with Kelly Racing, replacing the injured Greg Murphy in the #51 Pepsi Max Crew Holden Commodore.  He will definitely be looking to improve on his Townsville performance. 

Jacques left Townsville with a DNF and a 24th place, however he should definitely be more comfortable with the car during this round considering the month off and seat time.   He is joined by three other drivers who will make their first starts in the series, Alex Premat (Fujitsu Racing GRM), David Wall (Wilson Security Racing) and Taz Douglas (Team iSelect).  We wish all the fellas the best of luck!

If you are looking for some heritage, look no further than the trio of Craig Lowndes, Russell Ingall and Garth Tander who have competed in every single V8 Supercar Race ever held at Queensland Raceway!  In fact Ingall has stood on the podium 18 times in the 29 races on the Ipswich track.  Respect!

The teams also have some great history, with Stone Brothers picking up 13 podium finishes since the V8s formally raced on the track, and their rivals Triple 8 picking up 12.  That being said, Triple 8 look in pretty good form for this weekend and their four previous consecutive wins only help that prediction.  FPR will have to bring their all to the track if they want to see the highest spots on the podium.

In all, it looks set to be an action-packed weekend – make sure you keep visiting RichardsF1.com for all of the latest news and analysis from Ipswich!

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via Ipswich V8 Supercars, Jim Beam Racing ]

Motorsport Munchies

Hello hello fellow motorsport lovers! Here is a little collection of links and videos that will keep you occupied and rev-happy for a bit! 

First up: Great round up on the Technical side of F1

I really want to buy this book on engineering motorcycles…

The Formula Student Competition wraps up… A Swedish University comes out on top! 

Summing up this year’s Formula Student, project manager Fiona Pawley said: “This year’s competition has been truly impressive, with many of the cars displaying world class engineering that wouldn’t be out of place in a Formula One paddock. These young engineers will mature into the motorsport team bosses and industry leaders of the future.”

Learn a little bit about what affects Pirelli Tires and their performance (layman's terms)

TOONED! Episode 3.  Loving the new McLaren cartoon…”And here we have, just a few of the spare Ks from Mika Hakkinen's name” LOL.

 Le Batmobile – Nothing more really to be said…

Ever wondered what is like from the F1 driver’s point of view? Wonder no longer…welcome to SPA!

A beautiful video for all motorsport lovers…

I want to be ...a F1 Driver

Interestingly in this video, Senna mentions his family’s unhappiness at his choosing motorsport as a career…The episode looks at the lives of a few drivers (current and up and coming), how they got there and the difficulties getting there.

Frenchman Franck confirmed for GC600

Kelly Racing has today confirmed the French former Formula One driver Franck Montagny as the third driver in their international line up for the Gold Coast 600.

Read the rest of the piece here.

Villeneuve: Back for More!

I am currently writing for Richard’s F1 as the V8 Correspondent and will post links to my articles here. 

Great news for Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve who has now been confirmed as a driver for the next two V8 Supercar rounds. 

For more, check out the article on Richard’s F1.  

History comes to Queensland!

This is my first post with Richard’s F1! Originally posted here.

A pristine Can-Am McLaren M8E and a Chevron B16 made their Queensland debut among the hundreds of historic race cars at the National ‘Historic Queensland’ Race Meeting at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick, Queensland this weekend.

Held by the Historic Racing Car Club (HRCC) of Queensland, the “Historic Queensland”  Motor Race meeting for 2012 brought together well over 200 entries for a weekend of exciting races and regularity trials.  The event has run for over thirty years, attracting competitors from all over the country and providing an opportunity for motorsport enthusiasts to showcase their wares and shake off the winter blues with some good old fashioned racing.

Historic cars are those from between roughly the 1920’s to the 1980’s.  The classes at this event ranged from historic Formula Ford vehicles to production sports cars and everything historic in between.  Star attractions at this year’s competition included the 1971 Can-Am McLaren M8E, the 1983 Chevron B16, 1957 Lotus Eleven and the 1977 Osella PA5; all beautiful pieces of machinery that didn’t fail to excite the enthusiastic crowds gathered on the windy Warwick grandstands.

As with all the cars, the McLaren came with unique history; it finished 9th in the Can-Am series in 1971.  With an aluminium 496 Chevy 780 Horsepower engine, one can understand how it easily outshone the competitors in its class!  The Chevron B16, not to be outdone, won the Nurburgring 500km in 1969.  The history and stories of each of the cars at the race meet made for an extremely interesting and enriching environment and the owners were more than happy to share their stories.

Happy to share stories the owners and drivers may have been, but that didn’t mean they didn’t want to win races! Some very quick drivers made their way around the track, including young names such as Dylan Higgins, a 16 year old Formula Ford driver and young Jimmy Vernon, a 15 year old from New South Wales.  Dylan had a fantastic weekend of wins and is definitely one to look out for.  Other young drivers included the third year apprentice Ashley Heffernan, 17 year old Matt Campbell and mechanical engineering student Ash Willoughby in a 1977 Formula Ford.

The young ones weren’t the only ones gunning for good drives; fierce overtaking and on-track action was seen throughout the weekend.  In the Historic Sport Car’s group, the Tiga Sports 2000 met an unfortunate early end to its race weekend: fishtailing, spinning out and colliding with the barriers on the last lap.  Fortunately the driver was fine, but unfortunately, the Tiga will definitely need some major TLC before it finds its way back on the track. 

Pleasantly though, the on-track drama was the only drama to be found.  The event was a true joy to attend, not only because of the spectacle but also due to the sense of community; it truly felt like an event that was all about the cars.

Helen Voysey, one of the senior officials at the event put it elegantly, “I love it, I really do.  I have grown up with a lot of these cars and I can relate to the 5000’s and the CanAms.  There is no politics here though, this event is all about when motor racing was fun.  It is all for the love of the sport”

For the love of the sport indeed! Many drivers, owners and officials though expressed their desire to see more young people involved.  Peter Mohr, the President of the HRCC encouraged young people to jump right in.

“Come to meetings, come to our next event, bring your friends: we are always looking for new members!”

So, why not?  I look forward to attending the next HRCC event and learning more about the cars of yesteryear.  I recommend you all check out the nearest HRCC event in your state and see if you can get involved as well! This – the sense of community, knowledge transfer and sharing, carburettors and self funded owner-drivers – this to me, epitomises the essence of motorsport.

How about you? Have you been involved in your local HRCC? How do you feel about “Historics”?

Joining the Richard’s F1 Team!

I am excited to let you all know that I am now a writer with the fabulous motorsport blog, Richard’s F1!

Check out my intro here…and I look forward to seeing you on the site!

Yassmin will be taking over the reins of our already very popular V8 Supercars coverage from our journalist Geoff Burke, who will be freed up to assist in more Formula 1 feature article writing.

Additionally, Yassmin will also contribute a host of feature and media review articles forRichardsF1.com, which she will be looking to share with our many readers worldwide.

Images from Richard’s F1