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Issue No 132 MONDAY September 5, 2011
EVERY MONDAY AROUND THE MOTORSPORT WORLD
Over
WRC: Rally Oz preview F1: Trulli signs
Not
Yet
Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha struck back at Misano ...

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Jarno re-signs for Lotus

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GPWEEK NEWS >>
Moto GP: Surprise! >>
F1: The Director's chair >>
ISSUE 132 September 5 , 2011
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Charlie Whiting is the man in charge when the lights go out
on the F1 grid
Just when you thought the Fat Lady was about to sing,
Jorge Lorenzo silences her ...
EDITOR: ADAM HAY-NICHOLLS
adam@hay-nicholls.com
Assistant Editor
Naoise Holohan
MotoGP Editor: Michael Scott
michael@gpweek.com
Rally Editor: Martin Holmes
martin@gpweek.com
Production Artist (Australia):
Cedric Dufour,
Asstistant: Callum Branagan
Photography
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Keith Sutton keith@gpweek.com
Publisher
Chris Lambden
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WRC: Kangaroos, meat pies ... >> >> Go to
Yes, the WRC returns to Australia this week. Martin Holmes
previews a round that Ford must win ...
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JARNO Trulli will, according to

reports, remain in Formula One
next year after signing a deal
to race for Team Lotus in 2012.
Speaking to Irish website Manipe
F1, the Italian revealed that he
has already secured a contract
for next year, although the team
is yet to make an announcement.
GPWEEK understands that
the team is waiting to finalise
contractual negotiations with
team-mate Heikki Kovalainen
before announcing an unchanged
driver line-up for next year.
Kovalainen has remained
tight-lipped with the press on
negotiations for 2012 as he holds
out for a pay rise from Malaysian
business tycoon Tony Fernandes.
Team principal Fernandes
revealed in July that he was in
the process of negotiating an
extension to Trullis contract,
saying that he was looking
forward to unveiling the details
very soon. However, Trulli
jumped the gun by confirming his
stay at the team for next year.
We have already sorted next
year. That story came out at that
particular stage, but we were
in talks from much earlier on,
he told Manipe F1, referring to
Fernandess comments from July.
It was fixed and is fixed, so we are
not in contact talks at all at the
moment, its all fixed for 2012.
Jarno added that he didnt know
when the team would announce
his deal.
I have a contract, he continued.
Whether the team want to
announce it or not, its none of my
business.
Trulli secures 2012
Lotus race deal

F1 NEWS
>>
BRUNO Senna has secured his Renault seat
for the remainder of the 2011 season after
his predecessor Nick Heidfeld reached a
settlement with the team and departed on
Friday.
Senna had only been confirmed for next
weekends Italian Grand Prix, pending court
proceedings on September 19th, but with
Heidfeld having reached an out-of-court
settlement with the team Senna will remain
in the car for the final seven races.
Heidfeld was dropped by Renault for
the recent Belgian Grand Prix for what
team principal Eric Boullier described as
an underperformance in pure speed and
global performance. But Heidfeld launched
a legal challenge to win his seat back, only
to withdraw that on Friday after reaching an
undisclosed settlement.
Obviously Im disappointed to be leaving
Lotus Renault GP in the middle of the season.
I thought I could still make a big contribution
to the team, but I have to see things as they
are and I want to turn my attention to the
future, said Heidfeld.
Heidfeld vowed to be back racing at the
highest level in the near future, but with few
seats available on the 2012 grid, its highly
unlikely his future will feature another year in
F1. He had originally been without a seat at
the beginning of this year, but was drafted in
to replace the injured Robert Kubica.
We have taken the right decision by
choosing to end our collaboration today, the
German said on Friday evening. I would like
to wish all the friends I made at Enstone a
successful end to the season. One thing is for
sure Ill be back racing at the highest level
soon.
In announcing Nicks departure from the
team, Boullier paid tribute to the Germans
contribution to the team over the past seven
months.
Our disagreement with Nick has been the
subject of much media coverage lately, and
we are pleased to have reached a swift and
reasonable solution, began Boullier.
Our separation process was already a
painful one, and neither of us wanted to
go through another legal hearing. Were
very grateful to Nick for the highly valuable
contribution hes made to the team. We
certainly had good times together, in
particular remembering our podium finish in
Malaysia.
With former reserve driver Senna
confirmed alongside Vitaly Petrov for the
remainder of the year, test driver and
recently-crowned GP2 champion Romain
Grosjean has been named the teams third/
reserve driver.
Senna ties down
Renault seat as
Heidfeld departs
Out-of-court settlement reached
for disgruntled Nick

nToyota broke the lap

record for electrically-powered
vehicles at the historic
Nordschleife last week, when
the TMG EV P001 lapped the
20.8 km track in a time of 7m
47.794s, comfortably quicker
than the previous record of
9m01.338s.
Using two electric motors,
the cars electric powertrain
had a top speed of 260 km/h
which combined with 800Nm
of torque to achieve the
impressive speeds to lap the
challenging track in under 8
minutes. German sportscar
driver Jochen Krumbach was at
the wheel.
nFelipe Massas Ferrari race
engineer Rob Smedley hosted
an extensive charity auction
to raise awareness and funds
for childrens charity Zoes
Place Baby Hospices on Friday,
with such items and signed
driver overalls, Ferrari factory
tours, signed replica helmets
and even a Williams rear wing
endplate going under the
hammer.
nSauber reserve and
current GP2 driver Esteban
Gutierrez got back behind the
wheel of a Formula One car on
Saturday, as he conducted an
straightline aerodynamic test
for the Swiss team in Italy.
The Mexican was running at
the Vairano test track and was
focusing on the forthcoming
Italian Grand Prix at Monza
with its specific low downforce
package.
nToro Rosso is expected
to announce a major new
sponsorship deal with Spanish
oil giant Cespa later this week,
amid rumours that the team
has been sold to Arab investors.
Cespa has links to the
Abu Dhabi-based Aabar
Investments, but Red Bull are
expected to remain the owner
of the team as part of the deal,
in the short-term at least.
Short
Straights
TORO Rossos Jaime Alguersuari says it is
much too early to starting thinking about
his plans for next year, amid continuing
rumours that Red Bull junior driver Daniel
Ricciardo is to be promoted to the Italian
team in 2012.
Speaking exclusively to GPWEEK,
Alguersuari said his focus remains on 2011
and Toro Rossos battle to catch Force
India for seventh place in the constructors
championship.
This weekends Italian Grand Prix at Monza
marks Alguersuaris 40th Formula One Grand
Prix since making his debut as replacement
for Sebastien Bourdais at Toro Rosso in
2009. Since then he has scored 15 world
championship points, two thirds of which
have come in the first 11 races this year.
Were still worried about whats going to
happen this year, with the car, where were
going to be, whether we can reach eighth
position in the championship and so on,
Alguersuari told GPWEEK.
2012 is still a long way away.
Alguersuaris 2011 season has been one
of two distinct halves. Having failed to
score a single point in the first six races, he
scored four times in the following five races
and secured his best ever grid position at
last weekends Belgian Grand Prix when he
secured sixth on the grid, only to be punted
out of the race at the first corner by Bruno
Senna.
The 21-year-old explained that his and the
teams better understanding for the Pirelli
tyres was the key to him turning around his
season.
We understood the tyres much better,
he said, when asked where this years turn-
around had come from. We changed big
things on the set-up and we found big, big
potential. Massively, just one day to the other.
Just a better understanding of the tyres, by
changing the mechanical set-up. Its amazing
how it changed, I was so impressed.
Its a bit more difficult to get it perfect in
one lap because the car is set-up for the race,
but in the race we dont have any more of the
tyre degradation problem that we had at the
beginning of the season.
Despite failing to score points in Belgium,
Toro Rosso lies just 10 points behind Force
India in the constructors championship, and
while the team is focused on defending
eighth from Williams who are 17 points
behind, Alguersuari is hoping to catch Force
India by seasons end.
The first objective of the team needs to
be to stay at least eighth in the constructors
championship in front of Williams, he said,
but still pushing to attack Force India and see
if we can make it in front of them in the end.
Alguersuari
says 2012 a
long way away
Spaniards focus still firmly on 2011
10
F1 NEWS
>>
A BRITISH MP has challenged the BBC and
F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone over the joint
broadcasting deal that was done with Sky
Sports recently, as the backlash from British
F1 fans continues into its second month.
The BBC announced in late July that it would
share the F1 broadcasting rights with Sky
in a new deal stretching to 2018 and, even
though the free-to-air state broadcaster would
be allowed to show 50% of the races, with
extensive highlights for the other 50%, fans
were instantly up in arms.
An opportunist British MP has become the
first politician in the UK to raise the matter
with the BBC. Don Foster, a Liberal Democrat
MP for Bath in southwest England and his
partys spokesman for Culture, Media and
Sport, has written to BBC director general
Mark Thompson and Ecclestone seeking
clarifications on the deal and how it came
about.
I do not believe plans to share coverage
between the BBC and Sky promote the best
interests of licence fee payers and motor racing
fans. I believe the best result would have
been for the rights to remain with a free to
air broadcaster, even if this was not the BBC,
Foster wrote to Thompson.
My main concern is that your account
of who made the key decisions behind the
agreement does not agree with the version of
events given by Formula One Management.
Foster cites contradictory comments made
by the BBC and Formula One Management in
which each party blames the other for bringing
Sky into the mix.
This deal has led to disappointment and
anger among fans, and now they have to sift
through completely contradictory explanations
of who was responsible. The least they deserve
is a clear account of what happened. I urge you
to give it, continued Foster.
Foster wrote a similar letter of dissatisfaction
to Ecclestone. However, with the deal signed
and sealed, its difficult to see what effect, if
any, Fosters feather-ruffling will have.
British MP questions BBC
and Ecclestone over Sky deal
PIRELLI is pushing hard to have a change
made to the tyre allocation regulations for
next year to reduce the number of unused
tyres they have to destroy at the end of
every race weekend.
The current regulations mean Pirelli
destroys at least one unused set of the hard
compound tyre for each driver per race,
because teams favour running the softer
tyre during the weekend.
Pirelli's motorsport director, Paul
Hembery has revealed that he is actively
lobbying the teams and the FIA to change
the rules for 2012, with the most likely
option being to reduce by one the number
of sets of the harder compound each driver
has for every race weekend. A return of
qualifying tyres is also being considered.
Drivers begin each weekend with six hards
and five softs. One set of hards is returned
after first practice, while one set each of the
hards and softs are returned after second
and third practice, leaving each driver with
three of each compound for qualifying
and the race. Pirelli wants the procedure
changed to give drivers either a 5/6 or 5/5
split of hard/soft to begin the weekend.
At the moment if they want to keep
the same regulations we're going to go to
the FIA and say: There's no point in having
six [hard] and five [soft], we might as well
have five [hard] and five [soft] and we save
money, Hembery said.
If they don't want to change the
sporting regulations, then we can give
them the stats that it's 100% certain they're
not going to use them. Let's change the
regulation and it saves us money. At the
moment it's costing us money for no
benefit to us or to the teams.
It's completely nonsensical to carry
around tyres when you're never going to
use them.
Hembery understands that some work
is needed to get teams to agree to the
change in the rules, but is adamant that
a change is necessary because of the
pointless waste of tyres.
You won't get instant unanimous
approval of such a change. I think we
do have to look at it and teams at the
moment have said they don't want to
change anything, Hembery continued.
We would like to go back to them and say,
at the moment we have too many tyres,
it's pointless us bringing tyres you're not
going to use. We know we need to find a
universally accepted solution because it's
just a waste. It's pointless.
Not everybody's against. I think it's
one of these things that often they don't
appreciate. It's easier sometimes not to
make a change.
Pirelli pushing to change nonsensical tyre rules
Teams not using all their tyres says Hembery
11
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1
F1 NEWS
>>
FIA fnalises
calendar
as Turkey
dropped
For your daily dose
of Formula 1 news ...
NEXT years Formula One
season will feature 20 grands
prix and an unprecedented
7 back-to-backs after the FIA
agreed to drop the Turkish
Grand Prix from the 2012
schedule on Wednesday.
The race at Istanbul had
been provisionally placed on
the calendar earlier this year,
but has now been removed
from the calendar after seven
years of under-attended races.
Compared to the draft
calendar that was announced
by the FIA in June, only
seven races have kept their
original dates, those being the
Australian, Monaco, Canadian,
Belgian, Italian, India and
Brazilian Grands Prix.
The continuing unrest
in Bahrain has prompted a
move of the race to late April
from its original early-March,
season-opening date, with
the Australian Grand Prix now
assuming the role of season-
opener. The Melbourne race
will form the first of seven
back-to-back races in 2012
with Malaysia, with the other
six being China/Bahrain,
Germany/Hungary, Belgium/
Italy, Japan/South Korea,
India/Abu Dhabi and United
States/Brazil, meaning an
unprecedented six races in
eight weeks to finish the
season.
Other big moves include
the Korean Grand Prix from its
previous April date to October
and United States from
June to November, thereby
becoming the penultimate
race of the year, to avoid
the infamous blazing Texas
summer.
At 20 races, the 2012
season will be the longest in
history. Despite its length and
density however, the sport
has managed to extend the
summer break by a week to
take in the entire month of
August, giving teams a full
four-week break between the
Hungarian and Belgian Grands
Prix.
Six races in final eight weeks to end a hectic schedule
18 March Australian GP
25 March Malaysian GP
15 April Chinese GP
22 April Bahrain GP
13 May Spanish GP
27 May Monaco GP
10 June Canada GP
24 June European GP
8 July British GP
22 July German GP
29 July Hungarian GP
2 September Belgian GP
9 September Italian GP
23 September Singapore GP
7 October Japanese GP
14 October Korean GP
28 October Indian GP
4 November Abu Dhabi GP
18 November US GP
25 November Brazilian GP
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13
Indian GP venue given
thumbs-up from FIA
THE Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of Indian
capital New Delhi has been given the thumbs-up after a visit
by FIA safety delegate Charlie Whiting on Thursday, as the
inaugural Indian Grand Prix on October 30 approaches over the
horizon.
Whiting had been due to inspect the track on August 3, but
delayed the visit by almost a month due to logistical reasons.
He [Whiting] stated that the progress was more than
satisfactory and exceeded expectations from when he last visited
the site, said Vicky Chandhok, president of the Federation of
Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
He also expressed confidence that the inaugural Indian Grand
Prix will be a huge success.
Whiting will return to the track next month to formally approve
the venue for Grand Prix racing, a month before the race will be
held.
The track is located 45 km from the centre of New Delhi and
is being built by a private firm without government support.
The 5.141 km track features 16 designated corners and has the
capacity to house 110,000 spectators.
LEWIS Hamilton is hoping for a change of
fortunes at this weekends Italian Grand
Prix, having crashed out on lap 1 of last
years race as he looked to build on his
world championship lead. The Briton
heads into this years event with a 113-
point deficit to current leader Sebastian
Vettel having crashed out in Belgium.
Last year, I won at Spa and failed to
finish at Monza. For this year, I guess
Im looking to reverse that sequence!
Hamilton said ahead of this weekends
race. Ive already moved on from my non-
finish in Belgium and Im really looking
forward to returning to Italy, a place where
I spent a lot of time racing karts: its a
country I really love.
I think we go into the weekend feeling
pretty optimistic. Ive never won at Monza
and Id love to get a good result this year.
Hamilton is expecting DRS to play a
big role over the course of the weekend,
especially in qualifying and practice when
drivers will have the use of DRS for a
record-breaking 75% of the lap on Monzas
legendary long straights.
Im particularly looking forward to
qualifying, because I think DRS will make
a huge difference to our laptimes, and I
really want to get the maximum out of the
car in quali and then look forward to a
strong race, of course, he continued.
With unlimited use in quali, and those
four long straights, I think qualifyings
going to be pretty intense: well be 20km/
h faster at four key points of the circuit,
so our quali times are going to be much
faster than in the race. That should be
pretty exciting.
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh is
looking forward to the weekend too and
the impact that DRS will have.
Perhaps its a bit premature to be
discussing the return of the epic Monza
slipstreamer, but I think the whole team is
going to Italy keen to see if DRS will create
the sort of exciting and unpredictable
grands prix that we either watched or
read about when we were younger, said
Whitmarsh.
At the very least, going to Monza
is always a very evocative and historic
occasion perhaps more than any other
circuit, you can really feel the sports past
here, and its become the perfect venue
to bid farewell to the European season
before we head to the final flyaways.
Hamilton hopes
for change of
luck at Monza
Briton has moved on from Kobayashi contact at Spa
1
15
THREE times World Champion Loris
Capirossi has called an end to the longest
career among current riders, announcing
his retirement in an emotional Press
conference at Misano.
This will be my last race in Italy, he
said, before succumbing to emotion, and
getting a standing ovation in response.
The 38-year-old Italian also scotched
rumours of a move to Superbikes or a CRT
team, saying that his decision was final.
This season has been really tough for us,
he said. I never found the best feeling, but
now I have six more races, and I will try my
best.
He had been racing for 21 years, and
debating retirement for the last few. I
thought a lot about stopping, but it was
always yes-no. But now I think this is the
best decision for me.
Rossi was also present at the conference,
and took the chance to pay his own
tributes to a man who he first watched
racing on TV, and later competed against in
250 and MotoGP.
I have a lot of memories of Loris, he
said. I remember when he won his first
race, and I was a great fan when he was
against Biaggi. Afterwards, to fight with
him was great. The pair had a number of
memorable battles.
Capirossis GP career began in 1990,
when he won the 125 title at the first
attempt. He was champion again the next
year, and took a controversial 250 title
ahead of Aprilia team-mate Tetsuya Harada
in 1999, after colliding with the Japanese
rider on the last lap of the last race. The title
was eventually confirmed in a special FIM
hearing, which reversed his disqualification
for the incident.
Capirossi won 29 GPs, nine in the 500/
MotoGP class, where he was a factory
rider for Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki, and
competed in a top Honda satellite team.
The Misano race was his 325th GP start.
CAPIROSSI QUITS
Oldest GP rider calls an end after 21 years
1
We WIll TRy AnyThIng TO WIn
Ducati chief Preziosi
Moto GP news
>>
THE long-awaited confirmation that
investment company Bridgepoint
already owners of MotoGP rights-holders
Dorna has bought World Superbike
rights-holders Infront was confirmed on
the weekend.
But the finance company has pledged
there will be no overlap or combination of
the two series, each of which will continue
to operate independently.
Bridgepoint acquired Dorna perforce,
when the original owners CVC Capital
Holdings were obliged to dispose
of the MotoGP series by the European
monopolies commission, after they had
purchased a controlling interest in F1.
It remains to be seen whether ownership
of both major motorcycling World
Championships will be seen as a conflict of
interests, and whether Bridgepoint will be
obliged to dispose of one or the other.
DUCATI race-firm boss and
design guru Filippo Preziosi
faced the Press at Misano,
fending off questions about
the problems with his current
machine and star rider, but
promising We have no limit.
We will try anything to win.
But the wheelchair-bound
engineer, whose reputation is
on the line, avoided specific
answers wherever possible,
saying:
We will never tell you what
we will do in the future. I dont
think any company would do
that. But perhaps we will lie.
Asked if he planned to build
an aluminium chassis, he
sidestepped the issue:
We already built it, in 2009,
he smiled. This was a stressed
airbox similar to the current
carbon-fibre unit, which was
tested but never raced ... one
problem understood to relate
to heat transfer from engine to
airbox.
Preziosi repeated his belief,
reported in an interview in
GPWEEK earlier this year, that
he does not believe it is the
material (carbon-fibre versus
aluminium) that makes the
difference, but the design.
He also denied increasing
rumours that Ducati had
approached Moto2 chassis
builders to knock up a
conventional aluminium
perimeter frame for them:
The rumours are wrong.
Our concept is to keep the
conception and design inside
Ducati, although both the
previous steel chassis and the
current carbon chassis were
made for us by specialists.
Current development was
aimed towards next year, he
said, to give Rossi and Hayden
a competitive machine that
could do consistent good lap
times. At the same time, the
thing for Ducati is to build
knowledge, even if it means
testing solutions that are not
good.
I am happy that the
company gives me the
freedom to do what we think
is important, he added.
They were testing revised
chassis flexibility, and had
already made one change.
The riders told us the direction
is right, but not enough, he
said.
The ideal chassis does not
exist, he continued. That
is why Honda built eight
different chassis in one year.
MotogP owners buy World Superbike series
Championships to remain independent
Marlboro sponsorship chief Maurizio Arrivabene pledged
loyalty to Ducati, in spite of the current malaise. We have
a very good relationship, and I think they are being very
intelligent and honest when they admit they need to
build something different. I dont believe Rossi is not able
to go to the podium with Ducati, he said.
We want to win especially, but it is also important to lose
with dignity, he added.
It was too soon to think about 2013, when the current
sponsorship contract comes to an end. The focus now was
to build a successful bike next year, he said.
1
eDWARDS gOeS CRT
to access a HUGE
global audience
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THE first official confirmation of one of
the new MotoGP-class Claiming Rule
Teams came at Misano ... with little
hard information beyond the name of
the rider.
It will be Texan Tornado Colin Edwards,
prolonging his 18-year GP career
after the prospect of retirement lost
attraction during the year.
The team, currently competing in
Moto2, is Italian NGM Forward Racing.
But while they were the first to commit
to building a production-engined
machine, they were coy about what
engine or what chassis they were
planning.
The biggest clue came from Edwards,
who said: I d like it to be Yamaha,
and Id like the chassis to be by Guy
Coulon (his crew chief at Monster
Tech 3, and designer of the Tech
3 Moto2 chassis).
Edwards was
bullish about his
expectations:
Itll be tough to
go for rostrums in
the first year, but
Forward Racing
is a young but
serious team, with
a good structure
and very experienced staff, said
Edwards.
Both he and team chief Giovanni
Cuzari acknowledged that the first year
would be difficult, with no chance of
competing for podiums:
Maybe next year it will not be
possible, but we are building the
future, said Edwards. His long racing
and development experience would be
important, he believed; while he added
I really believe in the rule change Dorna
made. Its the same thing that happened
in F1 and Indycar: you put an engine
and a chassis together and you see the
future.
HIGH
SIDES

nThe Indianapolis Motor
Speedway will run MotoGP until
2014, it was announced today. The
race will run in August, a week or
three after the Laguna Seca round.
If the proposed 2013 race at Austin,
Texas goes ahead as planned, this will
mean three MotoGP races in the USA,
only one fewer than currently held in
Spain.
nValentino Rossis special Misano
helmet offered little comfort for his
employers at Ducati. It comprised
cartoon-style thought bubbles, filled
with comic-book images of sundry
disasters: a black cat, skull and
crossbones, curses, lightning strikes,
exclamation marks and so on. It is
what I am thinking when I ride the
bike. We did it like a cartoon because
if I just wore a helmet with the word
F*CK it would not be polite.
nNicky Hayden is facing a serious
prospect of having to start at least
one race from pit lane, after his sixth
(of six) engines was unleashed at
Indianapolis a week ago. Ironically he
still has engines left over from earlier
in the season, but they will not fit the
new GP11.1 chassis. It would be a
nightmare to switch back to that bike.
Id rather start from pit lane, he said;
adding optimistically: It will be tight,
but we should be okay.
nValentino Rossi, current de facto
leader of the Motegi riders rebellion,
dodged questions about the affair,
and again deferred his own decision.
The race will be on. Every rider must
decide for himself, he said. Any hopes
he had of an organised protest had
clearly run out of energy, whether
atomic or emotional.
nWho is the last of the late
brakers? A release from Brembo
collected data from all MotoGP teams
from the end of a 285 km/h straight,
where riders brake to 90 km/h. Here
is the Italian brake manufacturers
top ten: 1 Stoner, 2 Lorenzo, 3
Dovizioso, 4 Rossi, 5 Hayden, 6
Pedrosa, 7 Spies, 8 de Puniet, 9
Bautista, 10 Capirossi
1
TRIPLE 500cc World Champion and all-time racing great Wayne
Rainey made a return to the track where his career was ended
with a back-breaking crash 18 years after the event. And,
thanks to the victory of Yamaha colleague Lorenzo, he ended
up on the rostrum.
The weekend began with an informal gathering in the paddock,
hosted by Yamaha, which had brought Rainey and his wife Shae
back to Italy as part of their celebrations of 50 years of racing.
Current riders Lorenzo and Spies joined Rainey on the platform,
but it was the older rider who got a round of applause at the end
that lasted until the onlookers hands were hurting.
He had not returned here to lay ghosts, he said cheerfully. Ive
adjusted to my new life years ago, and I have no regrets, he
said. Its racing, and sometimes you can get hurt. That he was at
Misano rather than Brno, scene of the last of his 24 GP victories,
was more a matter of fitting in with his own schedule than
anything else.
In fact, Misano had always been a favourite circuit, with the last
of a series of increasing-speed left-handers onto the back straight
(now taken in reverse direction) being the only corner you could
take flat out in sixth, for the first couple of laps before the tyres
went down. If I was to design a race-track, it would have that
corner in it/
Afterwards Rainey gave a Press briefing, speaking about his
racing memories.
Ive forgotten a lot in 18 years, he said. The races I remember
are usually the ones where I got beat.
He praised the current generation of riders, singling out Stoner
as the one riding the best this year; and declined to criticise the
electronic aids. It still takes as much talent thats always been
the same, he said. But I think the fans are missing out a bit. When
you made a little mistake on the old bikes, everyone could see it
whereas now the bikes smooth it all out.
But I dont think the electronics would have been able to save
me from my crash, he said.
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Issue No. 146 March 16 -22 2010
WHINCUP
IN A
FORMULA 1
CAR AT
ALBERT PARK REIGNING CHAMPS SET FOR F1/V8 CAR SWAP NEXT WEEK FULL DETAILS INSIDE!
POWER
PLAY!
Aussies fight it out
in IndyCar opener
and Will wins!
EXCLUSIVE!
Moto GP news
>>
Dorna chief promises more chance in
future for CRT bikes
Rainey on the rostrum
DORNA CEO Carmel Ezpeleta
hinted that rules restricting
performance of the new-
generation of CRT bikes
might be eased in the future,
to give the private teams a
better chance against the
factory squads.
But the Spaniard racing
reformer, who pushed the CRT
concept through to try to build
up shrinking grid numbers,
denied that he was aiming for
a future without factory teams.
The factories will have the
same role in racing as ever.
They have had a presence in
the championship from the
beginning. The factories will
continue, he said.
Ezpeleta said he expected
six CRT teams next year, and
more in the future. And while
the first generation would
be competing amongst
themselves rather than against
the factory bikes, future rule
changes would change the
landscape.
Next year, their goal is to be
the best CRT team, but after
that we will try to improve the
possibilities, he said. In the
past it was possible for private
teams to get good results
against the factory teams, but
no longer, he said.
He was not concerned at an
apparently slow take-up of the
opportunity. This is the first
CRT team, but it will not be
the last, he said. The future
will have more CRT bikes than
factory bikes.
1
The 2007 World Champion, switched from Ducati to Honda this year ... and so far is running
away with the title. MICHAEL SCOTT spoke to the latest Australian multiple winner, who
names Mick Doohan as an idol, as he continued his dominant progress at Misano
5 MINUTES WITH ...
CASEY STONER
GPWEEK: How close were you to staying
with Ducati this year?
CASEY STONER: I had a lot of time to decide.
I was approached quite early during 2009
by both Ducati and Honda. So we knew a
year in advance that Ducati wanted to sign
us (for 2011); and that really opened my
eyes up.
In January (2010) I did want to stay with
them, but they didnt really show me enough
that they wanted to, so that helped my
decision.
At the same time Mick Doohan was my
idol, so to race in the same team and bike as
Id wanted to my whole life was also a great
opportunity. In the end everything felt right
to move, and I think it was the right decision.
Jumping onto the Honda after the Duke,
you must have felt like you were in a
holiday camp.
(Laughs) Id love to say yes, but no ... Ive
had to learn my way round this bike and
learn how to ride it in a different way. The
Ducati needs to be ridden in a certain way,
but the Honda you need to be a bit more
gentle with, but in some other areas I can be
more aggressive, so its taken time for myself
and my team. Still at some races you see well
struggle in practice and qualifying trying to
get a set-up, just because we dont know it
well enough.
Because youre unfamiliar, or because the
Honda likes to be specific?
The bike likes to be specific. If you get
it turning better, the rear becomes worse,
and vice versa. So we have to learn our way
through set-up, and weve been using ...
substantially different from race to race trying
to get some sort of balance.
Its quite strange, because at the beginning
of the season the bike didnt need that.
Maybe the pace is picking up.
Rossi is struggling on a bike you won on
last year. Is his technique wrong for the bike
where yours was right? How do you see it?
I dont think my technique is right for
the Ducati, because Ive been a lot more
competitive on the Honda. Also on Aprilia
and KTM ... Ive ridden lot of bikes in my life.
Its not that one suited me better than the
other.
And I dont believe Valentinos style is
wrong either. Hes ridden Honda and Yamaha
and been very successful.
I think they had a lot more expectations
of what that bike was, and maybe less
respect for what I was doing on it. When they
got on it they realised ... maybe Im a little
better than they thought; maybe I used less
electronics than they thought. Maybe they
had too much confidence going in there, and
maybe that is what has put them on Stop at
the moment.
How does it make you feel?
Not very good, to be honest ... knowing
the people at Ducati and knowing the abuse
theyre getting now, its not good .Those guys
put in a heck of a lot of hard work.
You revealed youre to become a father
soon Real Life: Part Two. Do you think itll
affect your racing?
Weve been needing some meaning in
life. We go from race-track to race-track and
airport to airport, train for the next race
doesnt seem overly important. Finally I feel
Ive got something important in my life. Were
definitely ready for it.
I doubt it will change my racing life,
but away from racing itll give us some
direction.
That begs the next question: how long a
racing life do you see ahead?
Honestly, not as long as other racers. I dont
know if other racers stay racing because they
really enjoy it, or what part of racing they
enjoy. But the travelling and some of the
things we have to do definitely wears thin,
and maybe theres other things for us to do.
I dont think my career is going to be as
long as some others.
What will you do after racing?
Kids. And farming. Id like to get back and
actually do some hard work.
If you could choose an era to race in,
would it be this one?
Um, no. (laughs) I would have liked to
have ridden 500s. I feel that I am in one of
the toughest eras, which is kind of good
because if you win you know youve really
won. But its also very easy not to win.
At least the 500s were proper two-strokes.
Yeah. I miss riding two-strokes now, but
at the same time Ive adapted to riding
four-strokes. Even my motocross bikes are
four-strokes. Its the way things are moving
forward, so I am also going to move forward.
Unfortunately.
Who do you most enjoy beating?
I cant deny its Valentino. Only because
he is the one who has always tried to bash
me down and belittle me, and tried a lot of
different things to play games and all the
rest of it.
Hes been doing this a lot longer than me,
and I was still able to beat him. So he can
play all the games he wants, but I know it
hurts when I beat him. And Ive beaten him
a heck of a lot more than hes beaten me. So
it feels nice.
Your best race?
One of the best was Laguna this year. Wed
had such a hard weekend, and I didnt have
the pace. I sat there patiently in third trying
different lines, trying different things out. I
think its the race I thought the most in.
What is the last treat you bought yourself?
Some lures for my tackle box. I really enjoy
fishing.
No Ferrari, then.
Im not into spending a lot of money for
something you only get a small amount of
enjoyment from. You dont get to floor it on
the streets ... if I could take it on a racetrack,
maybe.
What is your favourite dinosaur?
Velociraptor. Theyre smart. Theyre fast,
not too big ...
0
MOTO GP CHAT
>>
21

Email us
Something to say?
Email us at
mail@gpweek.com
Rossi/Stoner Part III
It's amazing that Rossi gets column inches about
how bad he is doing and how that all must be
the previous riders fault with poor development.
Last year when Stoner was having similar
problems he was still able to extract a decent
performance from a bike that obviously wasn't
right when he didnt crash trying to keep up.
Now he is on a good bike well it has to be the
bike making him look good, doesnt it.
Stoner was always the top-placed Ducati rider
and quite often nine places ahead of the next
Ducati entry.
Give Stoner some credit for what he was able
to achieve with a factory that obviously didn't
have the resources of the bigger factories and
still doesn't.
Warren, Adelaide, Australia
waza58@gmail.com
Go the Sebs!
As a rally fan, it is good to see WRC getting
column inches (or should that be digital bytes)
in a magazine such as GP Week.
The talent of the drivers at the top of rallying
is indisputable, perhaps best illustrated by the
inability of the much-praised ex-F1 driver Kimi
Raikkonen to achieve much, other than crash a
lot, an a WRC car.
It was good to see you, in the last issue,
highlight the upcoming tension between the
two Sebastiens at Citroen. It may not be as
big as Prost/Senna was, but it will be worth
watching.
Keep up the great publication.
Nigel Kemp
Portsmouth, UK
Martin and Barry
NIce to see you gave some space to the sad
passing of Martin Hines in your last issue.
I'm a general motorsport fan these days, but
back in the early 1980s used to sometimes
attend the joint Motorcycle/Superkart races
they used to hold at Donington Park.
They were great meetings. If I remember right,
Barry Sheene was at some of them, parking
his helicopter on the infield, and it was a great
combination. I always thought that Sheen
and his Superkart mate Hines were quite a
double-act.
While his own attempts to drive something
different, as per your story, were limited in
success, there is no doubt Hines played a
significant part in helping some of the young
talent of today get recognised.
Paul Middleton
York, UK
The Indian Grand Prix will be a bit like
Marmite. Privately, many F1 personnel
are sharing their concerns of cattle in
the road, Delhi belly, extreme poverty
etc. Personally, Im very excited to be
going for the cultural experience, for
its one of the few parts of the world I
have yet to visit.
Going to new F1 venues in
developing countries is something
were used to, and its always with
bated breath that we arrive at the
track to see if anyone actually listened
to what we asked for. From a purely
media standpoint, that would be:
Supplemented hotels for permanent
pass holders; regular shuttle buses to
and around the circuit that are there
when they should be; free internet; a
press room that overlooks the track;
and a free canteen for the media.
I dont think any of that is too much
to ask. After all, in the case of all these
new venues, were doing them a favour
by turning up. One or two circuits tick
every box, others dont. This year Abu
Dhabi, which used to provide cheap
media rates at Yas Island hotels, now
charges a fortune and many of us are
electing to stay in Dubai so Abu
Dhabi will probably lose out overall,
both in income and coverage.
Free internet, that simplest and
most obvious of things, can garner so
much goodwill. You may be shocked
to hear that more than half the circuits
on the calendar charge between 50-
120 Euros for five days usage. Maybe
theyd rather we didnt report on their
expensive sporting acquisition. No?
Thought not. (At this point I must say
I believe it is the FIAs responsibility to
step in and make free internet in the
press room obligatory to getting the
licence to hold the race).
So, I approach India with interest. The
early signs are not good. Hotels are
very expensive, with no media rates
being offered and headaches when it
comes to getting to the track almost
guaranteed.
o
p
i
n
i
o
n
ADAM
HAY-
NICHOLLS
GPWeek Editor
Its strange how disaster can turn out
to be life-affirming. It took 18 years in
the case of Wayne Rainey. But when
the triple World Champion and all-
time racing hero returned to Misano,
the track that broke his back and put
him in a wheelchair, the mood could
hardly have been more positive.
The applause, after a brief
presentation in the paddock by
Yamaha, said it all. It just didnt
stop. Rainey, by his appearance,
his cheerfully philosophical
acceptance of his fate, and his
refusal to blame a circuit that was
always one of his favourites, had
lifted the mood of everybody.
Nobody wanted to be the first
to stop clapping. I was not the
only one who found it a highly
emotional moment.
All the more so, at dinner
afterwards. As one of a handful of
people who were in the paddock
not only when Rainey crashed
in 1993 but also when he made
a one-year debut in the 250
class in 1984 and at every race in
between, and as his biographer
* and I hope friend, I felt hugely
MICHAEL
SCOtt
MotoGP Editor
o
p
i
n
i
o
n
A Rainey day
145 Euros? India had better be worth it

GPWEEK OPINION
>>
privileged to be the only journalist
invited to a select dinner hosted by
Yamaha later in the evening.
I do try not to be star-struck. Riders
are just people who happen to be
good at riding and driven to prove it,
and deserve to be valued as people
rather than demigods. But sitting
opposite Wayne, his old team-mate
Luca Cadalora, flanked by Loris
Capirossi and Franco Uncini (world
champions all), with Randy Mamola
adjacent and Eddie Lawson on
Waynes mobile, it did feel like a select
company.
The stories flowed with the wine:
some unprintable, others merely
historic. Like the one about how
Waynes racing debut at Misano had
started with a big argument just to
get on the grid, and finished with
him being signalled off the track
separately from the other riders:
I thought: What have I done now?
Having been left trailing as he always
was, back in the days of dead-engine
push starts, he had no idea hed
finished on the rostrum.
Most impressive was his
indomitability. He hadnt come back
to Misano to lay ghosts, he said
(though he did that for us). He had
no grudge against the track. In fact
hed always loved it, for the series of
increasingly fast left-handers onto the
back straight, before they changed
the direction designed it seemed to
favour US ex-dirt-trackers.
Its racing. Crashes happen, and you
can get hurt.
In the intervening years, hed
completely come to terms with his
injury and his new life. No regrets, he
said; and you could tell that he meant
it.
Racing is dangerous. It can do
horrible things to people you like and
admire. Rainey proved to all that you
can come out the other side physically
diminished, but just as much of a man
as you always were.
* Wayne Rainey: His Own Story
Haynes
But this weeks ball ache has been
getting my Indian visa.
Ive never seen the point of visas. Scan
someones passport and, in two seconds,
you know where theyve been and if
theyre on a no-fly list. You dont need to
hold onto the bloody thing for a week
just to stick a visa in there. It is, Im sorry
to say, simply a money making scheme
and an exercise in cuntation.
China and Korea are the only grands
prix, apart from India, which require
a trip to the consulate. In Turkey, they
grant F1 personnel free visas at the
airport.
Im a British citizen living in Paris, and
apparently this makes things a lot more
complicated. On arriving at the Indian
passport office I was told it would take
7-10 days to process my application, at
which point I flew of the handle. Seven
to 10 days? Im never in one country for
more than five! To add further frustration,
Id actually visited the passport office
the day before but it was closed, for an
Indian holiday. Despite the fact no one
working there was Indian, and the visa
service is run by a company registered in
the UK.
I was told the fee was 95 Euros steep
and proceeded to write journalist in the
occupation box. Ah, said the Frenchman on
the counter, I will have to pay more then. A
journalists visa is 145 Euros.
I was speechless. I crossed out journalist
and wrote author. Its the same thing, he
dismissed. What utter bollocks, I said. JK
Rowling pays extra too does she?
I handed over this appalling number
of notes and then spent the next three
days trying to get through on the phone
to the Indian High Commission. Its a
commonwealth country for goodness
sakes why do us Brits even need a
visa? After about 40 phone calls (no
exaggeration) they fnally picked up and
gave me an email address.
Vicky Chandhok, president of the
Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India,
has been a superstar and immediately
emailed the High Commission to expedite
my application. Only theyd given us the
wrong email address.
In retrospect, I should have gone over to
London where I could have got my visa in
24 hours, no doubt cheaper. Even including
the Eurostar. But none of the service times
or fees for France were mentioned on
their website, so how was I to know? In
fact, simplest solution, I really need to get
myself a second passport.
All Im saying is, India had better be
worth it. And now theres the added
complication of how I get to the Italian GP
without a passport. ...
145 Euros? India had better be worth it
23
SURPRISE
Maybe its not over just yet Jorge Lorenzo ended Casey
Stoners run of wins at Misano, as MICHAEL SCOTT reports
JORGE
SPRINGS
A

SURPRISE
JORGE
SPRINGS
MOTOGP ITALY
>>
25
J
ORGE Lorenzo claimed only his third
win of the season at Misano, breaking
a run of three in a row by title leader
Casey Stoner ... and added a fillip to
the championship battle as the Australian
dropped away to third behind his Repsol
Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
The result was not expected. Stoner had
claimed pole, and though it was Lorenzos
Yamaha leading from the first corner, the
Australian stayed in his wheeltracks. It seemed
only a matter of time before he would pounce.
What nobody knew was that he was already
exhausted before the race began, suffering
such severe jet lag after the race in the USA the
previous weekend that he had not slept for the
first three nights home. Halfway through the
race, it hit him hard.
I felt confident at the start, and as it wore on
the bike was working well. But I got really tired.
I was running wide, and I had to brake earlier,
and that spoiled my lap time, he said after the
race, obviously physically spent.
It meant Pedrosa caught up rapidly, and
went steaming straight by.
Lorenzo was jubilant after a display of mental
and physical strength, running fast laps with
clockwork consistency. He finished 7.3 seconds
ahead, with a new lap record in the bag.
From the start I tried to open a gap ... but it
was impossible. At the halfway point I thought
I would push a little more, and then if I couldnt
get away from Casey I would let him go. But
I saw the gap start to open a little, and then
more quickly.
The race had started under white Wet Race
flags, after a few drops fell from a humid sky. It
made the first laps nervy, but never came to
anything.
Lorenzo led away, accompanied by Stoner,
with Pedrosa slotting into third, but losing
ground at once a second adrift after eight
laps. We made a change to the front forks, but
it worked the other way. Especially with a full
tank, I kept closing the front, and I was also
spinning a lot off the line. I was lucky not to
get passed, he said. Then it became a little
better, and I could focus on riding.
A crowd of 53,140 fans, most here to see
local hero Rossi, were to have hopes for a
miracle dashed, although the Marlboro
Ducati rider did far exceed his qualifying
position of 11th, finishing the first lap sixth.
Soon he was embroiled in what became
a four-way battle for fourth, as Ben Spies
(Yamaha) closed up by half distance on Rossi,
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco
Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda).
With 12 laps left, he was at the back of
the quartet, and soon after dropping away,
sliding too much to keep the pace.
I am quite happy. This is one of the good
races for us this year, he said. This morning
we made a change to the front, and it had
better grip so I could push more. I had a great
start, and for the first 18 laps I could stay with
my best time of yesterday. This is a good target
for us at the moment.
This left a trio for a desperate last-lap fight,
with old rivals Simoncelli and Dovizioso
pushing and lunging, and Spies nosing
between them trying to take advantage. At
the end, a forceful Simoncelli managed to
hold off the factory Honda by less than four
hundredths, with Spies seven tenths behind.
Rossi was seventh; Alvaro Bautista (Rizla
Suzuki) another seven seconds away, having
fought off an attack from Cal Crutchlow
(Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) and then overtaken
the Britons fading team-mate Colin Edwards.
Crutchlow narrowly failed to save ninth from
closing slow starter Hector Barbera (Mapfre
Ducati). Hiro Aoyama (San Carlo Honda) had
stuck with Barbera for a close 11th, with Karel
Abraham (AB Cardio Ducati) closing to within
a second.
Edwards was 13th; Randy de Puniet (Pramac
Ducati) a distant 14th, then an even more
remote Toni Elias (LCR Honda).
Nicky Hayden (Marlboro Ducati) crashed
out on lap three; a disgruntled Loris Capirossi
pitted from last to retire, unable to find grip on
his Pramac Ducati.
Stoners lead is still 35 points, with 259 to
Lorenzos 224. Dovizioso has 185, Pedrosa
150, with Spies (135) fifth, two points ahead
of Rossi.

MOTOGP ITALY
>>
J
ORGE Lorenzo claimed only his third
win of the season at Misano, breaking
a run of three in a row by title leader
Casey Stoner ... and added a fillip to
the championship battle as the Australian
dropped away to third behind his Repsol
Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
The result was not expected. Stoner had
claimed pole, and though it was Lorenzos
Yamaha leading from the first corner, the
Australian stayed in his wheeltracks. It seemed
only a matter of time before he would pounce.
What nobody knew was that he was already
exhausted before the race began, suffering
such severe jet lag after the race in the USA the
previous weekend that he had not slept for the
first three nights home. Halfway through the
race, it hit him hard.
I felt confident at the start, and as it wore on
the bike was working well. But I got really tired.
I was running wide, and I had to brake earlier,
and that spoiled my lap time, he said after the
race, obviously physically spent.
It meant Pedrosa caught up rapidly, and
went steaming straight by.
Lorenzo was jubilant after a display of mental
and physical strength, running fast laps with
clockwork consistency. He finished 7.3 seconds
ahead, with a new lap record in the bag.
From the start I tried to open a gap ... but it
was impossible. At the halfway point I thought
I would push a little more, and then if I couldnt
get away from Casey I would let him go. But
I saw the gap start to open a little, and then
more quickly.
The race had started under white Wet Race
flags, after a few drops fell from a humid sky. It
made the first laps nervy, but never came to
anything.
Lorenzo led away, accompanied by Stoner,
with Pedrosa slotting into third, but losing
ground at once a second adrift after eight
laps. We made a change to the front forks, but
it worked the other way. Especially with a full
tank, I kept closing the front, and I was also
spinning a lot off the line. I was lucky not to
get passed, he said. Then it became a little
better, and I could focus on riding.
A crowd of 53,140 fans, most here to see
local hero Rossi, were to have hopes for a
miracle dashed, although the Marlboro
Ducati rider did far exceed his qualifying
position of 11th, finishing the first lap sixth.
Soon he was embroiled in what became
a four-way battle for fourth, as Ben Spies
(Yamaha) closed up by half distance on Rossi,
Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco
Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda).
With 12 laps left, he was at the back of
the quartet, and soon after dropping away,
sliding too much to keep the pace.
I am quite happy. This is one of the good
races for us this year, he said. This morning
we made a change to the front, and it had
better grip so I could push more. I had a great
start, and for the first 18 laps I could stay with
my best time of yesterday. This is a good target
for us at the moment.
This left a trio for a desperate last-lap fight,
with old rivals Simoncelli and Dovizioso
pushing and lunging, and Spies nosing
between them trying to take advantage. At
the end, a forceful Simoncelli managed to
hold off the factory Honda by less than four
hundredths, with Spies seven tenths behind.
Rossi was seventh; Alvaro Bautista (Rizla
Suzuki) another seven seconds away, having
fought off an attack from Cal Crutchlow
(Monster Tech 3 Yamaha) and then overtaken
the Britons fading team-mate Colin Edwards.
Crutchlow narrowly failed to save ninth from
closing slow starter Hector Barbera (Mapfre
Ducati). Hiro Aoyama (San Carlo Honda) had
stuck with Barbera for a close 11th, with Karel
Abraham (AB Cardio Ducati) closing to within
a second.
Edwards was 13th; Randy de Puniet (Pramac
Ducati) a distant 14th, then an even more
remote Toni Elias (LCR Honda).
Nicky Hayden (Marlboro Ducati) crashed
out on lap three; a disgruntled Loris Capirossi
pitted from last to retire, unable to find grip on
his Pramac Ducati.
Stoners lead is still 35 points, with 259 to
Lorenzos 224. Dovizioso has 185, Pedrosa
150, with Spies (135) fifth, two points ahead
of Rossi.
Dani Pedrosa came on late in the
race to be the first Honda home
2
AS always at the track close to his home,
Misano was crowded with yellow. Rossi
fans were everywhere.
Their loyalty to their beleaguered hero
is without question, at least so far. Rossi
may not be winning races or bringing the
results on the Ducati that the whole nation
craves, but in their eyes, he can still do no
wrong.
As usual, the track was opened to fans
after the race. If it wasnt, they would
break in anyway, to pack the front straight
beneath the rostrum. It was without Rossi,
but still a sea of yellow beneath.
And when winner Jorge Lorenzo emerged,
he was greeted with a howl of boos.
Couldnt spoil his mood. In fact, he milked
the moment, urging the fans to greater
volume by cupping his hand behind his ear.
But it left a bad taste in the mouth all the
same.
I was a little bit sad, said the race winner. I
thought that this was a sport, not like soccer.
I know Valentino, and if he had been on
the podium I think he would have made
them shut up. I have fans also, and I would
not like this behaviour.
Asked if he had any message to his fans,
and to Lorenzo, Rossi did his best to be
sympathetic before falling back on the
Latino excuse.
It is not fair, he said. Specially for the
riders who have made it to the rostrum.
They deserve more respect from the fans.
But (he shrugged) this is Italy. This is the
type of support you get.
Its not personal.
What I would say to Jorge is: Dont care
about it. Its just in fun.
Fan loyalty is one thing. Recognition of
worthy achievement another. The Rossi mob
did themselves no favours at Misano.
A bIg boo to
RossI fAns

MOTOGP ITALY
>>
THE fuel limit came into focus at the San
Marino GP. With several tight corners
followed by full-acceleration straights,
its a track that burns gas.
This fits badly with modern MotoGP
racing. Engine mapping is already aimed
towards economy, with a further facility
measuring usage during the race, and to
lean the engines off if there is a danger of
not reaching the finish line.
It doesnt happen often, because
engineers have already taken
consumption into account at the design
stage, and furthermore when setting the
bikes up. But it was an unexpected issue
for Dovizioso at Misano, and the rider was
distraught. Leaning the mixture cuts the
power, and spiked his guns in a thrilling
last-lap battle with Simoncelli and Spies.
Simoncelli won it.
There was an irony there. As the heaviest
and least aerodynamic rider, Simoncelli
has been the one to complain in the past.
This time it was his rival who was caught
out.
But it is something that affects
everybody on the grid, and all the fans in
the stands as well. Dovizioso spoke for all
of them. We had to cut the power a lot
for consumption, he said. We suffered
from this all weekend, but after warm-up
I received the bad news that we had to
cut even more power. I knew with that
it would be impossible to fight for the
podium, he said after the race, adding: It
has never been the case that I am unable
to match Simoncelli in acceleration.
He is not the only one to complain,
inside Honda and at all the other teams.
Asked what he would change about the
rules to improve the racing, Casey Stoner
put fuel high on the list. Three or four
litres more would make a big difference,
he said.
There are worthy reasons for introducing
the 21-litre limit, in the interests of
developing engine efficiency for the
greater good of all.
But Misano again asked the question: is
grand prix racing the right arena in which
to be competing in an economy run?
fuEls Rush In
2
WHAT does Frenchman Johan Zarco
have to do to win a race? Certainly
not what he did at Misano. The
only serious rival to Nico Terols
championship fought with him
for most of the race, and finally
prevailed on the last lap. Only to lose
concentration out of the last corner.
As he looked over his shoulder, and
then gestured as if to push his rival
back, Terol (Bankia Aprilia) inched
ahead as they crossed the line. His
seventh win of the year, and the fourth
time this year that pole qualifier Zarco
(AirAsia Derbi) has lost the chance of his
first GP win.
I knew he was faster than me on the
straights, and thats why I looked behind
out of the corner, to try to keep him back
so I was a bit slow out of that corner,
the disappointed Frenchman said. He
has crossed the line ahead of Terol
once this year, at Barcelona, only to be
penalised for forcing the Spaniard off the
track on the run to the line.
Terol had led away, with Zarco and
team-mate Efren Vazquez closing slowly.
Before half distance Zarco has broken
free from Vazquez, and was soon on
Terols tail. They exchanged the lead
several times, until the crucial last lap;
Vazquez was a safe but distant third.
Brno winner Sandro Cortese (Intact
Aprilia) finally prevailed in a big battle
for fourth, with Hector Faubel (Bankia
Aprilia) still close. Danny Kent (Red
Bull Aprilia) was two seconds adrift by
the end for his best finish, the British
rookies hands full fending off slow
starter Maverick Vinales and Sergio
Gadea (both Blusens Aprilia).
Jonas Folger (Red Bull Aprilia) was
almost ten seconds down in ninth:
tenth went to Portuguese rookie Miguel
Oliveira (Andalucia Banca Aprilia), at the
head of a gang comprising team-mate
Alberto Moncayo, then Jakub Kornfeil
(Ongetta Aprilia) and Czech wild card
Miroslav Popov (Ellegi Aprilia).
Terol opened the points gap again,
216 to Zarcos 185. Vinales has 161,
Cortese 160 and Folger 124.
125: ZARco gIvEs It AwAy AgAIn
30
MOTOGP ITALY
>>
If you like having your heart in your
mouth, then you should watch and
rewatch the Misano Moto2 race. With
memories of last years fatal crash victim
Shoya Tomizawa still strong, nerves were
stretched tight as a pack of seven bikes
battled, inches apart.
Four different riders led over the line:
Briton Scott Redding (Marc VdS Suter)
for the first 12 laps, then Marc Marquez
(Repsol Suter), Andrea Iannone (Speed
Master Suter) and Stefan Bradl (Viessmann
Kiefer Kalex). Bradley Smith (Tech 3), Alex
de Angelis (JiR Motobi) and Yuki Takahashi
(Gresini Moriwaki) were very close at hand.
Only in the last laps did Marquez
manage to escape, and then only by 0.619
of a second over the line.
The first laps with a full tank were
difficult, and I almost lost the front ... but in
the end I could see from the TV that Bradl
was close, so I pushed my best to get a
small gap, the reigning 125 champion said.
Title leader Bradl and pole starter was
thrown into damage-control mode again,
fighting hard for second, with Iannone less
than a tenth behind. De Angelis, Redding
and Smith were a second behind, with
Takahashi just off the back of them.
Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Suter)
managed to escape from Pol Espargaro
(HP Tuenti FTR) for eighth, and was closing
on Takahashi by the end; Espargaro in turn
was left to scrap it out with early front-
runner Simone Corsi (Ioda FTR), passing
him with two laps to go and crossing the
line three tenths ahead.
A mid-pack crash in the first corner took
out four riders Robertino Pietri, Alex
Baldolini, Xavier Simeon and Ratthapark
Wilairot. There were worrying moments as
the last-named was stretchered away, and
workers dropped the stretcher. But the
Thai rider escaped serious injury.
The title battle is warming up nicely,
with Marquez taking another five points
out of Bradls lead, now cut back to less
than one full race. The German has 213
points, Marquez 190. Iannone is next on
112, then de Angelis (109), with Smith
moving past Corsi for fifth on 102.
Moto2: MARquEZ unstoppAblE In thRIllER
125: ZARco gIvEs It AwAy AgAIn
31
3
F1 FEATURE
>>
thE
DIREctoRs
chAIR
Dimitris Papadopoulos sits down with FIA Race director
Charlie Whiting to find out how he soaks up the pressure,
maintains a family life, and still gets excited about
punching the red button
33
T
here are some remarkable people
out there. People that started at the
very bottom and climbed to the top.
They have stories to tell. Stories that are
mostly hidden behind their roles. We
know them from their official activities,
but rarely wondered or never got the
chance to ask them how they made it or
what they have to share.
We know Charlie Whiting as Formula
Ones permanent race starter, safety
delegate and technical delegate. The
teams and drivers simply refer to him as
Charlie. I wondered if he would like to
chat about things outside his primary role
and to answer questions slightly different
to the technical and sporting ones hes
used to. So I thought Id take a long shot
and text him, even though I was told hes
not a texting kind of person. His reply
that he would love to chat caught me by
wonderful surprise.
Fast forward to the Hungaroring, I found
myself stood outside a door labelled FIA
Race Director in the ground floor of the
pit complex. As the door opened, Charlie
rose from his desk and gave me a warm
welcome. He then sat back in his chair and
started to answer our questions.
GPWEEK: What kind of a childhood did
you have?
CHARLIE WHITING: I had great times! I was
brought up on a farm and we had a very
happy family.
What did you dream of doing when you
were a kid?
The first time I can remember dreaming
about my future was when I was about
12. I wanted to work on cars. Thats what
I wanted to do and I did it. My elder
brother had a garage. After school and
on weekends I worked at the garage until
midnight. Very hard work.
How did you first come to work in
Formula One?
I worked with my brother all through
until I worked with Mr Ecclestone. From
1977 I worked for him as a junior mechanic.
My wildest dream was to be chief
mechanic to a World Champion. I looked
at people like Jackie Stewarts mechanic
(Roger Hill) and I thought: How incredible
that must be. So thats what I wanted to
do. And when the story with Brabham
stopped I started working for the FIA.
How was your relationship with Bernie in
the Brabham days?
Very good, I think. He might think
differently; I hope not! We had great times,
a great team. It was fantastic. We always
enjoyed ourselves Bernie, Gordon Murray
who of course was the star of those days.
He positively encouraged people to enjoy
themselves and we had a very, very happy
team. They were really good times.
How did you wind up becoming FIA
technical delegate in 1988?
Bernie told us towards the end of the
1987 season that he wasnt going to run
Brabham anymore, but said that he would
find something else. Some guys stayed
on for another project Bernie ran with
Alfa Romeo, called ProCar a silhouette
formula that was supposed to be running
out of the old Brabham factory.
He suggested that I should go to
work for FISA as I was familiar with the
things teams could to do to cheat and
he thought that I was probably a good
person to try to catch them! I went to
assist Gabriele Cadringher, who was the
Chief Secretary in those days. The job
became complicated and we needed to
build a small team. We needed to employ
more people like analysts and software
specialists and so on, and the department
grew from there.
Its still a small team you have
today, though, given the number of
competitors and the level of technical
3
F1 FEATURE
>>
competition. Is it difficult to keep on top
of everything?
Absolutely. There are not many of us.
We cannot check everything on every car
that goes out to the track. We have to rely
on the deterrent of the check that might
happen. Its quite a difficult job. You have
the combined brain power of probably
a thousand engineers working at all the
teams and you have to find out about
what they might or might not be doing.
Sometimes its quite difficult.
Speaking of engineers ,what would your
advice be to people who want a career in
motorsport?
I dont believe that anyone who has a
dream should give up on it. Theres always
more than one way to go about things. I
was quite fortunate because my brother
was racing, I had grown up with things like
autocross and rallycross.
We grew together and then obviously
I had my dream. My brother Nick was
scaling down his racing at that point so we
parted ways.
Mentioning your brother Nick, 1990 was
a tragic year for the Whiting family. Your
brother was murdered. How did this
change your life?
On a personal basis, obviously it affected
the family. On a professional basis I dont
think it affected my work. Life was quite
difficult for a while but we had to get on
with it. Certainly Nick would have wanted
me to get on with it.
Since 1997 you have been the FIAs Race
Director and Safety Delegate. Does that
responsibility put a lot of pressure on
your shoulders?
More so now than ever before. That
side of my job does become harder in
some respects because every incident is
examined in more detail.
But I believe that we are ahead of the
game in terms of the technology we
have available to us in order to analyze
incidents and detect any wrongdoing on
the track.
Every race brings its pressures. For two
hours Im under pressure and you never
know whats going to happen. We always
come across incidents that we have
never come across before and this is one
of the best things about the job the
unpredictability.
People get to see you on TV as the man
pressing the button to switch off the
start lights. Do you still get excited
pressing that button?
I must admit that I am still excited
about it. Theres high-tension because
you have to make a split second decision
on whether we have to abort the race or
not. Its a thrilling part of the job. I pay
close attention to where the cars are, if
everything is in place, if there are any
drivers in trouble and I have to keep my
concentration.
How does this starting procedure work?
Is there any random algorithm?
When I start the sequence, the red
lights go on automatically. When all the
five lights are on I decide when they
are switched off. I do this manually. No,
there is no algorithm for the five lights
to go off.
Do you ever have any second thoughts
on the decisions that were taken or not
taken?
Every year I write a report on every
circuit. Generally speaking, there are
always things that can be improved.
35
We learn things about the track, the
organization and about ourselves. We are
always trying to improve and we ask the
tracks to make improvements that are not
too demanding; but there are often things
that we believe should be done for next
year.
Do you like the fact that everyone calls
you by your first name?
I think in F1 everyone is called by
their first name. Its always been like
that. I dont know what to say really. For
example Bernie is Bernie. Only people
who dont know him and who fear him
call him Mr Ecclestone. I think that names
like Herbie and Bernie are names that
everyone knows. Im sure this is not
unique to motor racing .
From 1988 onwards you attended all
the drivers briefings. Do you see any
difference between the drivers of 20
years ago and today? Are drivers more
serious about safety and taking orders
from the FIA?
Drivers are far more responsible. They
are concerned about matters of safety.
They know much more about safety, but
thats what the world is like now. Look at
road cars. Things we did back in the late
80s arent done now. I think they are very
responsible and they are all trying to give
us input to make cars safer, driving safer
and tracks safer.
We do have regular meetings with
the GPDA. We cant do everything they
want, but we always endeavour to take
their views into account. Going back
to the drivers from the early years, my
recollection is that it was more like
an opportunity to give the drivers
instructions. Nowadays, its more like a
meeting, a discussion, in order to share
views. I believe that it has worked. Its
more informal and we seldom have any
stand-up shouting matches, which used
to happen with one of our previous
Presidents! Sometimes the race director
would start shouting at drivers, but that
doesnt happen anymore.
How do you like to spend your time off?
I dont have much free time
Do teams call you at all hours?
Continually!
Has it crossed your mind to switch off
your mobile?
Hmmm yes, I do switch it off
sometimes at night! On a serious note,
everyone needs to take a break every
now and then. I take weekends off when
I can.
But when Im trying to keep up with
all of the work, its not simple to have
a family life. Ive got a family, I have a
wife and two young children and I try to
spend as much time with them as I can.
But it is quite difficult sometimes.
Are you able to forget about the
pressure of work when youre home?
I think so. I think Im okay when I get
home.
Obviously, when Im at home I check
my emails at night before I go to bed
to make sure that nothing terrible is
happening somewhere.
So you are not a workaholic?
Most people think I am, but I dont. I
just enjoy my work. I try very studiously
to make sure that I do spend time with
my family.
If I have a weekend off, I have a
weekend off. But that doesnt mean
that I dont turn on my computer. I
seldom have my phone on at weekends;
thats too much, but if someone wants
to contact me urgently they know that I
always look at my emails.
A young Charlie listens to
Andrea de Cesaris during
his Brabham days
F1 FEATURE
>>
Do you have any thoughts about
allowing bright ideas that were
subsequently identified as illegal?
If you look at the double diffuser, that
was a really clever idea to overcome a
change of rules that prevented teams
from having them. When the rules were
changed, everyone thought that was
impossible. Three teams independently
found a way around that.
Whilst it was a loophole, it was definitely
legal. It was challenged by the teams that
hadnt thought of it, but I thought it was a
very clever thing.
Going on to the blown diffusers, we
have always known that the exhaust
plume will affect the aerodynamics in
some way.
Provided that we were always satisfied
that any aerodynamic effect was
secondary to the main purpose of the
exhausts, we were happy. Once teams
started moving the exhaust down to the
area in front of the rear wheels, it still
didnt bother us too much because we
had no idea what the end result was going
to be.
The end result was that they used
the engine for aerodynamic reasons by
mapping engines purely for aero. Then it
had to stop because it was quite evident
that the exhaust was being used to
influence the aero. In fact, at times it was
its primary purpose and thats where the
discussion became difficult. Its not helpful
to go into the detail of it, but we have it
sorted out for next year.
People usually ask drivers about their
retirement. When will it be time for
Charlie to call it a day?
Either when Im told to, or when I think
Ive outlived my usefulness! Im 58 now
and depending on everything I would
probably like to take it a little bit easier in
my middle-to-late 60s, given the choice.
Do you think you need a thick skin for
this job?
Yeah!
Are you often under pressure from the
teams to intervene, change the rules, or
stop races?
Yeah yeah. In Korea, when it was getting
dark, one of the teams wanted the race
stopped because it was getting dark. It
was really because their driver had a
dark visor! It wasnt too bad and he was
the only one complaining. But he was
leading and it was in his interest. We
have to be able to see through this the
biased questions being asked for spurious
reasons.
Any funny things that never became
public and you could share with us? You
attended all the drivers briefings from
1988 onwards
I remember once in Spain, in the days
when we used to have the opportunity
to have an extra practice session on
Sundays, when it was wet and all other
sessions had been dry. So one driver
asked what we would do. And I said: If we
need to do this, we would do it between
11 and 11.15 etc etc and another driver
raised his hand and said Whats going to
happen if it rains this morning? And I said
Damon oops, I gave it away Damon
you were not listening were you? and all
the other drivers started to laugh. It was
quite amusing. Sometimes we have a few
laughs!
Has your loyalty to Bernie and the FIA
ever been tested?
Some people felt that I might come
under pressure from Bernie, for example,
to stop a race or to pull out a safety car
because the race was boring.
First of all, that has never happened and
Im absolutely confident it never would,
because Bernie doesnt do that. But that
was the perception, that I was susceptible
to that kind of pressure. But I can say hand
on heart that has never happened and
never will.
A few times, people have said why
did you send out the Safety Car out and
so on. Im not in the habit of justifying
reasons to put out a safety car because
I dont believe that we have to. It should
be fairly obvious.
People occasionally have different
opinions. I cannot keep everyone happy
all the time. Im pretty happy with most
of the decisions we have made. Of course,
with the benefit of hindsight, there are a
few that could have been done better but
everyone must have felt that from time to
time.
T
he world rally championship now moves to the east coast of
Australia, the frst and only new territory in the series this year,
the second of two times the WRC ventures south of the equator
this year and the last long-haul event of the season.
This is round 10 of the championship, with only three events to
follow and the pressure of teams about to settle their programmes for
2012. Eyes will be focussed on driver performance on an event where
truly the playing field is truly level. As the BMW Mini team stays at
home and continues development work with the John Cooper Works
cars and the fledgling VW continue their planning for future WRC team,
only Ford and Citroen will contest this event.
With the championship chances heavily weighted towards the
Citroen team and their drivers, the sharpest attention must be paid
to Ford and particularly the uncertainty of Mikko Hirvonen who is
currently fighting for his continued position in the Ford Abu Dhabi
team. There is an outside chance that Citroen Total World Rally Team
can clinch their seventh manufacturers world title in Australia, but to
do this their drivers need to finish 1-2 AND the Ford Abu Dhabi World
Rally Team must score less than five points. Ford cars have won Rally
Australia the last two times (2006 and 2009) that it has been held.
The main championship prospect in Australia centres on the
Production Car series in which New Zealand driver Haydon Paddon
statistically has the chance to become the first Antipodean driver to
win a world rally championship title.
A
part from an essentially asphalt Superspecial near the downtown
harbour, this is an all-gravel event. Recently inspecting the route
was M-Sports tyre adviser George Black:
There is a wide mixture of stages. Some are highly reminiscent of
the classic stages of the old Rally Australia in Western Australia except
there are none of the small ball-bearing stones. Some stages are twisty
and deep in vegetation that remind you of places like Whaanga Coast
in New Zealand. Other stages are run on everyday roads (shire roads)
which are fast and flowing.
Only two venues do not conform to the regional norm the port-
side Superspecial in Coffs Harbour itself and the short 4.58km Clarence
Stage, to be used as the Power Stage, which is very open, and ideal for
air-to-ground filming. This is a good all-round event, the roads are not
car-breaking.
There are the usual Australian characteristics like the powerful low
sunlight which makes first-time-perfect pacenoting important, and
which causes strobe-effect visual confusion for the drivers. And of
course the eternal flies!
There are 10 stage venues each done twice and one (the
Superspecial) done six times, total 26. Three of the first day venues are
completely new even to the national
championship drivers as are the majority of Day 2 stages. Clerk of
the Course Dr Michelle Gatton says that the terrain is a little more hilly
than the route of the 2009 Rally Australia run some 300km further
north. Four stage venues are on shire roads, three in forests and three
in a mixture. The climate is similar to the Kingscliff event, though being
further south it should be a little cooler in the evenings.
Despite the pressures of championship sport, a holiday spirit is
certain to pervade the event. Coffs Harbour lies in the northern part
of New South Wales slightly closer to Brisbane than Sydney. The town
grew in prominence in the early 20th century as a timber production
centre. These days it is best known as a resort famous for its beaches,
enjoying what is said to be Australias most agreeable climate. It is
also well known for its local banana plantations. Coral Taylor, four -
times Australian national champion co-driver and the mother of the
Academy driver Molly, says that Coffs Harbour is a much enjoyed
10
WRC PREVIEW
>>
Kangaroos,
meat pies and
citroen cars
The WRC heads to Australia this weekend and while this is one rally where everyone
starts on an equal footing, Citroen starts as favourite again. Martin Holmes previews
the Antipodean event
middle class family holiday venue, a relaxed and casual location:
Coffs Harbour has been a vibrant rally centre in earlier years and
has only come back into active rally use recently. In the nineties it
was a regular venue, and it was always a favourite event, because
the roads were always very enjoyable for the drivers and because
the town, Rally HQ and accommodation were always so close to the
stages. It was a great place for rally crews to bring their families. They
could chill out by the pool or go to watch the stages only 10 minutes
or so away.
W
RC entries closed with 31crews, 27 of which are FIA Priority
drivers and only seven Australian crews. In addition there is
one entry from a New Zealand driver, for Paddon. For this event he
drives a locally sourced Subaru instead of the usual Belgium-based
Symtech Racing team car.
There are to be 13 World Rally Cars and 14 entries in the PCWRC,
including two Australian Guest drivers but no Super 2000 or R4 cars.
In the absence of the new FIA Pacific Cup champion Chris Atkinson,
the top Australian competitor is the Academy driver Brendan Reeves
who drives the five year-old Subaru Impreza in which he won the
APRC New Caledonia Rally last year. He drives for Anders Grondals
Bilbuttiken PCWRC team.
Two top WRC absentees are Kimi Raikkonen and Mads Ostberg.
Ostbergs place in the Stobart championship team for this event
is taken over by Evgeniy Novikov. The local hero has to be 25 year-
old Mitsubishi driver Nathan Quinn, who started his international
aspirations this year in the APRC. He lives in Coffs Harbour itself and
is one of the two Guest drivers in the PCWRC category of the event.
The other is the little known Leigh Gotch in a Subaru.
None of the top current Australian national championship drivers
is taking part on the WRC event but they are not far away, on the
subsidiary national championship event. Brendan Reeves explains:
The reason the national Australian drivers are not entered in the
WRC event is that their cars run under special rules. so they would
have to change their cars to Group N. Also cars have to run Kumho
control tyres. The national championship support rally counts as the
second last round of the ARC series. The national championship runs
on Day 1 and Day 2, not on the Sunday. National championship cars
do not need to fit turbo restrictors, have freedom of gearbox design
and although they must use pump rather than competition fuel, they
are quicker than Group N cars.
I
n the classic car support event is one special driver, Ross Dunkerton,
the double Asia Pacific champion and Australias first FIA rally title
holder.
He is to be honoured on the event for being the winner of the
final Southern Cross Rally, the East Coast event based further south
at Port Macquarie. The Southern Cross, which ran from 1966 to 1980,
became Australias first international championship rally in 1978, and
used stages in the forests in the area used by Day 2 of Rally Australia.
Another item of nostalgia present in Coffs Harbour is to be the 1971
ex-Mark Taylor Ford XY Falcon GTHO Muscle Car which daughter
Molly, the Pirelli Star Driver, is to demonstrate at the Superspecial.
Between the primary event and the classic rally there are just over
100 cars due to take part in Rally Australia in one form or another.
The Ultimate Dust-Up is the promotional slogan for the event lets
hope dust does not play too great a part in the unfolding of the
rally!
On display and sale at the rally in Coffs Harbour will be copies of the
annual Pirelli World Rallying books. Details are available from
sales@simpsonraceproducts.com.au.
T
he Skoda Motorsport works team has decided not to
enter the IRC series leader Juho Hanninen in the next
qualifying round, the Mecsek Rally in Hungary, in order
to favour the championship chances of Jans teammate Jan
Kopecky.
All through the year Hanninens primary objective has been
the world championship SWRC series, which he is currently
18 points clear of the Ford driver Ott Tanak, with two events
to go. In the SWRC he runs for the Austrian based BRR Skoda
team.
With Kopecky the preferred driver for the IRC, it was ironic
that with four more rounds to go Hanninen was also leading
that series. After the Czech Barum Rally Zlin, Skoda drivers are
lying 1-2-3 in the series, with Hanninen three points ahead
of team-mate Kopecky and Freddy Loix, with Peugeot drivers
Bouffier and Neuville lying fourth and fifth.
The Mecsek Rally is being held this weekend, at the same
time as Rally Australia, with just Sanremo, Scotland and
Cyprus to follow. The latter two events carry enhanced
championship positions.
back-
burner for
hanninen
WRC
SNIPPETS

nOstberg struggles on.
Mads father-manager Morten
confirms that their Fiesta WRC
team, which was forced to
abandon plans to compete on
Rally Australia will definitely
take part in the following WRC
round, the Rallye de France.
He said We are also working
hard for Spain and Wales.
Previously we had made Wales
a priority rather than Spain,
but we want to develop Mads
tarmac experience and skills
to the same level as on gravel
in readiness for 2012. Spain is
preferred as part of that plan,
but we are still working hard
also to be at Rally GB.
nDue to be shown at the
Frankfurt Motor Show press
day on 13 September is a
mock-up of a projected version
of a rally version of the Lotus
Exige, aimed at homologation
under class 4 (R-GT) rules.
At this time no car has been
accepted by the FIA under this
category, which came into
force at the start of the year.
The Exige which has already
been ralllied on national rallies
in Spain by Sergio Vallejo does
not comply with R-GT rules.

E
ntry details for the Rallye de France,
round 11 of the WRC, show three
more names have been enlisted in the
Academy category.
In addition to the 15 remaining drivers
who began their programme at the start of
the season comes Sepp Wiegand, the driver
who substituted for fellow German Christian
Riedemann in Rally Deutschland, and two
new names. These are Ashley Haig-Smith from
South Africa and the Swiss Sylvain Droxler.
There are 65 entries for the event, including
18 World Rally Cars and 10 SWRC drivers. This
is the event that SWRC driver Karl Kruuda
opted to miss, and instead the organisers have
accepted Julien Maurin as a Guest SWRC driver.
Entries of special French interest are Pierre
Campana, the Mini WRC driver officially
supported by the French federation, and the
Touring Car driver Yvan Muller in a Peugeot
S2000. Campana gained his second victory
with a Mini John Cooper Works this weekend
on the French championship Rallye Mont
Blanc-Morzine.
O
ne is the IRC Canon Mecsek Rallye,
the frst time a rally in Hungary has
counted for a major international
championship in memory.
Although a long-established event run
under the name Allianz Rally, this will be
an asphalt event new to all the top IRC
competitors. There are only four stage
venues, with each stage used several times in
varying confgurations during the event. The
event is based at Pecs, close to the border
with Croatia and Serbia.
The other is the Rally Principe de Asturias
in north-west Spain, a round of the FIAs
European series. The reigning SWRC
champion Xevi Pons leads many of the
regular ERC contenders, including Luca Betti
who is hoping to put the memory of his
spectacular shakedown crash on the Barum
Rally behind and try to catch the absent
series points leader Luca Rossetti.
Fiat driver Rossetti was busy last weekend
winning the Italian championship Rally del
Friuli.
U
nder the leadership of
businessman and former
rally driver Scott Pedder
Australia is redefning its national rally
championship with two new directions.
Firstly, following the example of the
British series, by banning four-wheel
drive and secondly by widening the
style of its events.
A Showcase single-venue event is
being run at the Calder Park racetrack
in Melbourne in 2012 as an example
of how to break away from the current
tightly formatted style of championship
events. After a double series for two and
for four-wheel-drive cars in 2012, the 44
year-old national series will cater only
for two-wheel-drive cars in 2013.
A new series dedicated to SUVs is
also to be introduced. Announcing
the changes just before Rally Australia,
Pedder said that the rally gymkhana
video star Ken Block has shown there
is huge interest in what I would call
urban rallying using a totally new
rally environment combining a range
of elements from concrete walls to
junkyards, tarmac aprons, through
tunnels and around car parks. We
believe there needs to be a range
of events (that includes) three-day
endurance events, a tarmac rally, a rally
in the snow or a desert based event
along with the traditional forestry based
rallies.
Regarding the move to ban existing
Group N based cars, series co-ordinator
Jon Thomson said Most cars on
Australian roads are two-wheel not
four-wheel-drive and it is clearly wrong
to embrace a formula where only
two types of car, one of which will be
disappearing as a new model, has a
realistic chance of victory.
new challenges for Australian rallying
wRc Academy expands
IRc, ERc events
clash with Rally oz
Monza, the home of the tifosi, is days away ...

GPWEEK PArting Shot

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