2005 NEWS: AUS MOTORSPORTS

MITSUBISHI RALLIART BOSS & DRIVER SEE PLENTY OF POSITIVES FROM 2005 RALLY SEASON (OCT 31, 2005)

• Team Mitsubishi Ralliart principal Alan Heaphy and driver Scott Pedder have taken many positives out of the 2005 Globalstar Australian Rally Championship despite the disappointments of the weekend’s final round at Bathurst. It has been a season that has seen the new-look TMR, in its first year as an outright contender, win one round of the championship, on Mitsubishi’s home ground in South Australia, finish runner-up in another, in Tasmania, and in the top three in seven of the 12 heats with its Evolution VIII Mitsubishi Lancer.
• By the penultimate round in Melbourne TMR’s Scott Pedder, in his first year as a factory driver, was the only man still with a chance of denying Cody Crocker another title. Going into the final round at the new event that incorporated a super special stage at Bathurst’s famed Mt Panorama race circuit Pedder was still second in the championship. An unfortunate crash on the last forest stage of Saturday’s heat put paid to his and TMR’s aspirations of securing that runner-up position for the season.
• However, despite “tweaking” his long-troublesome back in getting out of the car after the crash and requiring precautionary X-rays at Bathurst Hospital on Saturday night, Pedder was back in the Dodo-sponsored Lancer on Sunday and finished a creditable fourth in a rain-shortened final heat of the championship. The TMR crew had worked past midnight repairing the Lancer after its crash and they too were on duty again by 6am Sunday, despite losing another hour’s sleep with the start of daylight saving.
• Ultimately Pedder wound up fourth in the drivers’ championship, which he found disappointing after his mid-season results but still something of which to be proud. “The car has been pretty much faultless and we have been the only ones to take an event off Cody this year,” Pedder said. “I think I had a nervous start to the season, a good middle, and the last two rallies have been unfortunate. “However, there have still been a lot of positives at these last two events. “We got a third on the Sunday in Melbourne and a fourth on the Sunday at Bathurst, which I felt was pretty good in the circumstances. “I’d give myself a six or seven out of 10 for the year.”
• Heaphy - the former top touring and sports car engineer and team manager who worked with the likes of Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and Wayne Gardner, as well as leading international drivers - put a positive perspective on the year. “The initial feeling about the season was disappointment, but considering that we started from scratch with the Evo VIII (after last year’s clean sweep of the GARC’s Australia Cup with two automatic all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Magna VR-Xs) there is a lot to be pleased with,” Heaphy said.
• “We had a very competitive car from the outset this season and it ran in the top four all year. “That’s not bad considering we have four full-time crew compared with the much bigger numbers of our opposition, and that our budget is nowhere near as big as those of our rivals. “We had the speed to match the best out there in the most competitive Group N (showroom production) rally championship in the world. “The car has hardly missed a beat. When we’ve finished we’ve finished extremely well. “Sure, there was the capability of coming away with more at the end of the year. “We lacked consistency – that’s all that was missing. “But, for a first year together, I think we can hold our heads high. “We were ‘new boys on the block’ among factory teams. “The guys in the crew have done an excellent job with the car and it’s been a valuable learning year for Scott and (co-driver) Glen Weston in their first season in a factory team. “Scott and Glen have worked very well together and they will be much better for the experience. “Certainly there is potential there for all of us to go on to bigger and better things. “We’re upbeat and I intend to start development on the Evo IX Lancer immediately.”
• Mitsubishi-supported Jack Monkhouse finished the season third in the GARC’s Pivateers’Cup. Like Pedder, Monkhouse had a difficult weekend at Bathurst in his Evo VII Lancer. A rollover early on Saturday put him and co-driver Rebecca Cochrane out of the first heat but they finished 12th in Sunday’s second heat, in which half the forest stages were cancelled after heavy rain made the roads in the Sunny Corner State Forest too slippery.
• “We ended the day with a bit of fun on the final run of the super special stage at Mt Panorama, which was a really good way to end what had been a tough rally for us,” Monkhouse said. “We’ve fought really hard this year, learning a new car, the new rallies and trying to keep up the pace of development needed in this championship to be competitive. “We’ve achieved a lot and got some really strong outright results (fifth outright in Queensland and Tasmania) and gained a lot of experience for the future. “We didn’t win the Privateers’ Cup (fellow South Australian Steve Glenney did in a Subaru), but we gave it a really good shake.”
• Outright honors at Bathurst went to Crocker and Dean Herridge in the factory Subarus with Simon Evans third in a Toyota.

JAMES COURTNEY JOINS STONE BROTHERS V8 SUPERCAR (OCT 31, 2005)

• 25 year old James Courtney will join V8 Supercar full-time and fill in Marcus Ambrose's seat at Stone Brothers Racing. Courtney is Australia's most promising open wheeler chanmpion having won the world karting championship, British Formula Ford championship and the Japanese Formula 3 championship. He has been racing in the Japanese GT championship with Toyota for the last 2 years and finished runner-up. Courtney's debut with V8 Supercar is similar to Ambrose when he returned from the European open wheel racing.

TEAM MITSUBISHI RALLIART WANTS WINNING FINALE TO RALLY SEASON (OCT 24, 2005)

• The new-look Team Mitsubishi Ralliart wants to end its first season on a winning note at this weekend’s WPS Rally Bathurst. Already victorious at the South Australian round of the Globalstar Australian Rally Championship this year, another win at Bathurst – the country’s motor sport “mecca” – by the TMR Evolution VIII Mitsubishi Lancer would be a perfect end to an incredibly hard-fought and exciting year.
• Bathurst is a new frontier for the GARC and will give drivers a taste of the world-renowned Mt Panorama circuit that hosts the annual 1000-kilometre touring car classic. A Super Special Stage incorporating the track’s start-finish straight, Hell Corner, Mountain Straight and twists, turns, jumps and a water splash in the infield above the pit and paddock area will be run four times – to start the event on Friday night, twice on Saturday and as a finale on Sunday. Mt Panorama’s new $25 million pits will be the service park for the weekend, while the traditional rally action will comprise 17 stages in the Sunny Corner State Forest to the east of Bathurst.
• Top priority for TMR this weekend is for driver Scott Pedder to clinch second place in the GARC drivers’ championship in his first year as a factory team driver – and he hopes to do it by winning the rally. “The introduction of a rally at Bathurst is a phenomenal addition to the championship and I’d love to win both heats to finish off the season,” Pedder said. “That would mean we would end up winning two of the six rounds of the championship and have been in the top three in nine of 12 heats, which would be an exceptional outcome for our first season together. “Finishing the rally, and finishing it well, is absolutely paramount to us this weekend. “The conditions could be tricky, with the roads cresty and narrow in parts and the weather changeable, but driving on the Mt Panorama circuit, even if only for a few hundred metres, will be something else for us rally drivers – very, very special.”
• The Dodo-sponsored Evolution VIII Lancer campaigned by Pedder and co-driver Glen Weston is the first GARC outright contender built by Team Mitsubishi Ralliart under Alan Heaphy, the former top touring and sports car engineer and team manager who worked with the likes of Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and Wayne Gardner as well as leading international drivers.
• Heaphy’s first project with Mitsubishi from the new Ralliart headquarters at Dandenong in Melbourne was the preparation of two automatic all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Magna VR-Xs which made a clean sweep of the 2004 GARC’s Australia Cup in 2004 and landed another title for icon rally driver Ross Dunkerton. Just recently Dunkerton won Western Australia’s new tarmac rally, Targa West, in a Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution VIII Lancer.
• Heaphy and his small, dedicated crew - including Pedder and Mitsubishi Ralliart-supported privateer Jack Monkhouse - have also been busy lately assisting Mitsubishi at circuits with dealer and sales team activities around the launch of its new Evolution IX Lancer and larger 380 model road cars.
• Heaphy said that, with Subaru’s Cody Crocker and Dale Moscatt claiming the national titles at the Rally of Melbourne in early September, second place in the GARC for Pedder and Weston in the first year of this new-look TMR in Group N competition “would be a very creditable result”. “I’m happy with the job the guys – those who prepare the car and those who drive it – have done as ‘new boys on the block’ among factory teams,” Pedder said. “The car hasn’t missed a beat. When we’ve finished we’ve finished extremely well. “Scott has made a lot of progress over the course of the year, in his first season as a factory driver, and him and Glen Weston have worked together excellently. “The Evo VIII will have just a few little refinements for Bathurst and our priority is to maintain and secure that second position we’re already in. That’s imperative.” Pedder, of Melbourne, and Weston, from Brisbane, are in a four-way tussle for runners-up honors.
• The Mitsubishi pair each have 116 points in the driver and co-driver championships while Subaru’s second factory pairing of Dean Herridge and Bill Hayes and Toyota’s Simon and Sue Evans are level on 106, with visiting Finn Juha Kangas and his Central Coast co-driver Julia Rabbett on 96 in another Subaru. Crocker is the top seed for Bathurst, ahead of Evans, with Pedder third, followed by Kangas and Herridge. “We’ve been right on the money (pace) at the past three rounds, finishing runners-up in Tasmania, winning on Mitsubishi’s home ground in South Australia, and in Melbourne we were out of the first heat early after hitting a rock hidden beside the road but rebounded in the second heat with a solid third place,” Pedder said.
• “Our car has been faultless all year really – the problems we’ve had, especially early in the season, were driver-related rather than mechanical.”
• In a major mid-season review Heaphy and Pedder thoroughly analysed television footage and still photos and the driver decided he needed to abandon some of the exuberance from his earlier privateer days and keep the Evo VIII straighter on the gravel roads. “I’ve learned that it’s about doing things smarter and not making them more difficult than they should be,” Pedder said.
• Rally Bathurst will see the debut of Ford’s Focus in Australian rallying, and its single-car factory entry will be 11th on the road, driven by Michael Guest with Mark Stacey.
• Mitsubishi Ralliart-supported Monkhouse, in an Evo VII Lancer with Rebecca Cochrane as co-driver, is in a three-way battle with Subaru drivers Steve Glenney and Brad Goldsborough for the privateers’ championship. The Evo VII, driven last year by Pedder and before that by Ed Ordynski, won two national championship rallies in 2003, including the NSW round then run on the Central Coast. Monkhouse and Cochrane, both of Adelaide, finished fifth outright in the Queensland and Tasmanian rounds this year. Monkhouse has 34 championship points while Glenney and Goldsborough each have 46.
• Pedder has predicted that, apart from the colorful Monkhouse and Glenney, local drivers Goldsborough, Mark Thompson in a privateer Evolution VIII Lancer and John Mitchell in an Evo VII could sneak up on the leaders at this event.
• The weekend’s 21 stages will comprise 216.41km of competition – 109.77km in the first heat and 106.64km in the second.

• INDIANAPOLIS (September 15, 2005) - Target Chip Ganassi Racing's 23-year-old Australian IndyCar rookie driver Ryan Briscoe (no.33 Target Toyota) continues to progress in his road to recovery after a spectacular incident last Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. Since arriving at Indianapolis' Methodist Hospital Monday afternoon, Briscoe underwent further evaluation and treatment by Dr. Scott Bjerke, Dr. Terry Trammell and Dr. Kevin Sheid, with the assistance of Indy Racing League medical personnel.
• Briscoe sustained a concussion, two broken collarbones, a bruised lung and contusions to his legs and arms. He also has a tiny fracture to a small bone in his right foot and several contusions on his back. All injuries are expected to heal without requiring further treatment or surgery. Briscoe is expected to be transferred out of the critical care unit this weekend where he was being treated for breathing difficulties stemming from the inhalation of heat and vapors during the incident. He is expected to make a full recovery and should be released from hospital early next week.

• An announcement made on the Motor Racing TV website earlier today confirmed that Peter Hackett is to travel to Phoenix Raceway, America at the end of the month for a two day test with Craig Gore’s Team Australia.
• Hacketts untarnished performances in the Australian F4000 and GT Championships including his five out of five race wins in one weekend has gained him increasing attention from the upper echelon in the motor sporting arena this year.
• The Melbourne based driver, has recently returned from a short stint overseas testing with A1GP Team Australia at Paul Ricard in France before making his way to Canada, at the invitation of Derrick Walker and Team Australia to attend the Montreal Champ car round. Peter plans to use his American test as an opportunity to evaluate his chances of competing overseas in 2006.
• Peter Hackett – “This is another excellent opportunity to push my professional racing career forward”. “This has been an amazing year for me so far and I feel that my driving is better than ever”. “The F4000 has been great training, and from what I can gather the Team Australia car will be amazing to drive”.

• Honda’s Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams is continuing to make a name for himself not only as a freestyle whiz, but also as one of Australia’s top mini racers after winning the Super Modified class of the 2005 Aussie 4-Stroke Minibike Nationals. This is the second year running the 20 year old from the Mornington Peninsula area of Victoria has won the event. Held on the Gold Coast as part of the Annual Bike Week festivities, the Mini Nationals provided for some fast paced battles over eight classes in tough conditions. In fact the track was built on a previous horse ‘dressage’ ring meaning riders had to deal with a deep sand base in very hot conditions making the outcome anything but predictable.
• “I actually entered both the 88 Mod and the SuperMod classes but decided after practice to withdraw from the 88 class,” Bilko said. “I only had three hours sleep after racing at the Sydney Supercross the night before because I had to fly out to the Gold Coast first thing. I needed to
  conserve energy.”
• “Also because of the heat and the physical nature of the track, I thought it would be better to concentrate on the one class instead of trying to spread myself too thin. My main competition decided to do the same thing so that gives you an idea of what it was like,” he said.
• “Overall though it was a great meeting! The track had everything including jumps, a flyover, rhythm section, sandy corners and straights.” “The competition was furious,” he commented. “One Team even brought in an American rider from a major US Team just for this event.”
• Results were decided over five races with Bilko winning three of his outings, and taking a second and third place in the others. “A lapped rider actually crashed into me in the race where I finished
  second which was a bit frustrating. Other than that, the day went just about perfect and I scored the overall win so its all good.”
• Bilko is now preparing for his various appearances at the Australian Motorcycle Expo in Melbourne, September 16 to 18 where he will be competing in the freestyle competition, the 50’s racing and the 50’s freestyle. After that, the young star is off to the USA once again to race both his CRF50 and CRF70 at the Texas Ski Ranch. In addition, he will be fitting in another stint with the Crusty Demons when they commence a seven week “OUTBACK ATTACK” Regions Tour. As if that wasn’t enough, Bilko will also be joining their tour to India in the near future.

EAST COAST TARGA - FINAL DAY (AUG 28, 2005)

• In the final day of competition, Tony Quinn continued his impressive competition form which has been so evident in this year’s East Coast Targa. In the past, Quinn has struggled with incidents at the end of the other events preventing him from achieving a podium finish. This time, however, he and navigator Keith Wenn worked hard to establish a strong result in the Modern Competition event with a 47 second lead over second. “We’ve backed off a lot today to make sure we reached the finish this time. We had a pretty reasonable lead on the Blackies and knew it would be pretty hard for them to pull that back,” said Wenn.
• Throughout the final stages of the event, Peter and Paul Blackie were close on his heels, in their Porsche 911, finishing second in the Modern Category. They picked up a lot of ground yesterday after Quinn received a tyre penalty. “We weren’t really sure where we were going to be, but we knew we’d be top ten,” said Paul Blackie. “We’re moved pretty far away from the rest, we just can’t believe we were ahead of the Whites.”
• Uncle and nephew duo Jason and John White came in 46 seconds later.
• In the Classic Competition event, Keith and Mary Anne Callinan won with a phenomenal 5 minutes and 40 seconds lead in their 1972 Detomaso Pantera.
• They were followed by Mark Taylor and Matthew John Hackettin their 1973 Ford Falcon XA GT.
• Martin McLoughlin and Joe English, who described the Targa as “pretty smooth sailing”, came in an astonishing 7 minutes and 6 seconds later.
• In the Modern Challenge category, Peter Ord and Geoff Floyd completed the event first, also driving a Porsche 911. Ord described today’s stages as “challenging” and “pretty tight…you’ve really got to show your driving skills”, reflecting many drivers’ experience.
• They were followed closely by Lucas and Coradine in their 1997 Lotus Elise, then father-and-son team Matthew and Alan Paul in their 1998 Peugot 306 GTI 6. As residents of Bathurst, the Pauls were especially pleased with their result on Mount Panorama.
• Another father-and-son team, Byram and Nathan Johnston, completed the Classic Challenge event with an outstanding first in their 1973 Porsche RS, followed distantly by Craig Hunt and Nick Allan in their 1982 Alfa Romeo GTV.
• Byram Johnston said “The car has been beautiful; we haven’t had any trouble at all. We thought the clutch might be wearing out, but it (turned out fine).” - The ECT Media Team (02) 63323044

East Coast Targa - DAY 1

• The East Coast Targa has started today on a high note in Homebush Bay with 83 registered competitors in different categories, battling it out over the next 4 days for the title. The rally is made up of 34 grueling stages, with the final nine being held at the home of Australian Motorsport, Bathurst’s Mount Panorama.
• Tony Quinn is back this year driving a Porsche Turbo after winning the 2003 East Coast event. Quinn says he was happy with the day despite a few electrical difficulties, mainly problems with his ABS. Having competed in the Carerra cup two weeks ago, his car has since been modified to suit the country roads of the Central West region. Any problems are set to be sorted by his team for the morning.
• Veteran Targa Tasmanian winners Jason and John White have changed states and cars to try and take out the East Coast Targa. Driving a 2005 Lamborghini Gallardo they have encountered numerous difficulties with the change in tyres.
• “We are used to using Dunlop’s but were not able to use them on this vehicle. Instead we are using a combination of Michelin and Pirelli, which has affected the under-steer of the car, but we are really looking forward to tomorrow’s stages.” In previous years the Whites have competed in a Nissan Skyline GTR so today has been a learning curve to become adjusted to racing the Gallardo.
• It only took one special stage of the ECT to claim one of its prestigious competitors Rex Broadbent and co-driver Michael Goedheer. The men have won the last three Adelaide classics, making today the first time to race on NSW roads. On the first special stage “The Sneaker” their 2000 Daytona Coupe hit a curb and caused extensive damage to their suspension and have unfortunately pulled out of this year’s rally.
• Bathurst legend Bob Holden who won the 1966 Great Race is gallantly competing again at the age of 73. “I’m having an absolute ball, nothing has changed since I first raced here [Oran Park] in 1959.” He is competing in a classic 1975 Ford escort.
• The first stage tomorrow will kick-off at Olympic park, Homebush and head west through the Blue Mountains to arrive for lunch at Lithgow.

Hackett Take Lead In F4000 Championship (AUG 21, 2005)

• Peter Hollywood Hackett showed exactly why he has been named as a possible seat holder for the Australian A1GP Team and why he is on a plane as we speak making his way to the Paul Ricard track in France for his test with the Team at the end of this week.
• Hackett a former Australian Formula 3 Champion joined the F4000 Championship Team of Ralt Australia three rounds ago when he learnt of his possible seat in the A1GP Australian Team. Hackett using the F4000 drive in preparation for his test in France Hackett is in outstanding form at the moment and sponsors and spectators were witness to this when Hackett took the gruelling 4.6km Phillip Island Circuit for the sixth round of the 2005 Australian F4000 Championship this weekend.
• Hackett needing only five points to take the championship lead walk away from the weekend with both race wins under his belt to finish on the podium and collect the points needed to take him to the top of the leaders’ board in the 2005 Australian F4000.
• Suffering technical problems in his Herman backed N#1 Reynard during Fridays practice Hackett was back in the drivers’ seat and eager to get going for Saturday qualifying session. In cold and windy conditions Hackett first out on track he used the first three laps to warm his tyres before pitting for a routine tyre pressure check and front wing adjustment, was back on track making a charge on his qualifying lap only to beaten by a red flag. Unable to finish his lap put Hackett in his best time of 1.26.49 was pipped by 5 hundredths of a second for first place.
• “I was beaten by the red flag. Tyres are at there best on the 2rd lap and I was out on my qualifying lap when the red flag came out said Hackett.”
• Race one Sunday and Hackett starting from second place had managed to open a two second gap off the line and was leading the race by turn one. Remaining out front all race Hackett crossed the line 3.8 seconds ahead of the rest of the field to take the first race win.
• “Got a great start off the line, managed to make a two second lead on the out lap and just cruised from there. I had to remind myself to keep focused – one more to go” said a contented Hackett.
• Race two and it was 110 % Hackett all the way, a lights to flag finish Hackett who dominated the race out front. The second place challenger doing all he could to keep with the inform Hackett but Hackett eventually pulled away to cross the line nine seconds ahead of the field to take race win for the second time.
• “I wish the race was another 30 laps longer because I could have driven like that all day” said and elated Hackett accepting his trophy from Ray Borrett, Director of Holden Motorsport..
• Hackett also undertaking double duties for the third time this year took two convincing race wins in the Australian Speed Energy Drink GT Championship and now respectively leading both Championship will be eager to take both titles at the conclusion of the AMRS Series at Oran Park Raceway on the 16-17 September.
  

• AS RACY OFF THE TRACK AS HE IS ON IT!!
• Australian Formula 3 Champion Karl Reindler with his Sharp good looks is proving his talents extend far beyond the race track. Reindler who is currently contesting the British Formula 3 Championship with UK based team Alan Docking Racing is not only turning heads in the motor sport arena but has also caught the attention of many females around the nation.
• The blue eyed, blonde haired Perth born bachelor has been nominated as one of the finalists in the running for this years lucrative “2005 Cleo Bachelor of the Year” title. Reindler took time out of his heavy race schedule earlier this year to participate in a photo shoot for the Magazine. “I’ve never done anything like this before; it’s a bit of fun and something different" says a modest Reindler
• More familiar with fast cars than posing for cameras, Reindler was introduced to karting at the age of five where he displayed a degree of natural ability, competence and enjoyed much success. Now at twenty years of age and with the 2004 Australian Formula 3 Champion title under his belt Reindler relocated to the UK earlier this year to continue his career pursuit in motorsport, his ambition to race at the elite level in F1.
• Already well on his way to the top Reindler has won countless awards in motorsport including Rookie of the Year and the CAMS Rising Star award. He has also contested the Barhrain Superprix, won the Australian Formula 3 Championship, and is currently contesting the British Formula 3 Championship and is named as a possible seat holder for the Australian A1GP Team. Modest in his ability both on and off the track, Karl Reindler has a huge future ahead of him.
• The question is now; can he add the Bachelor title to his name? Facing tough competition from Australia’s biggest names in Tom Williamson, Ian Thorpe and NRL’s Jason Stevens for the lucrative title the answer lies in the fingers of the voters. The competition concludes on the 15th September with the winner of the competition announced in Melbourne so get voting. The September issue Cleo is currently out on sale in all leading newsagency or you can lodge you vote for Karl by logging onto http://cleo.ninemsn.com.au/cleo/bachelors/gallery2005/bachelor9.asp.
  (Tania Poletti)

V8 UTES RETURN TO MALLALA (AUG 15, 2005)

• One of the highest profile race programs seen at Mallala in recent years will include the popular V8 Ute category. Supporting the HPDC V8 Supercar event will be a full field of thirty two colourful V8 Utes. Evenly divided between Holden and Ford, they are fast, competitive and very entertaining.
• The series features some serious Australian muscle power - Ford and Holden V8 production based utes, piloted by an unusual grouping of politicians and TV presenters, actors and auto electricians, footballers and former factory backed drivers, country singers and Bathurst winners. This eclectic group take their racing seriously, but they enjoy themselves and humour is important. They claim to have amongst their drivers; 'rednecks, rebels, rock n rollers and good ole racers!'
• "If Ned Kelly was alive today his suit of armour would be manufactured in Nomex, the famous head protection would be a Bell full face, and that no local Constable would see him for dust in his 300 plus horsepower V8 Ute", said series manager, Bill West."
• "It's just superb racing, and the fans love it," said touring car legend Allan Grice. "In all my years of racing I have never driven in a category that is so competitive, or so much fun."
• Holden driver James Brock races in a 2 car team entered by Team Brock, and mentored by the great man himself. "The series is great for learning car control, race craft, and is extremely marketable because of the crowd reaction and TV package," Brock said.
• Another from the next generation is James Moffat, son of 4-time Bathurst winner Allan Moffat will line up in a Ford - the name made famous by his fathers 4 victories at Mount Panorama.
• The series could easily be confused with a celebrity race, with nine-time Golden Guitar Country singer Adam Brand, author and actor George Elliot, former Nascar racer Kim Jane, V8 Supercar driver Marcus Zukanovic, and ex NRL footballer Jack Elsegood all regulars in the series.
• The full program of support events at Mallala also includes Formula Ford, Group N Historic Touring Cars, Commodore Cup and the new Lotus Challenge. The event starts with practice on Friday 19th August and concludes with a full day of racing on Sunday 21st August.

DANNY ANDERSON SIGNED TO RIDE FOR NO FEAR HONDA IN 2006 (AUG 15, 2005)

• Danny ‘Digsy’ Anderson is well known around the racing circuit as a young man on his way up. With each passing season, the 19 year old from Newcastle continues to improve and show he has the talent to become one of this country’s top riders. Honda Australia are therefore pleased to announce that they have signed Anderson to ride for the factory No Fear Honda team in 2006 in the Pro Lite division.
• Digsy has been racing since he was mere three years old, and in the past few years has shown his prowess as both a factory rider as well as a privateer. A number of injuries held him back somewhat over the past two years, however, he has now returned to full fitness, primarily due to the hard work he puts in regularly with brother Craig Anderson and their trainer Paul Broomfield.
• “Getting signed with Honda is awesome,” he said. “This whole year I have been focusing on getting a team ride so the hard work has paid off.” “There is always pressure on a rider to perform but being with a team like Honda will give me that extra support that you just don’t get when you are a privateer. With the help I’ve been getting from Pip Harrison and the rest of the Team already this season, I know that in 2006, I will have the opportunity to make the podium at every race, and that is exactly what I am aiming to do.”
• Danny has already shown that he has what it takes to be a winner, particularly in motocross where as a supported Honda rider at the Penguin, Tasmania round he won the second moto against the likes of Cameron Taylor and Ryan Marmont, and finished an impressive second overall.
• Honda’s General Manager, Motorcycles, Tony Hinton said the company is looking forward to having Danny on board, and is confident he has a bright future ahead of him. “We believe Digsy has a lot of natural talent, in both motocross as well as supercross.” “Our goal at Honda has always been to provide young riders with the opportunity to develop their skills in a professional environment, and we are confident that Danny will step up to the plate.”
• Brother Craig, who will remain on board as No Fear Honda’s lead rider next year, is also clearly pleased with the decision. “Family ties aside, Digsy is a great rider. I’m looking forward to having him as my team mate,” he said. Danny will compete in the remainder of the Supercross Masters rounds to take place between now and the end of October, and will make his first appearance as a member of No Fear Honda when the national motocross championships commence in the new year.

V8: INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR FOR ORRCON RACING (AUG 10, 2005)

• Orrcon Racing will be joined by a pair of international drivers for the upcoming endurance races, the Betta Electrical Sandown 500 and the Super Cheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst. Joining regular drivers Jason Bargwanna and Mark Winterbottom for the 2005 enduros will be experienced Swiss-born Englishman Alain Menu and rising New Zealand star Matt Halliday.
• With Bargwanna and Winterbottom set to pair up in the Number 10 Orrcon Racing Falcon, as they did successfully last year, Menu and Halliday will take the reigns of the Number 20 Orrcon Racing Falcon regularly driven in the Championship by Winterbottom.
• Menu, 42, is one of the most experienced touring car drivers in the world. Throughout his career he has captured two British Touring Car Championships and finished runner-up on three occasions. He has also won the Tourist Trophy Race at Donnington Park twice and won the GTS class at the 1000 Miles of Petit LeMans. He made his V8 Supercar debut at Bathurst in 1998 when he teamed up with Thomas Mezera. In 2000 he partnered Mark Larkham to 18th position before returning to Australia last year for his third start in Australia’s great race, this time with Adam Macrow.
• Halliday began his career at age nine in go-karts and has since competed in a variety of categories including Formula Ford, Formula Holden, Indy Lights, Infinity Pro Series (IRL), Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, Trans Tasman GT3 Cup and Carrera Cup. Halliday made his V8 Supercar debut with the team at last year’s Betta Electrical Sandown 500 teaming up with Larkham. In his first look at the Bathurst circuit Halliday was impressive with his consistent pace and alongside Larkham finished a creditable 11th. Earlier this year the Kiwi finished runner-up in the 2005 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship. In the 2004 Trans Tasman GT3 Cup he also finished runner up, this time behind multiple Bathurst and Australian touring car Champion Jim Richards.
• Halliday was also one of two New Zealanders to drive at the first A1 World Cup Grand Prix test day last week at Britain's Silverston circuit. “Obviously I am pleased to re-sign two drivers that we have worked with in the past which was a big part of the decision as both drivers have done a highly competent and professional job at these events before, that demand nothing less,” said team owner Mark Larkham. “At the same time I think it is a really nice blend of youth and experience.”

HONDA’S FMX MAN ‘MADDO’ MAKES HIS MARK OVERSEAS (AUG 10, 2005)

• Honda freestyle man Robbie’Maddo’ Maddison has been busy in recent weeks making his mark in the international arena through competitions that have seen the Kiama “King of the Coast” challenging the best in the world. Last month Robbie competed in the highest profile event of the year – the Red Bull X-fighters - where he was up against the twelve best freestyle riders bar none including Travis Pastrana, Nate Adams, Ronnie Renner, Kenny Bartram, Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg and many more.
• The event, which is held in the middle of the biggest bull arena in Madrid attracted a crowd of 27,000 people. This being his first international event, Maddo made it through qualifying to the finals to claim 6th place, an exceptional result for the young gun. Not long after, the 24 year old then went on to win the Valencia Burn FMX event, also in Spain, which saw him pitted against a red hot international field including Beau Bamberg, Japan’ s Eigo Sato and Spain’s' Jordi Torres. The Aussie rider pulled out three 75 foot combo flips in a mighty final run to take the gold. Maddo came second at the same event last year making the victory for 2005 even sweeter.
• After his overseas adventures, Robbie will return to Australia to defend his “King of the Coast” title to be held on October 1 -2 on the Gold Coast. “Thanks to everyone that has supported me and helped to me get to this level,” Robbie said. “I am having the year of my life and I couldn’t have done any of this without the support that Honda and all my other sponsors have given me.”

MITSUBISHI WINS AT RALLY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA (AUG 8, 2005)

• Mitsubishi Ralliart's Evolution VIII Lancer in Breakthrough Win at Rally of South Australia. The new-look Team Mitsubishi Ralliart and its driver combination of Scott Pedder and Glen Weston have won in the Globalstar Australian Rally Championship for the first time. Success came in the weekend’s Rally of South Australia, the fourth round of the drivers’ championship, in which Pedder and co-driver Weston took the team’s Evolution VIII Mitsubishi Lancer to victory ahead of the Toyota Corolla of Neal Bates and Coral Taylor and the Subaru Impreza of Cody Crocker and Dale Moscatt. Victory was especially sweet on Mitsubishi’s “home ground” in SA. The Dodo-sponsored Evo VIII is the first outright contender in GARC competition built by Team Mitsubishi Ralliart since it has been headed by Alan Heaphy, who last year oversaw the preparation of the all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Magna VR-Xs that won the Australia Cup.
• The Rally of SA outright victory was a breakthrough for both Pedder and Weston, although Pedder had previously won heats of the championship. The pair won the second heat of Rally SA by 8.4 seconds with a cluster of three cars – the Subaru of Juha Kangas and Julia Rabbett, the Toyota of Bates and Taylor, and the Subaru of Crocker and Moscatt – then within 1.3 seconds after 95.58km of competition in 10 stages.
• Saturday’s first heat had been taken by Bates and Taylor by just 0.4 seconds from Pedder and Weston after 105.4km, also in 10 stages. The results of the two heats gave the Mitsubishi Ralliart pair 36 points for the weekend and lifted them to second in the driver championships behind Crocker and Moscatt.
• Pedder, 29, of Melbourne, has shown great maturity in the past two events with a new focus on keeping the Lancer much straighter rather than sideways on the gravel. In SA he also had to battle against a stomach flu which hit him early in the week and saw him in Tanunda Hospital in the Barossa Valley for several hours on Tuesday night before the team’s pre-event test. He was restricted to a diet of toast and Vegemite most of the week and, while still far less than 100 per cent physically on the weekend, admitted that winning the rally made him feel “a lot better now”. “It’s an unexpected outcome, given how I have been feeling the past few days, but the car has been exceptional and the effort by the team has been very, very good,” Pedder said. He has grown into his role as a factory team driver after several years as a leading Mitsubishi privateer and his pairing with Weston has become a winner after just half a season together.
• Team principal Heaphy said the SA victory was a fitting reward for the drivers and the small Mitsubishi Ralliart crew, which fields only one factory entry in the championship on a much smaller budget than its rivals. “The car, the driver and the co-driver performed faultlessly in achieving this success,” Heaphy said. “We have always felt that the car had the potential to be a winner and it’s a great thrill to see it become that in a pretty short time. “Scott drove superbly this weekend too. He did not put a foot out of place. He was as professional as you could find any top-flight driver to be. “We ‘rocked the boat’ with second place in Tasmania a few weeks ago and now we’ve taken the next step. “It’s a tremendously satisfying result because motor sport is always very challenging - so many things can get in the way, can go wrong. “We’re extremely happy but now there will be pressure to repeat this win. “We want more success and we will work hard to get more. We’re not going to get complacent.”
• Close studies of television footage and stills photographs have played a big part in Pedder’s improvement in the past two events, and in SA he also drew added inspiration from the state’s Dakar Rally motorcycle hero Andy Caldecott, who joined Pedder for a ride in the Evo VIII ahead of the event. Pedder was hugely relieved, after heat wins at the 2003 Rally of Melbourne and the 2004 Forest Rally in Western Australia after Subaru driver Chris Atkinson was disqualified, to have finally won a GARC round.
• Crocker’s Subaru had won all the previous heats and rounds in WA, Queensland and Tasmania this season but was third and fourth in the two SA heats. Pedder had always felt the Evo VIII Lancer was a winner “and it all came together – the car and us – this weekend”. “As Alan Heaphy says, now we’ve had a taste of success we want more of it,” Pedder said. Co-driver Weston echoed that sentiment. “Hopefully we’ll be on the top step of the podium for the rest of the season,” the Brisbane endodontist (root canal specialist) said.
• Pedder is now second in the drivers’ championship on 102 points to Crocker’s 149. Crocker’s teammate, Dean Herridge, is third on 88, followed by Kangas on 72, Toyota’s Simon Evans on 70 and Bates on 63. Mitsubishi-supported Jack Monkhouse and his co-driver Rebecca Cochrane finished ninth and 12th in the two SA heats for ninth overall on the weekend in the Evolution VII Lancer that won two rounds of the 2003 championship.
• That result has seen Monkhouse drop from seventh to ninth in the championship on 30 points after his strong fifth places outright in Queensland and Tasmania. However, it was almost a miracle that he and the Evo VII made it to the SA event after the car was badly damaged when hit by a road train while being towed back to Adelaide from the Tasmanian round. “Considering what we’ve been through in the past month or so, we’re just happy to be inside the top 10 overall,” Monkhouse said. “We had some intercooler problems, which slowed us. “And some of the other local drivers were really fast this weekend – it was just so competitive. “The new suspension we were running this weekend is going to be very good for sorting out the handling of the car. “We are fairly confident that we’ll be back up around the top five.”

HONDA’S BROOKES TALKS SUZUKA (AUG 2, 2005)

• Honda Australia’s Josh Brookes has finished an impressive sixth place in the highly touted Suzuka Eight Hour endurance race held in Japan last weekend. Riding for Team Yoshiharu Yokkaichi on board a Honda CBR1000RR, Brookes and his team mate Yoshiyuki Sugai completed 197 laps of the nearly 6 kilometre long circuit.
• Josh described his ride as “a mega experience” despite the intense humidity and the thunderstorm that drenched the circuit in the third and fourth hours of the race. “I wasn’t real comfortable in the rain, and my team mate probably copped the worst of it rather than me, but the race was something else,” Brookes said. “It was quite different to riding two or three sprint races at home – the stints were long at about an hour each, and the humidity makes things very difficult.”
• “The heat was the worst thing – and it was worse in the lead-up to the event rather than actually during the race, because the rain at least cooled things down a bit. You’re just sweating profusely the whole time and after about five laps it really starts to take it out of you.” “The sweat just runs off your eyebrows down into your eyes. You can’t get enough breeze through your helmet to help and you get dehydrated so it’s easy to cramp up. I think to win here you’d need to prepare physically for six or eight months beforehand and be here for a fair while in Suzuka to acclimatise.”
• “I’m pleased with the result though. My lap times were quite consistent and very comparable with those of Sugai who has raced in this event plenty of times.” “To win a race like this, you have to push flat-out every lap even though it is an endurance event. Lots of guys were crashing but we were consistent and determined to make it to the end – which is almost a victory in itself.”
• “On the one hand you gain speed as the fuel load goes down, but your tyres are going off towards the end of the stint, so it counter-balances.” “It’s an unbelievable event and I’d love to do it again,” he said.
• Twenty two year old Brookes who hails from Bringelly in Sydney is now on his way back to Australia to resume his quest to win the Australian Superbike and Supersport championships after his first major overseas event. The remaining rounds of this year’s championships are at Winton, Victoria, on August 21, Queensland Raceway near Ipswich on September 18, and Phillip Island in Victoria on November 13.
• Brookes’ Joe Rocket Honda Racing teammate Adam Fergusson is the reigning
  champion in both categories. They are second and fourth in the superbike championship and first and second in the supersport championship, with Brookes ahead of Fergusson in
  both.