AUSSIE ICONS BACK IN PIT LANE

Classic Car Specialists Brooklands Classic Cars and iconic Australian Sports and Racing Car manufacturer Elfin have joined forces to bring C31's popular live motorsport tonight show In Pit Lane back to Melbourne's TV screens. The new series of In Pit Lane will commence 9.30pm Tuesday night September 7th, live from the studios of RMITV in the heart of Grand Prix City, Melbourne. Special guest will be popular V8 Supercar star Jason Bright driver of the Trading Post Commodore for Brad Jones Racing. Paul Sabine of Brooklands Classic Cars said that the sponsorship of In Pit Lane was a great choice for the company. “In Pit Lane has developed to be an icon in Australian motor sport and Brooklands Classic Cars are delighted to assist in fostering IPL’s ongoing success." he said. Mr Sabine said that Brooklands had been catering to car enthusiasts and owners of interesting and sporting cars for many years and clients could rely on that experience when searching for that special car. "The sort of hard core enthusiast and classic car lover that buys our cars and uses our services are the very same people who regularly tune into In Pit Lane." he said. In Pit Lane host Brett Ramsey said he was delighted to be able to continue with the show which is now in it's 15th straight year of production. The show finished it's last season in May and looked set to disappear forever due to a lack of sponsorship. Now thanks to Brooklands Classic Cars and Elfin, the show returns for a new 13 week series to cover a busy three months of local and international motorsport.

LARGE FIELDS SEE ALMS PITSTOP CHANGE

Big fields at this weekend's American Le Mans Series round at the famous Mosport circuit in Canada have forced series organisers to make changes to pit stop procedures. The large grid of 30 cars will mean a realigned pitlane operation for the race. During yellow-flag caution periods the pit entrance will be closed immediately, as is standard practice. Once the Safety Car has the overall leader and field in tow, IMSA officials will open the pits with LMP and LMPC cars only allowed to pit on the first lap. On the next lap, all GT and GTC cars may pit. For subsequent laps, any car may come in to pit lane.

V8 SUPERCARS ANNOUNCE NEW SANDOWN DEAL

V8 Supercars Australia will today announce a new long term deal with Melbourne's Sandown Motor Raceway. The new contract will see the popular Melbourne circuit make several major changes to the pit area plus some on-track work to meet the demands of the V8 circus. Work has already begun and the first stage should be completed by the time of the Historic SandownReturn of the Thunder meeting in November. That meeting as well as the V8's and the Horse Racing Sandown Cup will form a major festival for the circuit in November. The announcement will be made today (August 24) at a media conference at 11.00am Melbourne time to be attended by V8 Supercar boss Martin Whitaker, Sandown track manager Wade Calderwood, and racing legends Allan Moffatt and Dick Johnson. More News this afternoon.

AASA ANNOUNCE NEW PRODUCTION CAR ENDURANCE SERIES

Forget Australia's fractured political scene, the factions of the Labor Party have nothing on the continued battle for the control of Production Car Racing in Australia. The latest shot in the war is a brand new series for 2010 the Australian Endurance Championship for Production cars. Four of Australia's major race circuits have put an agreement in place to conduct the series which will be run under the auspices of the  Australia Auto Sport Alliance (AASA). The four tracks are: Eastern Creek Raceway in NSW, Phillip Island International Race circuit and Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria and Queensland Raceway. The new series which will conduct 4 x 6 hour races, will also produce the title of Australian 24 Hour Endurance Production Car Champion, based on the results of all four events.

IRC BARUM CZECH RALLY ZLIN ACTION THIS WEEKEND

With four events of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season remaining, the battle for the title is tightly poised as the series heads to Czech Republic next week for the 40th running of the all-asphalt Barum Czech Rally Zlin. Juho Hanninen tops the drivers' standings after eight rounds but his lead over Skoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecky has been trimmed to just seven points. And Kopecky, a recognised asphalt specialist and the winner in Zlin last season, knows victory on his home event would erode Hanninen's advantage still further after he outscored the Finn on the last IRC round in Madeira. Kopecky is relishing the opportunity of competing in front of the Czech spectators, who traditionally flock to the event in huge number. However, he is the first to admit the rally is one of the most difficult on the IRC calendar due to the proliferation of high-speed blasts through forests and woodland, sections of broken Tarmac and the bumpy nature of some of the roads. Considered daunting by some drivers, the rally demands huge commitment and extremely accurate pacenotes. A mainstay of the IRC since its inception in 2007, the event gets underway with a superspecial stage through the streets of host city Zlin on Friday 27 August. Run at night, the course is effectively three laps of the city's central area and crosses over a railway line. Crews are released from the start in regular intervals, which means there will be approximately seven cars on the concrete wall-lined course at any one time.

FORCE INDIA AND AEROLAB THE GLOVES ARE OFF

The dispute between Formula One team Force India and wind tunnel operator Aerolab is getting even more ugly after a result in the High Court in London. The Queen’s Bench Division in the High Court of Justice has issued an order compelling Force India to pay 1,074,730 euros, plus damages and interest at the rate of 8%, to Aerolab. The order is the first firm result in the dispute between the two companies over unpaid fees for services rendered by Aerolab to Force India. But the main controversy over the dispute could come at the Italian GP at Monza. It is expected that Aerolab’s Director, Mr Jean Claude Migeot, could be charged pursuant to a criminal complaint filed in Bologna by Force India. In a media release issued this morning Aerolab said that "It appears that Force India’s strategy will be to try and force Aerolab into a settlement that the company has no intention of accepting.

KELLY BROTHERS GET WOOD

Victorian driver Dale Wood will complete the Jack Daniel’s Racing line-up for the upcoming V8 Supercar endurance events at Phillip Island and Bathurst. Wood has been a part of Kelly Racing right from the initial launch of the team in March last year, competing in the first five events of the 2009 season in the [...]

DTM-SUPERGT REGS MERGER FRAUGHT WITH RISKS

Two of the world's top GT and Touring Car series look set to join under common rules for 2012. And the US based Grand-Am series may join them. Regulations for the popular Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and the Japanese based Super GT series are set to merge opening up the possibility of an exchange of cars and drivers for the future. The new regulations were announced earlier this year and feature: - Common carbon monocoque with roll cage - A standard wheelbase of 2850 mm - Common front and rear overhang - Common front spoiler and rear diffuser - V8 engine of yet to be announced size - Limited number of engines during season - Introduction of "design line" where on one side all cars are common The main aim of the new regulations is a 51% cost reduction in costs, but it's the last item on the list that is concerning the purists most.

MONSTER ATTACKS THE PEAK (Turn it up LOUD!)

TOYOTA CHOSEN AS BTCC PROTOTYPE

Toyota looks set to return to International Touring Car competition with the decision to make the Toyota Avensis the test and development car for the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations for the British Touring Car Championships. Toyota UK’s Head of PR, Scott Brownlee, said the company was delighted to have contributed towards the development of the BTCC’s future with the Avensis. “To be able to support the premier British motor sport series with the Avensis was a great opportunity for Toyota to help an ‘old friend’." he said. "The BTCC is a series we greatly respect and have enjoyed a long and successful involvement with in the past. Whilst we’ve made no commitment to re-enter the championship with a works team at this time, we will be following the prototype build with great interest and look forward to seeing the car perform on its debut at Brands Hatch in October.”