IT’S OFFICIAL: NISSSAN JOIN V8 SUPERCARS (now we can all get some sleep)

NISSAN TO JOIN V8 SUPERCARS

V8 Supercars Australia will tomorrow announce what it describes as an "historic moment in V8 Supercar history" According to a report on the Australian Auto Action facebook page, tomorrows announcement will see the return of Nissan to local top level racing. A report by AAA Editor at Large Mark Fogerty, claims that Kelly Brothers Racing will be the official works team, running up to four cars from 2013. The Brisbane Times Newspaper says that the deal has been brokered by former HRT boss John Crennan. The return of Nissan will revive memories of the company's domination of Group A racing when the all wheel drive Nissan Skyline outraged Aussie racefans with it's dominating performance. Although no car has been announced as yet the Nissan Altima has been suggested as the model to be raced. Rumours persist that another manufacturer, possibly Chrysler, may also join the series in a partnership with Garry Rogers Motorsport. The announcement has taken many by surprise but may well have been brought forward to assist in negotiations on television rights for 2013 and beyond. The planned media conference will be held Thursday February 9 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

FIRST CHOICE WAS RITTER SAYS ROGERS

V8 Supercar team owner Garry Rogers has admitted that local driver Greg Ritter had been his initial choice as mew team driver for 2012. Speaking at the Victorian Sports Sedan Awards dinner in Melbourne, Rogers said he would have liked Ritter behind the wheel but the need for immediate results moved him to select French driver Alex Premat instead. "My initial thought was to offer the drive to Greg Ritter who's done such a good job for us in the enduros" Rogers said. "But unfortunately he hasn't had a lot of regular racing over the year and commercial reality is that we need someone who can be competitive and ready to mix it with the top guys straight away." Rogers said that the deal to pick up Premat a former DTM regular and 2008 Le Mans Series winner came through his close contacts with German BMW tuning specialists Schnitzer. Rogers had been looking around for a driver to replace Lee (Holdsworth) and the possibility of having the experienced Frenchman drive for the team was simply too good to refuse. He said that the deal with Premat had been made almost two months ago but the team couldn't make any announcements due to some of the French drivers European commitments.

MELBOURNE TO FOCUS ON AUSSIE AFTERMARKET

A heightened commercial focus on Australia’s leading edge aftermarket performance, racing and tuning products will highlight an expanded 2012 Australian Automotive Week, to be held in Melbourne from 11 to 18 March. Supported by the Victorian Government, the 2012 Australian Automotive Week will include a new program to showcase Australian designed and manufactured high performance accessories, [...]

DALLARA’S NEW F3 CHALLENGER

Italian racing car manufacturer Dallara have unveiled their new Formula Three challenger for 2012. The new Dallara F312, currently on display at the Autosport Show in Birmingham, is the result of a fundamental rethinking of the aerodynamics and the key mechanical components. According to Dallara the F312 is a hugely important car charged with upholding the winning tradition of decades of world-wide Formula 3 competition. The Main New Features of the Car are:

DUBAI 24 SET TO ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK

All the transport containers have been placed in the paddock of the Dubai Autodrome, all the drivers and team members are flying in from all over the world: this week, the 2012 motor racing season officially gets underway with the seventh running of the Dunlop 24H DUBAI, No less than 20 car brands will be present on the grid for this year?s Dunlop 24H DUBAI, the first international endurance race of the year for GTs, touring cars and 24H specials.

REITER ROCKS WITH RAD CAMARO

International GT racing will see a spectacular and powerful package in 2012. The German company SARENI United is now offering the newly designed Camaro GT. The US car will make an impression on racing tracks all around the world with its 800 Nm from up to 650 HP. The power is transmitted to the rear tyres from a 7.9 litre eight-cylinder (V8) by a newly designed HOLINGER gear box. The HOLINGER speed shift system with paddle shifts on the steering wheel is extremely light, weighing only 37 kg, shifts gears very fast and is designed for high torque. The US engine developer KATECH received clear specifications: close-to-production, low cost, service performance of 10,000 km and maximum power. The car was developed under the direction of Reiter Engineering in Germany. Founder and owner Hans Reiter got the idea when he went to the USA in 2010. “I was immediately fascinated by the design. The Camaro is a real men’s car, a muscle car, it is designed to be on a race track”, says Hans Reiter who founded SARENI United especially for this project.

JUNCADELLA DELIGHTS IN MACAU

Spanish driver Daniel Juncadella has won the biggest event of his career so far with victory in the Macau F3 Grand Prix on Sunday. Juncadella was running fourth early in the race but a safety car restart on lap five, moved the young Spanish driver into position to challenge for the lead. He took the top place from pole-sitter Marco Wittmann after another safety car restart on lap 10. From there, Juncadella extended his advantage over second placed Felipe Nasr of Brazil, until a third and final safety car period on the penultimate lap guaranteed him the victory. “I didn’t really expect to win but this feeling is amazing,” said the Prema driver. “I still can’t believe it. On the last lap when we were behind the safety car, I have never cried that much in my life.” Wittmann, who had started from pole position and had built up a 2.7 seconds advantage before the second safety car period, dropped down to fifth at one stage after being overtaken at the restart – he recovered to finish third.

BRITISH DRIVERS DOWN UNDER PAY TRIBUTE TO DAN

British sportscar drivers Richard Westbrook and Oliver Gavin will pay tribute to countryman Dan Wheldon at this weekend’s Armor All Gold Coast 600. Wheldon tragically passed away following an IndyCar accident in Las Vegas last weekend. He was scheduled to race alongside James Courtney at the Surfers Paradise street circuit this weekend. Both Westbrook and Gavin are life long friends and rivals of their countryman Wheldon, with all three members of the exclusive British Racing Drivers Club. Westbrook and Gavin will unveil special visor stickers in memory of Wheldon in pit lane at the Surfers Paradise street circuit at 9.30am local Queensland time. All BRDC members present at this weekend’s event will carry the special visor stripe stickers as a tribute to Wheldon. They are Westbrook, Gavin, Andy Priaulx, Emanuele Pirro, Gil de Ferran, Marino Franchitti, Ryan Briscoe, Richard Lyons and Darren Turner. Westbrook will partner Todd Kelly in the #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore at the Armor All Gold Coast 600, while Gavin will drive alongside Greg Murphy in the #11 Pepsi Max Commodore. Source: Kelly Racing Media Release

VIRTUAL ADVERTISING CREATES REAL PROBLEMS FOR GRASS ROOTS MOTORSPORT

It not exactly new technology, in fact it's been around for years, but the Seven Network's use of "Virtual Signage" at Mount Panorama is a worrying situation for Australian Sport and one that the circuits and CAMS need to get a grip on quickly. Viewers of last weekends "Great Race" were treated to a number of CGI created virtual bridges and signs across the famous circuit, mostly for major V8 supercar sponsors Telstra and Norton, a company that has made billions protecting people from the inadequacies of Mr Gate's Windows operating system. The problem with virtual signage is that while these signs pump dollars into the host broadcaster and perhaps even V8 Supercars Australia, do the circuits see any of this money? You see real signage, of the old fashioned type, was a substantial earner for circuits and sporting venues, this money, could, in theory, be used by these circuits to improve facilities for spectators and competitors across the board, not just at the elite level.