LOWNDES & WHINCUP COME HOME TO HOLDEN

It's official. The Triple Eight team of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes will race a Holden in 2010. Speculation had been growing that the British owned team would switch to the General Motors marque after Triple Eight was dropped from official Ford support earlier this year. In a press conference held at Holden's Port Melbourne headquarters this morning, the announcement was made that the championship team would be making the switch to Fords for 2010, Holden Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Alan Batey  said that “Holden has a long and proud history in motorsport that stretches back over 40 years and today's’s announcement is an exciting step into the next chapter.” “Our commitment and passion for motorsport has not wavered. Today we are making a clear statement on how much we value this sport which is also a very smart, responsible sponsorship decision.... click headline for more.

I CAN FEEL PR SPIN COMING ON

  V8 Supercars Australia (VESA) have been unable to attract manufacturer support for their safety car programme due to their insistence on the carrying of alcohol sponsorship. Nissan Australia withdrew their support for the safety car programme after the company's Nissan GTR was adorned with logos from Queensland beer brand XXXX Gold. It was only six months into a two-year contract. An approach to HSV to use their W427 Supercar was also refused again due to the beer sponsorship issue. The new safety car unveiled at Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway is a Holden Commodore supplied by suspension and car repair company Pedders. In what is clearly a public relations move to try and stave off criticism of the Beer sponsorship, the car will carry road safety messages and feature in XXXX Gold's new ‘Know When to Slow Down’ campaign. A V8SA statement said Pedders will support the “generic” Safety and Course cars “before a further announcement in the coming weeks regarding a unique concept for the XXXX Gold Pedders Safety Car Program”. XXXX Gold has taped a 30-second television advertisement with V8 drivers Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander, Mark Winterbottom and Greg Murphy. According to XXXX GOLD Category Director, Andrew Coates, said that “Know When To Slow Down not only works from a V8 Supercar and Safety Car perspective, but it’s a great fit for a mid-strength product.” He said that the campaign echoes the brand’s mateship values and is consistent with the company's V8 Mates promotional theme. Mr Coates said the Safety Car and TV commercial will allow XXXX Gold to spread the really important message about slowing down, taking responsibility and making sensible decisions. Meanwhile after two weeks of internal turmoil, VESA have finally had some good news to report with the announcement the the taxpayers of the Northern Territory will continue to support VESA's mid Winter flight from the cold for another nine years. V8 Supercar supremo and colourful Broadway impresario Tony Cochrane told a delighted media that their annual Baramundi fishing expedition will continue. “It’s no secret that Darwin... is a favourite amongst our drivers, teams and our staff,” he said. “Year after year we can’t wait to get back to the special feeling of the Top End and this particular weekend. Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson said that the event was loved by Territorians and visitors alike. “The V8 Supercars weekend has become a great celebration of our Territory lifestyle – starting with the truck convoy through the city on Thursday and ending with great music on Sunday night – this year with the Presets,” he said. Mr Henderson claimed that the race injects more than $8 million into the local economy.  

HOLDEN: V8 SUPERCAR PROTEST WILL BE HEARD

The protest by Holden teams against the controversial front splitter mountings on the all conquering Team Vodafone Falcons will now be heard.   The Confederation of Australian Motorsport's V8 Supercar National Court of Appeal, has upheld an appeal lodged by Walkinshaw Performance and will now allow an official protest.   The appeal was lodged against the decision by Stewards at the Symmons Plains round on 29 May, not hear the protest regarding the legality of the Team Vodafone splitter mount and the decisions and conduct of the V8 Supercar Category Technical Director, Campbell Little.   In a statement released yesterday (June 9 2009) the Court of Appeal ruled that:   1. That the Appeal be allowed; 2. The time limit for lodging of the Protest by Walkinshaw Performance, dated 22 May 2009, be extended to 22 May 2009; 3. Direct that CAMS reconvene, for the purpose of Hearing the Protest by Walkinshaw Performance alone, the Stewards of the Meeting held on the 1-3 May 2009 at Winton Motor Raceway, or appoint other Stewards as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Rule A10.1.3.14; 4. That the Appeal Fee be refunded to the Appellant; 5. Direct that the Protest Fee be reinstated; 6. Direct that CAMS give notice of this decision to Triple Eight Race Engineering Pty Ltd and inform that person that they have a right to be heard at the Hearing; 7. Direct that the Stewards conduct the Hearing promptly; 8. Liberty to the parties and Triple Eight Race Engineering Pty Ltd to apply for further orders if necessary. The V8 Supercar National Court of Appeal said that it will give its full decision regarding this matter in writing within 14 days.   The controversy over the splitter mounting has led to the resignation of V8 Supercars Technical Director Campbell Little. In a statement issued last Monday Little said that  he had arrived at the decision in recent weeks.

LOWNDES ON TOP AS TANDER HITS OUT

It was no surprise that a Triple 8 Falcon crossed the line first in today's V8 Supercar championship race at Winton, what was surprising is that it wasn't Jamie Whincup. Craig Lowndes drove a superb tactical race to lead home his team-mate as Fords took the top three places. In the debut race for the new soft option tyres Lowndes and his team picked the perfect strategy, starting on the normal control tyre before switching to the new option tyre late in the race. The move allowed Lowndes to move from fifth though to the lead late in the race as Whincup who switched tyres on the opening lap of the race struggled for grip. "We spent about one and a half or two hours last night trying to figure out what the best strategy would be because no one knew." Lowndes said after the race. Third place went to Ford Performance Racing driver Steven Richards who also chose to switch to the option tyre late in the race and it nearly paid off as he just missed out on second place. Rick Kelly was the first Holden home in fourth place. Kelly started on the option tyre before switching to the control tyre late in the race. Despite missing the podium he was relatively happy with his race. "... when you finish fourth it’s always extremely frustrating because you're so close to getting a podium and it would have been fantastic to get the first ever podium for Kelly Racing here today. he said.  “Not to worry - we should be happy with the job we've done and we’ll do our very best to make sure we're in the top 10 again tomorrow."

VAUXHALL OUT, WILL HOLDEN BE NEXT?

General Motors British division Vauxhall have announced their decision to withdraw from the British Touring Car Championship for 2010. The company said that its decision to leave the championship was 'influenced by the absence of other manufacturer-backed teams and financial prudence in the current global economic downturn. "BTCC boss Australian Alan Gow said the he was not surprised by the decision and he was confident that the series would continue to be strong even without the factory presesnce.   "Given the (widely reported) extremely difficult financial position in which GM finds itself, it's inevitable that the company must make some drastic cutbacks in nearly all areas of its operations - and motor sport is certainly not immune, as we have witnessed in all major forms of our sport over the last 12 months. he said. Gow thanked the company for its support of the series and said he was confident of continued success even without manufacturer support.   "...it is important to remember that over the last six years we have seen direct manufacturer involvement decline within the BTCC - yet at the exact same time we have seen crowd figures rise, TV audiences rise, TV airtime rise, competitor numbers rise and the championship being as closely fought as ever. That's certainly no coincidence and the facts prove, over these last few years, that a heavy degree of manufacturer involvement is no longer crucial to either the success or popularity of the championship."   The decision of Vauxhall to leave the series follows Spainish manufacturer SEAT who left after last year's series. SEAT continue to field cars in the World Touring Car Championship as doead GM through it's Chevrolet Europe division with the new Cruze.

ALL NOT WELL AS HAMILTON GEARS UP FOR V8 STREET FEST

  The glitter of New Zealand's racing jewel, this week's V8 Supercar race through the streets of the City of Hamilton has tarnished with ticket sales well down and local opposition to the event growing. With only a few days remaining till the thunder of the big five litre V8s hits the streets, race organisers have admitted that this years race is still a long way from being a sellout. With a raceday capacity of 50'000 event promoter Dean Calvert told the Waikato Times newspaper that an average of 35,000 daily tickets, or 70 per cent, of the total had been sold. They were a mix of general admission, grandstand and corporate hospitality tickets. Capacity for each day is 50,000. Mr Calvert told the paper that despite this he was happy with the way the event was going. "Selling out the event, as was the case last year, was not a priority" Mr Calvert said. "Ticket sales are only a part of the bigger picture. Our priority this year is the quality of experience that the fans get." Local businesses are also bitterly divided on the perceived benefit of the race to the region.

TANDER FASTEST IN PRE-SEASON V8 TESTING

Holden driver Garth Tander has set the early pace for in pre-season testing for the 2009 Australian V8 Supercar championship at Victoria's Winton Raceway. Tander in the Walkinshaw Performance Commodore edged out the Garry Rogers Motorsport pair of Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso also in Commodores. Fastest of the Fords in the early going was Mark Winterbottom in the new Ford Performance Racing FG Falcon. The test was delayed by over 30 minutes after a big crash involving Commodore driver Macus Zukanovic. Zukanavic's car left the track at turn 11 and made heavy contact with the wall, he was extracted from the car by the safety team and taken to hospital with unspecified but aapparently non-life threatening injuries. More Updates later in the day.

HOLDEN BOSS CALLS FOR V8 SUPERCAR DIVERSITY

Holden Managing Director Mark Reuss has questioned the long term future of V8 Supercar racing in Australia if it continues with just two brands. Speaking at the Melbourne International Motorshow Reuss told In Pit Lane that the series needed to expand both it's makes and models to survive. "the first weekend I spent here (in Australia) was at the Clipsal 500 which is  a great race and a lot of fun" he said. "it's a great sport but, I think the sport needs more, and I think that having (just) two brands in a race is something... I've been around a lot of racing in the United States where you have two brands and eventually people lose interest in that." Mr Reuss said that the sport needed different cars and different makes to survive.

KELLY BROTHERS GET THE JACK

V8 Supercar brothers Todd and Rick Kelly have unveiled their new Jack Daniel’s Holden Commodores the new Kelly Racing headquarters in the Melbourne suburb of Braeside. Todd Kelly will drive the #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore while brother Rick will have the familiar #15 on the side of his Jack Daniel’s Holden. Both cars will make their race debuts at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 19-22. A common team and naming rights sponsor means that the Kelly brothers will not only have a major presence on track all season, but will also combine to form one of the strongest driver pairings for the annual endurance events at Phillip Island and Bathurst. Rick Kelly, who won the V8 Supercar Championship in 2006, believes that 2009 will be a “new beginning” for everyone involved with Kelly Racing. “The support we have had from Jack Daniel’s as we have gone through the tough months of establishing our own team has been incredible,” said Rick. “This is obviously an exciting year for our entire family because we have the responsibility of our own team, Todd and I get to race together as team-mates in V8 Supercar and we have all that to share with Jack Daniel’s and everyone associated with the brand. “Todd and I will be racing each other as hard as ever, but from now on I guess we will be a little happier if the other one manages a big result.” The partnering of Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly in 2009 provides the opportunity to further reinforce the ‘Pace Yourself. Drink Responsibility’ message, which is the core element of the Jack Daniel’s Racing Platform said Jack Daniel’s Australia Managing Director, Michael McShane. “The ability to have high profile sportsmen Todd and Rick Kelly, to assist in promoting the importance of drinking responsibly is critically important and we are thrilled to be able to reinforce this message thorough our association with Kelly Racing,” said McShane.

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