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AUSSIE POWER TAKES EDMONTON INDY

Monday, July 27, 2009

Australian driver Will Power has recorded his first IndyCar Series victory with a win in the Indycar Grand Prix of Edmonton in Canada. Starting from pole Power won the 95-lap race from Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and New Zealand driver Scott Dixon. Power's fellow Australian, Ryan Briscoe was fourth ahead of Dario Franchitti and local fan favourite Paul Tracy. "It caps a perfect weekend," Power said. The race was headed for the first without a caution in IndyCar Series history until Tomas Scheckter's No. 23 MonaVie car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing made contact with the concrete barrier in Turn 10 of the 1.973-mile, 14-turn circuit. The previous low was one yellow flag for two laps at Infineon Raceway last August. A scary situation developed during what was supposed to be a routine Lap 34 pit stop when the fueling hose remained open after the stop, splashing 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol onto the side of the car and on driver Tony Kanaan. The fuel ignited, with Kanaan scrambling to extricate himself from the car as Team Penske and Panther Racing crew members doused the car to retard the flames. Kanaan suffered burns on his thumbs and face and will be re-evaluated by Indy Racing League medical personnel this week. Graham Rahal finished seventh, Justin Wilson was eighth and Robert Doornbos tied his season high with a ninth-place finish. Marco Andretti, who started 18th, finished 10th. Dixon now leads the series as the teams head back to the oval at Kentucky Speedway on August 1. with Indycar Media

PENSKE POWERS SATURN ?

Saturday, May 9, 2009

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Roger Penske has always been ambitious in his business pursuits and this week it has been announced that 'The Captain' is set purchase all of Saturn. However after being told that he could not legally purchase the hydrogen filled luminous body, he decided to simply to turn his attention to the defunct GM brand of the same name. General Motors is in the midst of a fire sale, yes thats right, all the big brands, Saab, Hummer, Pontiac and more, have all got to go! As the automotive giant remains on a $15.4billion government subsidised life support system, its restructure has meant bargains are to be had!. Considering their dire financial situation, the announcement made last week of GM's brand restructure, surprised noone. The move will see GM offload several brands in a move to focus their attention to their 'core four', Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. Saturn is one of the brands that didn't make the cut. Saturn Corporation was established in 1985 to combat the success of Japanese imports in the small car market. First dubbed as 'The different kind of car company', it was always the poor cousin to GM's more premier brands such as Chevrolet and Cadillac. Like much of the US Automotive industry, Saturn suffered heavily from mismanagement and the imports it was designed to compete with, eventually accounted for its demise. Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse has revealed that several bids for the company have been made, however they wouldn't be revealing any of the interested parties until early June. A cautious Tony Porson, spokesman for Penske Automotive Group has stated they are considering the Saturn purchase, “It's very premature to assume anything will be done. I can confirm to you that we are looking at it”. Roger Penske has achieved virtually everything in the automotive world, however resurrecting a car company may be too much even for 'The Captain'. Saying that, Roger Penske's motorsport interests are as vast as they are succesful, with teams running in IndyCar, NASCAR and ALMS. His stint into Formula One in the mid 70's recorded a victory and he has more Indy 500 than any other team owner. Off the track the Penske Empire also includes the world's second largest automotive dealer network, Penske Automotive, representing over 250 franchises. If anyone can do what General Motors couldn't, It'd be Roger Penske to do it.

AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT MOURNS LOSS OF GRAHAM WATSON

Thursday, April 16, 2009

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AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT MOURNS LOSS OF GRAHAM WATSON

Team owner, driver patron and former CAMS Gold Star winning driver Graham Watson has passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Watson who won the Australian Drivers Championship in 1986 was a prominent supporter of openwheel racing in Australia actively supporting several young drivers in their local careers. Most recently he had thrown his support behind young NSW driver Tom Tweedie in this years Australian F3 championship. Despite his illness Watson was alongside Tweedie at the opening round of the season on the streets of Adelaide. Watson was an integral part of the local openwheel scene, his roster of drivers reading like a who's who of local and international motorsport. Current Indy Racing League stars Scott Dixon and Will Power both drove for Watson in the early stages of their careers as did current F1 star Mark Webber, Le Mans endurance driver David Brabham, Brazilian Roberto Moreno and V8 Supercars star Craig Lowndes. The Australian Formula Three Association said that the loss of Watson was a huge blow to the community that surrounds the Gold Star championship, and will be felt around Australian Motorsport in general - such was his influence on so many drivers, teams and people working throughout the industry. The Association have announced plans to honour Watson at the next round of the championship to be held at Wakefield Park in conjunction with the Shannons Nationals on April 24 – 26. In Pit Lane passes on its sincere condolences to the family and many friends of a great friend of Australasian motorsport.

INDY OUT, A1GP IN

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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The A1GP is to replace the Indy Cars on the Cold Coast. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced this morning that a compromise could not be reached with the Indy Racing League bringing an end to the history of a major US racing category on the circuit. Ms Bligh rather pointedly said the the new series would feature the faster A1GP cars instead of Indy cars as well as V8 supercars. "I am sure the A1GP will be a terrific attraction for both `revheads' and new fans to the world of motorsport," Ms Bligh said. The State Government has been negotiating with the owners of the Indy Racing League over scheduling clashes but refused to move the racing carnival to March at the request of the US-based league. An in-principle agreement with the European A1GP has been drawn up and the deal will be finalised within a week.

A1GP READY TO FILL THE GOLD COAST BEACH…UH, BREACH

Sunday, October 26, 2008

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The A1GP series has approached organisers of the Gold Coast Indy car race expressing an interest in replacing the Indy cars should they decide not to return next year. Speaking to the local newspaper “The Sunday Mail”, former World Formula One Champion and A1GP team franchise holder Alan Jones said that the self proclaimed World Cup of Motorsport was eager to fill the breach should the American based Indy series pull out. “I have made no secret of the fact that we would love to take their place,“ said Jones. “Our cars lap three to four seconds quicker than the IRL cars going around the Gold Coast this weekend, We have 25 countries competing,... and many of the countries are in the preferred trading area for Australia – Asia and the Middle East.“ Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has said that an International Openwheel event was crucial to the events future but few International series of any note have shown interest in the Australian market with the exception of A1GP.

MARTIN LEADS THE WAY ON THE STREETS OF SURFERS

Friday, October 24, 2008

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MARTIN LEADS THE WAY ON THE STREETS OF SURFERS

Australian International John Martin continued his domination of the local F3 field with a second race win on the streets of Surfers Paradise. Martin, fresh back from a year in the tough British F3 series and Australia's lead driver in the A1GP showed the gulf between himself and the local competition with a comfortable lights to flag victory on the narrow street circuit in his Dallara F307 Mercedes Benz. “I nailed the start – yesterday I didn’t want to stall so I didn’t get a good getaway but today was much better and I was able to establish a good buffer in the opening lap,” said Martin. Second was the Team BRM Dallara of new Australian Champion James Winslow. The Englishman again showed himself to be the class of the local series regulars but he had no answer for Martin.