NEW TTA SERIES GETS UNDERWAY

YES IT’S A VOLVO

Looking for a bit of inspiration for that next Sports Sedan project? Then look no further than this wild looking Volvo S60 scheduled to compete in the new TTA, a sort of Scandinavian DTM. Volvo announced in August last year that they are going to switch to TTA – the Swedish Racing Elite League ahead of [...]

TALBOT’S NEW TRANS-AM

A welcome addition to the local Sports Sedan ranks is a new Trans-Am Corvette for Melbourne driver Chas Talbot. Built by US chassis builder Howe engineering, the car was originally built for a group of enthusiasts in the US, who ran into financial problems. Talbot purchased the car, which has never raced, from them and it now sits in his outer Melbourne workshop. Talbot says the Trans-Am machine has several practical advantages over a traditional Aussie style Sports Sedan. "The car is easier to work on, simpler suspension, the bodywork comes off easily, that's the main reason for the Corvette." he said. Safety is also an issue with Talbot convinced that the car will offer better protection than his previous Commodore. "The safety on the Trans-Am car is much greater because the diameter of the tubing is much bigger, there's much more room between the driver and the bars on the inside... if you hit something, the more space between you and the bars the better your chance of survival."

IPLVideocast Sandown VSCRC Rnd. 2

HOSSACK’S AUDI WINS CLEM SMITH CUP

Darren Hossack has won the 2010 Clem Smith Cup with a last to first drive, at South Australia'sMallala Motor Sport Park. After damaging his new set of tyres for the weekend during qualifying, Hossack was forced to start his Audi-Chevrolet from the rear of grid with four new tyres for the feature race. Undeterred, the former champion scythed through the field, taking advantage of a spin by rookie JamesSera (Saab-Chevrolet) to take the win. “Finally, it’s been one that’s been hard to win for some reason,” Hossack said. “It would have been interesting had James not spun, but he did a really good job regardless. Hossack won all three races for the weekend, although multiple karting champion Sera was very impressive during his circuit racing debut, finishing second overall.

RICCIARDELLO’S CUP BUT WALL TAKES THE ROUND

Western Australian driver Tony Ricciardello won the Clem Smith Cup for Sports Sedans in Round Four of the Shannons Nationals at Mallala Motor Sport Park in South Australia. Ricciardello took his six litre Chev powered Alfa Romeo to victory in the marquee race of the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series, the Clem Smith Cup. The win gave Ricciardello his second Clem Smith Cup, after he won the inaugural Cup in 2007. "We had some problems with the car early on, but after we got that sorted it was perfect, it didn’t miss a beat," Ricciardello said. "Winning the Clem Smith Cup again is an honour, big thanks go to Clem for his support of the race and Sports Sedans." Ricciardello and reigning champion Melbourne's Darren Hossack in an Audi A4/Chev continued their fierce rivalry, which spilt over as the pair clashed in Race One and Race Three. NSW driver Des Wall in a Trans-Am Corvette avoided the trouble to win the two races and the round; Ricciardello claimed a second and a ninth in the other two races, Hossack an 11th and a fifth. Queensland driver Bob McLoughlin in Commodore had a consistent weekend and was rewarded with an outright fourth place for the weekend. Tasmanian Bruce Banks in a Mazda RX7 was next just in front of Victoria's Michael Robinson in his Monaro (Pontiac GTO). It was a disappointing turn-out for the big Sports Sedans with only 13 cars fronting the starter for the first race on Sunday. Local drivers finished first and second in Round Two of the Shannons V8 Touring Car Series.

QUEENSLAND STATE SERIES SHINES

The Queensland Motor Racing Championships held at Morgan Park Raceway on April 25-26 were a massive success, due largely to the introduction of Saturday night championship races.  Organised by the Queensland Racing Drivers Association (QRDA), the meeting saw around 150 racers take to the track, traveling from as far away as New Zealand to compete.  As an added bonus for competitors, there was perfect weather for the event, especially for the Saturday night racing where a large crowd turned out to take in the festivities.  Chris Donnelly, president of the QRDA was once again impressed by the local facilities, volunteers and spectator numbers.  "The Warwick District Sporting Car Club has gone above all expectations in assisting with the set up for the night racing and lighting towers, the success of the meeting and the presentation of Morgan Park Raceway is a credit to Bill Campbell and his team," said Mr Donnelly.  "I hope that the people of Warwick realise what a valuable asset they have at Morgan Park, as once again the town filled up with competitors and teams from as far away as Darwin, Cairns and New Zealand.  "The racing itself was top notch, with the night racing a real test for the drivers, with several competitors actually going quicker in the night racing than they did during the day time qualifying sessions.  "We all look forward to returning for the remainder of the championship races in August and November."  Qualifying on Saturday kicked off after a lunchtime Anzac Day service hosted by the Warwick branch of the RSL, which was attended by all competitors and teams.  There were several surprise packets amongst the front runners in the 10 competing classes, including the Queensland Geminis.  Ryan Hansford, son of the late legend of two and four wheel motorsport Gregg Hansford, won his first ever championship race after only a handful of meetings in 2008.  In the Saloon Cars, newcomer Grant Gatland shook up the establishment with a strong podium run in his Falcon.  Gatland, formerly from South Africa where he raced in the VW Polo series, is a student of the Southern Queensland Institute of Tafe motorsport program, and has a big future ahead of him.  Other strong local performers included Warwick driver Jamie Furness in the HQ Holdens, who battled hard all weekend long with his Toowoomba based uncle Gary Bonwick, and Brisbane based Dion Cidoni for the podium places.  For more information on the Queensland Motor Racing Championships, visit the QRDA website atwww.qrda.asn.au.  Source: QRDA Media Release

WIN FREE TICKETS TO SANDOWN NATIONALS

The 2009 Australian Circuit Racing season rounds up with the Shannon's Nationals from Sandown on November 29-30 and YOU can be there! Thanks to the Shannons Nationals, In Pit Lane is offering five lucky viewers the chance to be our guest at Sandown for what looks like a huge weekend of motorsport variety. The main event sees the glamour and excitement of the final round of the Australian GT Championship as Lamborghini driver Mark Eddy faces off against the Aston Martin of John Kaias in the fight for this year's title. But they wont have it all on their own though as several top drivers return to the series for the grand final. Australian motorsport legend John Bowe will return to to track driving with Ted Huglin in a Lamborghini Gallardo and as a five time GT race winner Bowe will be hard to beat.

BIG DAY FOR NISSAN AT AUTOPOLIS SUPER-GT

The Nissan GT-R of Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer, won Kyushu 300, Round 8 of the Autobacs SUPER GT series at the Autopolis in Japan.  Starting from pole position lead driver Benoit Treluyer, made a great start to open up a significant lead. Co-driver Motoyama took over for the second half of the race and from then on was never threatened. The win was the team's third of the season but their first since way back in round two. They now lead the series outright with one round remaining.

MEGA MEGANE DEBUTS AT PARIS MOTORSHOW

The World Series by Renault's premier saloon car championship the Mégane Trophy has undergone a raft of radical modifications in readiness for the 2009 campaign. The most visible change concerns its new body design which takes its inspiration from the lines of the new Mégane Coupe revealed at the Paris Motorshow. Under the bonnet, a fresh look has also been taken at the Renault-Nissan Alliance's V6 3.5 24V powerplant which now delivers 360hp. At the same time, Renault Sport Technologies has carried over many of the acclaimed features of the current Mégane Trophy to produce a reliable, competitive and affordable racing car.