picture courtesy of Mark Horsburgh

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) confirmed V8 Supercar driver Ashley Cooper passed away in Royal Adelaide hospital today.

Cooper, 27, of Ulladulla in NSW, died following a crash in last Saturday's Fujitsu development series race at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

An experienced motor racing competitor, Cooper was critically injured when his vehicle impacted with a safety barrier at the exit of a corner at speeds of more than 200kph.

A spokeswoman from Royal Adelaide Hospital said Mr Cooper had died about 1pm surrounded by family members.

Cooper was quickly attended to trackside by the event's senior medical personnel and subsequently transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by ambulance.

CAMS President, Colin Osborne, said that Cooper's passing was something that would be felt by the entire Australian motor sport community.

"Firstly our thoughts and sympathies go to Ashley's family and friends, particularly his wife Casey and two children and parents Alan and Maree," said Osborne.

"It is always a very sad day when any member of the motor sport community is taken from us.

"The motor racing community involves a close knit group of competitors and officials and I know that everyone will be feeling the loss of Ashley.

"CAMS will conduct its own full independent investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the incident.

"In the mean time, CAMS and event officials are working with the relevant civil authorities to assist with their investigations."

CAMS chief executive Graham Fountain said the family had been offered counselling and support services.

V8 Supercars Australia chief executive Wayne Cattach is due to hold a press conference on the Gold Coast.

CAMS will provide further details on Cooper's funeral arrangements when they become available.

Media statement on Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Ashley Cooper : -

Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Ashley Cooper was critically injured after an accident at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.

Cooper’s vehicle left the racing line on lap 11 of the second and final race of the weekend and impacted a safety barrier on the left hand side. He was attended to trackside by the Chief Medical Officer of the event Dr Roger Capps and V8 Supercars Australia medical officer Dr Carl Lee.

Cooper was immediately transported to Royal Adelaide Hospital by ambulance. His father Alan and mother Marie (spelling not certain) mother were in attendance at the hospital. V8 Supercar chaplain Garry Coleman was with members of the family.

His injuries are believed to be severe internal injuries and severe head trauma. He is undergoing continued treatment at the Royal Adelaide hospital.

As a group we will do absolutely everything we can to support them at this time.

We ask that all members of the media respect the privacy of the family and do not contact them at this time.

We will advise the media of any change to this situation as it becomes known.

Regardless of the outcome of this unfortunate incident a full and thorough inquiry into the accident will be conducted and led by CAMS.

A statement was issued on Friday night confirming that an agreement had been reached between Champ Car chiefs and the IRL.

The short statement said: "Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Friday that will unify the sport for 2008.

"Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in principle in Chicago, joining his partner Kevin Kalkhoven and Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George who had signed late Thursday in Indianapolis.

"Details of a press conference about the agreement will be forthcoming."

There has been no confirmation of the final teams that will take part and therefore the status of the seats of Will Power and Ryan Briscoe. Though both are expected to retain their drives. Of the two Power is likely to end up worse off, as his team will need to switch to the IRL car and therefore will be strarting from scratch.

image courtesy of WilliamsF1

Barcelona Test Livery

Revealing the fifth in a series of six anniversarial racing liveries today at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, two Williams FW30s will take to the track carrying the handwritten best wishes of the team’s seven World Champion drivers.

Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all sent the team personal congratulations as it embarks on its fourth decade of Formula One and at the Italian Grand Prix later this year, will record its 500th Grand Prix start.

With comments as suitably Australian as “I was the first� from Alan Jones to Nigel Mansell’s “Fabulous 28 wins, Red Five�, the livery is a celebration of some of the most evocative and talented names to have graced the sport in the past thirty years.

The 1982 World Champion, Keke Rosberg, for his part commented, “Thanks….for 4 great years� and Alain Prost, Williams’ 1993 Champion added, “Many thanks to all the team – I was proud to win my last World Championship with you.� The team’s most recent title winners, Damon Hill (1996) and Jacques Villeneuve (1997) said in turn “Thanks Frank� and “Thanks for 3 amazing years and the Championship.�

In addition to the good wishes from the seven World Champions, the thirty one drivers who have raced for the team in nearly as many years will grace the monocoque top, including names such as Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, Carlos Reutemann and Clay Regazzoni to current racers including Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Coulthard.

Marcos Ambose was forced to retire from the season opener, after shredding his right rear tyre on lap 78. On returning to the race his car began dropping sheet metal and he retired. The race was won by Tony Stewart in his Toyota.

Conducted and provided by the Australian Grand Prix press office.

Q. I read some stuff in relation to your driving style suiting the new regulations without traction control and the engine brake, is it true; how are you finding the loss of these systems?

Mark Webber: Yeah, it's certainly more challenging for the driver, there's more work for us to do. I think most of the guys at this level are reasonably handy so it would be very foolish to say that one has got an advantage because of the new regulations but some people have a few opinions out there that it's going to benefit other drivers more than others and we'll see once we get into the race weekend as such.

I mean, to see how people adapt to different venues and we don't have much time when we go to Grand Prix tracks, we've got to get into it pretty quick and when qualifying comes around we've really got to step up to the plate and deliver.

We'll see who is capable of doing that and, you know, testing is reasonably straightforward for most guys because you just drive around the same sort of tracks but when we go to different, more challenging circuits with different conditions then it's something I'm very excited about to see how we go with these new regulations.

There's going to be a few more mistakes, guys are going to have a few more .... but it's certainly interesting, it's a bit of a talking point with the drivers and we'll see how we go in the Grands Prix. Until we've done it it's very hard to say how it's going to feel.

Q. Do you think it will have an effect on the actual racing, obviously you're not going to be sliding around like back in the day but will there be more opportunities to overtake or will it affect the racing in any way for the spectators?

MW: Yeah, I think there will be a little bit more of an opportunity to create pressures, yeah, because there could be some slight errors, very subtle errors, so probably not to the uneducated eye probably won't see them, but to the educated and to obviously fellow drivers around the track there could be some little mistakes which could create more pressure and opportunities to make overtaking a little bit more viable.

There's the usual suspects in terms of the teams in the pecking order, I think, but in terms of the actual racing I think it can only sort of help that little bit, yeah.

Q. Red Bull came out with a radical engine cover last week. While it wasn't the day that you went fastest, do you think you guys are willing to step out of the box to try and bridge that gap or does it need to be a little bit more conservative to try and stick in that mid pack and improve?

MW: Adrian has never really been conservative in his whole life in terms of designing cars so we're trying to - I mean, the engine cover looks very, very different but in terms of actually the effects of the car are very subtle in terms of the aerodynamic tuning device that we're trying to play with and we know what it does to the car in certain situations on the track but we're just trying to work out, it's always a compromise in our industry of where you want the car to be, not strong or weak but in terms of just how you set the car up for different venues.

That particular thing you're talking about is the engine cover so we've been, I'd say, not too adventurous on the sort of the weight saving, all those sort of things have been done very well without a huge amount of risk involved because we need to obviously prove that we can design a reliable car.

So if you come from an aerodynamic point of view to design and conceptually do something totally extreme and off the wall obviously the risks are incredibly high, you could end up really towards the back of the grid very, very quickly if it doesn't work and you don't have much time to recover if you're in the shit so in a way, yes, we do have to sort of tiptoe our way from last year's car and that's the great benefit that Ferrari and McLaren have obviously is tremendous continuity from a very good baseline of cars in the past.

So tricky sort of position to be in and how aggressive we be but Adrian has never really been that conservative. With all that taken into account, what does it mean? It means that Adrian is being as aggressive as he can be within reason, without being ridiculous.

Q. You know Fernando quite well, last year's situation, do you think that showed a weakness in his armour and conversely do you think being back in the Renault fold will actually help bring him back up to the fold this year?

MW: The second part, unquestionably he's going to be in a happier environment so he should perform better and the first part I think all great sportsmen and women do have chinks and we've seen that last year Fernando was disappointed with the way things were, I suppose, operating within the team that he was in.

Now whether that's him getting flustered, whether that's him being fairly ripped off or what, not many people know really the ins and outs of it all but his team mate was performing very well and Fernando wanted to - he normally, like most drivers, like to be in a position that they can still control, hard enough with his race and everyone else let alone having to have your team mate all over you like a rash and normally have him covered but he didn't have that luxury last year and that was something that was probably frustrating for him.

Incredibly driven and competitive and, as I say, most of the guys - you don't last long at this level unless you are so you've got to be, he'll be back very strong next year and don't forget the guy that he beat for two world championships before he even launched the .... was pretty handy so I think he's got pretty thick skin, Fernando, so he should be all right.

Q. What about Lewis this year, obviously now the weight of a great nation is on his shoulders do you reckon he'll be able to hack it?

MW: Yes, he will. I think whether McLaren can produce a car that was as fast as last year in relation to Ferrari remains to the seen. Great team and Heikki looks like he's doing well in testing as well so he'd be more balanced .... this year and that could help Lewis again in terms of not having to worry about some of the internal stuff but also it's his second year and inevitably there's a bit more pressure on.

Q. Bernie obviously has ruffled a few feathers. Should the national government, I guess, be stepping in to ensure the survival of the Albert Park event?

MW: Well, it is a national event. I mean, it is held in Victoria and Melbourne but obviously it's something which the whole of Australia can be proud of. I mean, the amount of people switching on to watch that first Grand Prix of the year, we're so lucky to have the first Grand Prix, it's such a coup that we've actually got that and there's other countries obviously fighting like hell to hold an F1 Grand Prix.

It would be nice if we can find a way to continue to hold the event there. As I say, it's been a tremendous event for us for several decades now in South Australia and in Victoria and it would be brilliant for generations to come to be able to see not just the F1 cars - obviously that's the main event - but in terms of all other things that go on there as an event it's a fantastic weekend out.

Yes, it's expensive, yes, it's all those sort of things, but like you say maybe there's a way we can find that nationally it's an event that we should continue, and sporting event and an event that we should continue to be proud of.

Q. With testing, I guess there is so many variables. How much attention do you pay to other teams and how do you measure your performances?

MW: Yeah, I mean we look at the long run times basically which means any teams that are doing a run over sort of 15 laps or more in one stint then we obviously can get an idea of what sort of fuel loads they're running and then we get an idea of what the weight of the car is.

We have guys analysing and dissecting every inch of the track, it's our industry but, yes, we've got an idea of who is where and the lap times that everyone gets at the end of the day are not a real true reflection of the lap times that people are doing consistently.

Q. Obviously Ferrari and McLaren are leading the way. Can the gap to them be closed this year, do you think?

MW: It's going to be a tough ride for the teams - I mean, BMW are looking very keen to do that; obviously they shut development down very early for the last year's car to focus on this year's one because they were comfortably third in the constructors' and were in a position to do that and they've bought a car out which doesn't seem to be on the level they would have hoped for.

Yes, they've improved it in the last few weeks but it's, I don't think, anywhere really near in a position to challenge a Ferrari or McLaren yet so that's the team that I think a lot of people expected to be able to launch into them but it hasn't happened. And once you're in season, I mean, to design bigger bullets it's very hard to out develop those sort of teams unless you start with a total lemon from somewhere but you're not going to get near it.

Q. Reliability, obviously, was the sticking point last year. How has that been so far in testing and have you been doing race simulations and how have they gone?

MW: The reliability has been really encouraging for us, especially from the Red Bull for the Milton Keynes side, we've had a few Renault issues which have stopped us on track but as far as gearbox and a lot of the Achilles Heels that we had last year, a lot of that equipment has been pulled down very well at the end of each night so we're very encouraged by how those components are running at this early stage and all things being equal we should have at least the most reliable car that we've had for a long time coming into the season, which is good.

Q. The FIA has plans to introduce a cap on team spending, as I understand it. Is there any way in the world this could happen and if they do manage to get it through what effect do you think it will have on the competition?

MW: Well, I think it's way off yet. Obviously I know Max has given some vibes out that it's not far away but for the sport to have ceilings put on different areas of the team financially would be quite a challenge, in my personal opinion, to be able to sort of control how that would happen. Would it help the racing, or how would it affect the sport? God only knows.

I mean, I don't know mate, I really don't know what it would do for the sport. Obviously the clever guys will still be competitive and the guys who aren't quite as clever would be still sitting just away from that but obviously, having said that, funding does make a big difference to the performance.

I know Ferrari have just come out and said, I think, they've got an extra 100 million Euro this year and they're in good shape so it's nice to be in that position if you could be, yeah

"The reliability has been really encouraging for us, especially from the Red Bull for the Milton Keynes side," Webber told a news conference in Australia. "We've had a few Renault issues which have stopped us on track but as far as gearbox and a lot of the Achilles Heels that we had last year. "A lot of that equipment has been pulled down very well at the end of each night so we're very encouraged by how those components are running at this early stage and all things being equal we should have at least the most reliable car that we've had for a long time coming into the season, which is good." "It's going to be a tough ride for the teams," added Webber. "I mean, BMW are looking very keen to do that (fight Ferrari and McLaren). "Obviously they shut development down very early for the last year's car to focus on this year's one because they were comfortably third in the constructors' and were in a position to do that and they've bought a car out which doesn't seem to be on the level they would have hoped for. "Yes, they've improved it in the last few weeks but I don't think they really in a position to challenge a Ferrari or McLaren yet so that's the team that I think a lot of people expected to be able to launch into them but it hasn't happened."

WPS/WOW Racing team owner Craig Gore has announced that his team has withdrawn from the V8 Supercar Championship Series because of personal business and health commitments. The Gold Coast-based businessman has sold his two Team Licence Agreements to undisclosed parties with the blessing of the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia (TEGA) and the team’s cars and equipment are to be sold separately. Gore will remain involved in V8 Supercars, with his financial services group Wright Patton Shakespeare continuing as naming-rights sponsor of the WPS Chrysler V8 Supercar Safety Car program for the next five years. Gore also remains committed to his Team Australia motorsport program and driver Will Power in the Champ Car World Series in the United States, where Team Australia is backed by Gore’s Australian wine export company Aussie Vineyards and its Au brand. Gore also has significant involvement in the Gold Coast Indy 300 event each October as an event sponsor. Gore has sighted two clear reasons for his decision to withdraw his V8 Supercar team from competition – his increasing commitment to the continued growth of his businesses, especially the financial services group Wright Patton Shakespeare, as well as his own health. Gore suffered an inner-ear injury in his helicopter in October 2007 and while he continues to recover well from that injury and the subsequent operation, the 41-year-old still needs to avoid the constant loud noises of an environment such as a race track. “It’s been an exciting journey and I would like to think that we did it our own way at WPS Racing over the past four seasons,� said Gore. “Operating a successful team in this sport is an enormous challenge. When we started this team back in 2004 I underestimated the time required to run a team that could win races on a consistent basis. “With my business interests absorbing more and more of my time and my doctor continually in my one good ear telling me how important it is to look after myself, I just cannot dedicate the time and effort required to mould our operation into a race-winning V8 Supercar team. It is my belief that if you are not in this game to win races, then you shouldn’t be around. “The sport of V8 Supercar racing is an extraordinary sport and I will continue to be passionate about its growth and success. Wright Patton Shakespeare will continue as the naming rights sponsor of the WPS Chrysler Safety Car program. “I am proud of what we achieved in a short amount of time and believe there have only been a couple of other organisations who have managed to build their brand as successfully as we have through our V8 Supercar involvement. “I was also pleased that we could give so many young drivers a chance to experience what it is like to drive a V8 Supercar. “I have to thank the core group of people that have been involved with our team over the past four seasons. Their loyalty and dedication have inspired me and I am truly grateful for their efforts and friendship. “We have also been involved with some tremendous corporate partners over our four years including everyone at WOW Sight and Sound and Chrysler who have enjoyed going racing the WPS way. “Our fan group has also grown from year to year and has been tremendously committed and a lot of fun to have around. “Both our drivers (Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna) are contracted, but the terms and conditions of those agreements are confidential and will be worked through accordingly.� Gore said he had negotiated with several parties to purchase his licences, but a deal could not be reached until today. “Negotiations dragged out longer than I wanted, hence the late announcement of our withdrawal,� said Gore. Gore is currently working on other plans that involve the grassroots of Australian motorsport to play a supporting role to his Team Australia program.

After a fantastic third in Monte Carlo, Chris Atkinson (pictured during the Rally of Sweeden) has been bought back to earth with a thud. A spin on stage 3 of the Rally of Sweden saw the Australian drop 15 minutes.

"We had a spin, but I wasn't entirely sure why," said Atkinson. "We'll have to look at some data. I was actually driving quite cautiously, not pushing too hard, and I just lost it. My mistake, I guess, but we're going to have to look at it."

It is unlikely he will be able to score points from here, but will still compete in the rest of the Rally.

He was joined by some very good company when World Champion Sebastien Loeb rolled his Citroen. Loeb subsequently withdrew from the remainder of the day, and under super rally rules will rejoin with w 20 minute penalty tomorrow.

"I just touched the snow bank and it threw the car really sideways," Loeb told reporters at the end of the stage. "It dug in and rolled once. We have no clutch now, and it's not so good. But we will try to reach the service."

Image courtesy of SWRT.com

IRL Boss Tony George has told Speed TV in the US, that the merger between the Indy Racing League and Champ Car is now closer than ever. "It's as close as it's ever been," he told SpeedTV. "We don't know if we can get across the goal line, but nobody is giving up yet." If it goes ahead the merger will occur in time for this season. The current main stumbling block is the clash of dates between the IRL race in Japan at Motegi and the Champ Car race at Long Beach. As Long Beach is a street circuit it is not possible to move that event and the talks now hinge on Honda, who own Motegi, agreeing to move their race. Under rules agreed between the two series, the current Champ Car chassis supplied by Penoz would not be able to run. This would needless to say give the IRL teams a huge advantage in this years series. Overall the merger can only be good for open wheel racing in the US and hopefully therefore increase interest in F1 enough to draw the series back.

Rallycorp has confirmed that the previously announced calendar for 2008, has now been changed.

Where the original calendar had a 2 month gap, the new calendar has moved the previously season opening Rally Queensland to Round 3 on 21-22 June 2008.

The full amended calendar is below

Rd 1 QUIT Forest Rally 5-6 April

Rd 2 Rally of Canberra 10-11 May

Rd 3 Coates Rally Queensland 21-22 June

Rd 4 Toyota Rally SA 26-27 July

Rd 5 Great Lakes Rally 20-21 September

Rd 6 NGK Rally of Melbourne 18-19 October

 

image courtesy Joel Strickland

New onwership structure for DJR Release Date: 07/02/2008 The future for Australia's longest-established V8 Supercar team, Dick Johnson Racing, has been secured. Melbourne-based businessman Charlie Schwerkolt has bought into the iconic-Queensland team, establishing a new business structure with founder & former racer Dick Johnson. "The partnership with Charlie has secured the future for Dick Johnson Racing and I am delighted," a relieved Johnson announced today. "Despite fantastic support and assistance from our sponsor, Jim Beam, it's no secret that as a business we have been struggling financially for some time thanks to the failure of past sponsorships programs among other things. "Charlie's intervention has given us the business and financial security to ensure the long-term future of Dick Johnson Racing and to return us to the very top of V8 Supercar racing." Nicknamed Australia's 'Forklift King', Charlie Schwerkolt owns and operates three of the country's largest forklift sales and rental businesses, Waverley Forklifts (Melbourne), National Equipment (Sydney) and Queensland Forklifts. He's a long-time friend of Johnson's and no stranger to the sport, as the forklift supplier for the construction of the Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne) and Gold Coast Indy Grand Prix circuits. Until now, his only direct V8 Supercar involvement was Gibson Freight's forklift loading of cars onto racks for the annual off-shore Bahrain and New Zealand events, and the supply of Manitou forklifts for recovery work at V8 Supercar events. "To be honest, this (his new partnership with Dick Johnson) is a complete surprise … I was trying to help Dick because of the predicament he was in but I had always said I didn't want to get involved beyond that," Charlie Schwerkolt admitted. "As it has turned out, the opportunity presented itself to become an owner on a very sound and viable business basis, otherwise I wouldn't have done it." Schwerkolt will bring his demonstrable business skills and experience to the running of Dick Johnson Racing as a business, leaving Dick and (team manager) Adrian Burgess to concentrate on track performance. In announcing the new partnership, Dick Johnson was also quick to thank No Limit Group's CEO John Marshall and his senior management team for their solid business acumen and John's very enthusiastic interest in a similar partnership with Dick Johnson Racing. "John has been fantastic … we spent the last few months working through a potential partnership, and a sound business model to go forward, and they were really supportive throughout. "In weighing up my options I have taken what I see as a long-term solution for the entire business. I need to acknowledge John, though, for everything he's done and I hope we get the chance to do some business again in the future."

The Age has reported that Supercar boss Tony Cochrane has forecast a reduction in the number of cars in the V8 championship.

Cochrane believes the regular season fields should be cut by up to six cars.

But he says more vehicles could be added to the grid for the two endurance races, at Bathurst and Phillip Island.

"I think the time has come for us to once again seriously review trying to maintain 32 cars," Cochrane said.

"I don't know the magic number but I think probably 26, 28 cars should be in the main game.

"Then what we should do is have a system for the enduros where we can add the top six or top eight or top 10 development series cars and give them a financial incentive to be involved in those two events."

He said he had no preference for team composition.

"I don't mind how it's made up.

"From my personal point of view I don't care whether it's 14 two-car teams or whether it's 28 on-car teams.

"I have no issue with single car teams, I think some of them do a very good job."

However Cochrane believes teams should be limited to no more than four cars.

"I don't actually have a problem with somebody owning four cars, to be honest," he said.

"I wouldn't want any more than that - six or eight cars in 32 cars and you're starting to monopolise the business.

"The board may have a different opinion. I know some team owners have a very different opinion to me on that, some are like me, they really wouldn't mind."

The issue will be discussed at the Supercar board meeting in Adelaide on February 20.

Cochrane's position within the organisation is also likely to be clarified then.

There was speculation last year that Cochrane's job as chairman was under threat.

He was last month re-appointed as interim chairman until this month's meeting in Adelaide as the organisation has plans to streamline its structure, combining two bodies running the sport into one.

"We didn't want to make a permanent appointment - it doesn't matter who it was ... because we'll have a brand new structure in place by February 20," Cochrane said.

He said he would stand for the position of chairman of the new organisation but added: "I would doubt that I'd want to take it on for more than two or three years."

Victorian Premier John Brumby has suggested that, as seems likely, Melbourne does not hold on the Grand Prix it will likely head overseas. This comes despite Sydney expressing interest at the right price. Brumby however said that the licence fee keeps increasing and a number of overseas countries in the wing are more than happy to pay more in some cases a lot more. He also noted venues such as Russia would better suit European Tv times. Brumby also made it clear there will not a night race in Melbourne, a point Bernie Ecclestone has said is vital to the state keeping the race.

Team Australia Champ Car driver Will Power has been awarded the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award at the CAMS Australian Motorsport Awards in Melbourne. Power, who is still in the United States preparing for this season's Champ Car World Series, sent messages of thanks to the dinner, stating: "It is such an honour to receive this award with Sir Jack Brabham's name on it. The Board of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) selected Will Power to be the recipient of the Award in recognition of his year in the Champ Car World Series with Team Australia, in which he won two races and took five pole positions and finished fourth in the championship. His first win in Las Vegas was the first by an Australian driver in the series. Craig Gore, who co-owns Team Australia with Derrick Walker said: "Will has come a long way as a driver this year, worked very hard and deserves a lot of credit for what he has achieved," said Gore.

Ryan Briscoe will replace NASCAR-bound Sam Hornish Jr at Penske Racing next year, the team have confirmed. The Australian had been tipped to fill the slot left by the 2006 champion earlier this year, after racing with Penske in the American Le Mans Series, and his impressive performance in the Indianapolis 500. The 26-year-old last raced in the series full-time in 2005, where his season with Chip Ganassi Racing was cut short by a big accident at Chicagoland.

image courtesy of williamsf1 Mark Webber has topped the times at the Barcelona testing, including both McLaren race drivers. In a sign that Red Bull will likely take a step forward this year, Webber posted a time 1:22.385 whilst running 65 laps. The time follows Red Bull introducing a new radical engine cover shaped like a fin. In large part this is believed to be an attempt to get back mid corner grip levels lost with traction control. His times suggests it is a step in the right direction. In a further sign Webber is perhaps at at the right team, Williams have been forced to abandon the test following structural problems with their front ring. This is believed to have a played a part in the crash of Kazuki Nakajima on the first day of testing at the first corner. Autosport.com report Sam Michael as telling them "We had some issues with the wing, which we could not resolve during this test at short notice," Michael told autosport.com. "We have decided to return to the factory, so we can put in place a solid solution for the Jerez test in a week's time." Williams had however been showing good pace with the FW30 in earlier testing.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has again cast doubt over the future of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. From his comments Ecclestone is making it clear not only would Melbourne lose the race but it seems it would not stay in Australia. "In Melbourne, if we were to continue to be there, we would have to have a night race," he told Australian newspaper the Sunday Telegraph. "That would be the only option." Although Ecclestone is a close friend of Australian Grand Prix promoter Ron Walker, it has not stopped him suggesting that F1 could turn its back on the country that has hosted a race since 1985 - hinting that the event could be saved with government support. "Maybe we don't want to be in Australia," he said. "Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It's bloody bad for us. "We've got quite a few places on the list that would like to have Formula One and, as it seems your guy (Victorian Premier John Brumby) down there doesn't want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy." He added: "It comes down to, is it bad for Melbourne to spend the money they spend and is it good for us to be there because the amount of money we get from Melbourne is less than most of the places in Europe where we can more or less be there in an hour?"

BMW Sauber have decided to take on board two test drivers for the 2008 season, with former Formula One driver Christian Klien appointed the team's test and reserve driver, while Marko Asmer has joined as their second junior test driver. Klien raced for Jaguar Racing and then Red Bull Racing in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, and joins BMW after a year at Honda as their test driver.

Chris Atkinson has driven his Subaru into third place at the season opening Monaco Rally.

With a contract extension signed late last year, Chris is under pressure this year to deliver on Subaru's faith. Whilst known to be fast, and with many fastest stages under his belt, he is also sadly known for his offs. In fact he currently has the highest crashes to starts in WRC history.

Clearly Subaru feel that given time he will reduce the offs and then the wins will start coming.

Certainly in Monaco he drove a great race and was under constant pressure on the final day to hold his position.

Lets hope he can build on the start and who knows join Casey Stoner as a World Champion.

Image courtesy of swrt.com

The V8 Supercar Championship Series will field a full grid of 32 cars in 2008 following the release of the first entry list of the year for the blockbuster Clipsal 500 in Adelaide next month. There will be 31 cars on the grid at Adelaide with a 32nd expected to join them shortly into the season once a licencing arrangement has been formally agreed for the as yet un-named team. 2007 Fujitsu Champion Tony D’Alberto steps up with Rod Nash Racing, Michael Caruso with the Valvoline Cummins Race Team and Kayne Scott with Team Kiwi Racing. The most notable movements are 2007 V8 Supercar Champion Garth Tander to the Holden Racing Team, Russell Ingall defecting back to Holden with Supercheap Auto Racing and Todd Kelly joining Jack Daniel’s Racing team from HRT. Young Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen assumes Ingall’s drive at Stone Brothers Racing while Cameron McConville has replaced the retired Brad Jones at Team BOC which has switched camps to Holden. Paul Dumbrell assumes Tander’s position at the HSV Dealer Team under the Autobarn Racing Team banner and Marcus Marshall gets the second drive with Irwin Racing from the Britek stable, replacing Allan Gurr. Youngster Andrew Thompson has also won a drive with PWR Racing which has retained one of its two licences from last year to be on the Clipsal 500 grid.

Autosport have reported that two-time champion Fernando Alonso reckons the Renault team are currently nearly a second behind rivals McLaren or Ferrari. "At the moment, we need to close the gap to the top teams, McLaren and Ferrari, because we are a little bit too far behind them," Alonso told reporters during the launch of the new Renault in Paris. "At the moment, there is not any possibility to fight for podiums or wins, or things like that, so that is the first priority of this winter tests and the first race. ...The French squad, world champions with Alonso in 2005 and 2006, endured a dismal season last year, finishing on the podium just once on their way to a distant third place in the standings. ..."The team is very focused on changing this and they work very hard on this new car to sort out the problems they had last year, and I am here to help and to give my experience to them. ...It won't be easy because all the other teams improve as well, and if Renault were one second behind last year we need to recover that. ...We need to work longer than the others, but that is not possible because there is one month to the first race and we cannot work longer than the others. ...Alonso left Renault at the end of 2006 but returned to the French team after just one season at McLaren.

Welcome to what we hope is an exciting new podcast, focusing on the Australian Motor racing Scene. Previously known as Formulagpguys the show has changed to cover more than just the world of FORMULA ONE. The show still has its hosts Shaun Garrity and Ryan Schembri, who now can let the world know their thoughts on the world of V8 super cars, Aussie's racing around the world and of course the world of FORMULA ONE and Mark Webber in particular. We welcome feedback from our listeners either here, at our site www.ozracingwrap.com on Skype (username formulagpguys) or at our new facebook group ozracingwrap. Thanks to our hosts libsyn for the bandwith and we hope you enjoy sharing season 2008 with us. Cheers Shaun and Ryan

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