Around the tracks 8 October 2010

AUSTRALIAN Will Power slammed his Penske car into the wall at Homestead, Florida, in the final IndyCar race of the season at the weekend handing a record-tying third championship to Scotsman Dario Franchitti. Power held a 12-point lead before the race, but limped into 25th with broken rear suspension allowing the defending champion to claim the crown with an eighth place finish and a five-point title margin. "We definitely weren't quick enough," a disappointed Power said. "The championship's won over 17 races not in one. Power won five races in the season and with four races to go was 59 points in front of Franchitti. "This has been the best season of my career in motorsport, and I've learned so much. We'll be coming back to win this thing next year," he said. In the final race, the Queenslander dropped down the order, but clawed back to fourth before hitting the wall in a passing move with less than 70 laps to go. Franchitti started his Ganassi car on pole and led for most of the 200-lap race but was shuffled down the order late in the event by New Zealand teammate Scott Dixon who won from Danica Patrick and Brazilian Tony Kanaan.

TOP V8 Supercar teams have started revealing their driver pairing strategies for the Gold Coast, 600 on October 22-24. TeamVodafone, Jim Beam Racing and Orrcon Steel FPR will have the same strategy of pairing their highest points driver with their regular partner and pairing the guest international driver with the other driver. That means World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will drive with Craig Lowndes, IndyCar Series leader Will Power will pair with Steve Richards and current IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti with Steve Johnson. Jamie Whincup stays with Steve Owen, Mark Winterbottom with Luke Youlden and championship leader James Courtney will share with regular co-driver Warren Luff.

ELECTRICAL problems played havoc with Marcos Ambrose's NASCAR Camry at Kansas Speedway at the weekend, dropping him down 10 laps and into 34th place. He started the race from the rear of the field, after an engine change in Friday's practice. Despite the setbacks, Ambrose is confident of a strong finish to the year. "It's been a tough year, but the races on the run to the end of the season are ones that I like," he said. Greg Biffle drove his Ford to victory at Kansas ahead of title leader Jimmie Johnson in his Chevrolet. Johnson is hoping for his fifth straight title but leads by just eight points from Den ny Hamlin in a Toyota.

PRODUCTION car endurance racing will return to Australian circuits next year. The new Australian Endurance Championship will run under AASA regulations and will include cars not previously eligible under CAMS rules. Each race is a day/night six-hour enduro starting at Calder in April. The 4.216km road/oval circuit was last used for the 1987 500km World Touring Car Championship. Organisers say there are five manufacturers interested in competing in the low-cost series. Other rounds are at Winton in June, Queensland Raceway in August and Wakefield in October. All rounds will be conducted over three days, with qualifying and a top 10 shoot-out on the Saturday.

FOUR-time Australian Rally Champion Neal Bates will drive a Chevrolet Corvette in the Bathurst 12 Hour in February. He is the first competitor to officially enter. Australian GT Championship driver Paul Freestone will partner Bates in the Hayden Pullen team. Bates is no stranger to the mountain while Pullen has driven there in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. The 7000cc Corvette will be entered in Class C for cars in Australian GT Production class potentially tackling vehicles such as the R35 Nissan GT-R, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Porsche's 996 GT3.

AFTER protests from groups of Tweed Valley residents and greenies, Rally Australia, Australia's round of the FIA World Rally Championship, has been shifted to Coffs Harbour from next year. Coffs Coast has hosted stages of the International Southern Cross Rally in the 1960s and 1970s and a round of the Australian Rally Championship. The date of the event is yet to be finalised, but it was originally planned for September.

FRENCHMAN Sebastien Loeb clinched a record-extending seventh consecutive World Rally Championship title with his 60th career win and his sixth for Citroen this season in France at the weekend. Loeb established a 40-second lead in the first half of the rally before easing his pace and driving carefully to protect his advantage. The rally ended in Loeb's home town of Haguenau. "To win the title here is the best thing that could happen this year," he said.

AUSTRALIAN David Brabham has claimed his second second consecutive American Le Mans Series title at the weekend with a class win and fourth overall in the annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the US. He shared the drive with Frenchman Simon Pagenaud and Scotsman Marino Franchitti. Brabham will race in this weekend's Bathurst 1000 with Alex Davison in an Irwin Racing Ford Falcon. The Petit Le Mans was won by the Peugeot 908 of Stephane Sarrazin/Franck Montagny/Pedro Lamy ahead of the Peugeot 908 of Anthony Davidson/Marc Gene/Alex Wurz with the Audi R15 of Allan McNish/Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen in third. the Audi was leading until Capello's balaclava slipped over his eyes, briefly blinding him.

VICTORIAN Luke Ellery had mixed fortunes in his first USF2000 race at Road Atlanta, Georgia, at the weekend. The 21-year-old qualified second in the first race and passed pole sitter and current Championship leader Sage Karam only to be forced out on the first lap with an overheating engine. He started in seventh for the second race and stormed to an unexpected third in the 19-lap season finale, winning the Hard Charger award. Karam won the final race and the title with nine wins from 12 races. The series is part of the Road to Indy and MazdaSpeed Motorsports driver development program. Ellery hopes to return next year.

QUEENSLANDER Tony Quinn is hoping for better luck than last year when he heads to Bathurst this weekend for the penultimate round of the Australian GT Championship which is one of the support categories for the V8 Supercar Bathurst 1000 endurance race. Quinn will again campaign his Aston Martin DBRS9 in which he set a GT lap record of 2:10.0277 last year, finishing 11th and second. His main competition will come from current champion and points leader David Wall in a Porsche GT3 Cup S. Other exotic sports cars competing include Peter Hackett's Lamborghini Gallardo, Dean Grant's Mosler MT900 and Greg Crick's Dodge Viper. The all-Porsche GT Challenge division is being led by Shane Smollen with a one-point gap from Michael Loccisano.

NINE Australian Champions were decided at the Australian Junior Motocross Championship at Lake Macquarie last weekend. Victorian Dylan Long won the 100-150cc two-stroke 15 years class; Luke Clout, of NSW won every race in the 150cc 14-16 years class; Queenslander Hunter Lawrence took out the 9-12 years 150cc; Scott Mann, Queensdland, the 85cc two-stroke 14-16 years; Wilson Todd, Queensland, 65cc 11-13 years; and Rhys Budd, NSW, 65cc 7-9 years winner. Female class winners were Meghan Rutledge, NSW, and Courtney Duncan of New Zealand.