Race track

It takes just two days for Mark Webber to go from nearly-a-winner in the 2010 Formula One world championship to a dominant winner in the Spanish Grand Prix. He slaps his rivals through qualifying at Catalunya and then drives away from them on Sunday afternoon."It was my day today. It was a special victory. The first one is good but this one is right up there with it," says Webber.  Those two days of work also instal Webber as one of the favourites for this year's world title, as he and Sebastian Vettel share a Red Bull racer that is now clearly the fastest car in the field and unlikely to be threatened through 2010.Two days at home last week also brings a staggering contrast between two new cars: the latest Mazda2 and the new Volkswagen Polo.  I am impressed by Mazda's decision to price the new Two from $16,990 driveaway, even if the cosmetic and mechanical changes for 2010 are pretty minor. The car always drove well enough and the update is good for the class, although not a sharp as the Ford Fiesta and not as quiet overall as I had hoped.The new Mazda2 also picks up a sedan for the family, which could give a showroom edge.  Then I drive the Polo - and realise the rules have changed.  The new Volkswagen baby is a mini-Golf and clearly the best in the class, even ahead of my previous personal favourite, the Fiesta. It's even priced well, with a $16,690 bottom line for the basic three-door car.What makes the Polo so good is a quality feel, solid driving dynamics, and the sort of safety - six airbags, anti-skid brakes and ESP - which should be standard in every new car today.  Carsguide readers continue to question Volkswagen quality, and the spate of engine failures in the Golf is a big worry, but when it has cars as good as the new Polo it should be strong for the long haul.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

V8 Supercars has issued a statement saying that next year's event is subject to requested upgrades, while track lessee John Tetley said yesterday he had not yet received a list of upgrades.  Crowd figures of 37,926 over the three days of the event last weekend are the second lowest on record in the past 11 years.The track's future as a V8 Supercars event may also be subject to a Confederation of Australian Motorsport safety investigation after a Mini crashed into the crowd last Saturday.  CAMS communications and marketing manager Jonathan Cooper said the investigation was "still ongoing".  "It will take as long as needs to complete and decide any outcomes," he said.V8 Supercars operations manager Shane Howard said Queensland Raceway would have "12 months' breathing space to get the circuit up to meet all the (requested upgrades) and if that won't be achieved we won't be returning".  However, he said there was no question about the track's safety."It meets all the safety standards and it's licensed by CAMS; it's CAMS responsibility to control circuit safety," he said.  Tetley said he had received no feedback from V8 Supercars on the future of the event since last weekend and the main issues of disagreement had not been resolved.He said the main issue was that they needed a five-year agreement, rather than an annual arrangement before they could commit to major track upgrades.  "We are only a tennant and can't commit funding for upgrades to an event with an annual tenure," he said.However, he said the track would be re-surfaced later this year.  While Queensland Raceway management had organised previous V8 rounds, V8 Supercars Events took over the running of this year's event in a one-off deal.Tetley said V8 Supercars was much better to work with as a customer than as a supplier.  "Tony (V8 Chairman Tony Cochrane) probably won't like that one but honestly, they couldn't have been better," he said."We would be more than happy to work with them again, no question at all."  Tetley said another of the sticking points had been V8 Supercars accepting the cost of any damage to the circuit by the super-sticky soft tyres used during the round.  "But we had a look at it on Sunday after the race and there is no damage at all," he said.

Four-time Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes says more money should be spent on keeping and improving permanent circuits.  His comments come in the wake of Sydney's Oran Park closing this year and Perth's Barbagallo Circuit missing out on a V8 round because of poor track facilities.Ipswich also nearly missed out on a round for the same reasons until local and state governments brokered a one-off deal for this year, pending improvements in the track and facilities for next year.  Lowndes said circuits such as Queensland Raceway could become international-standard tracks with the injection of much-needed funds."If money was spent lengthening and improving the Ipswich circuit it could host an international event like World Superbikes," he said.  "We'd also end up with a better permanent facility that could also be used for driver training."Lowndes said it was vital that the Ipswich track remain part of the V8 Supercars round.  "I'd like to see money spent first on better facilities for the fans, but I also think it needs money to improve the track," he said.  Lowndes would like the track lengthened and a motocross circuit added."About eight months ago I was part of a group that looked at improvements to the track and we found we could also integrate a motocross track which would be good because they're closing down all over.  "We need more tracks ... not fewer."Queensland Raceway lessee John Tetley said he had not yet had discussions with V8 Supercars about the future of the event.  "I give it a 50/50 chance of surviving," he said.

First, there is the weather forecast which says there could be a bit of rain. That will throw a big question mark into team strategies.  There's also a big cloud hanging over the future of the event at the Ipswich circuit.  At the start of the year it was ruled out because of a lack of facilities, then it was back on again, at least for this year, with V8 Supercars running the event and bringing in a lot of temporary facilities like a big grandstand.In the short term, I have to say that it is vital that we continue to come here for the sake of the Queensland-based teams that use it as their test circuit.  But in the long term, the circuit must be upgraded in facilities for the fans such as better shade, seating and catering.It's not the most technical track to drive, but at least it gives the spectators a view of the whole circuit.  As a race driver, I would like to see the circuit resurfaced and lengthened, preferably with more than just two left-hand corners.It would be nice to see them extend it at turn two and go straight ahead out over the embankment and then rejoin the track about the middle of the existing back straight.  It's a very basic circuit and there are really only two or maybe three places you can overtake.I'd be open to any ideas to lengthen the circuit and make it more interesting.  Race drivers love tracks with character, altitude change and corners that are difficult to drive. At the moment there is not much character at Queensland Raceway.Having said that, I've had some great results there and I'll never forget charging back through the field from stone last in 2008. But I've had some bad results there, too.  My ambition this weekend is to be on the podium as it's our test track and our back yard.We have the local knowledge and know the track and what the weather will do.  Although, it's being held earlier this year and will be hotter, so I imagine most drivers will be in cool suits.Our soft tyre and pit strategy will be crucial this weekend.  When you come out of pit straight you rejoin just into turn one so if you can get good track position even on cold tyres you can be confident of maintaining that position right down to turn three. By then the tyres might be warm enough to defend your position.My endurance round partner this year is Mark Skaife and he will get a chance to drive the car in Friday practice. However, he won't be partnering me at the Gold Coast like I had hoped.It hasn't been worked out yet but Andy Priaulx could be driving with either me or my teammate Jamie.  If Jamie drives with him, I'll be driving with Jamie's enduro co-driver Steve Owen, not Skaifey.We've scored well with Priaulx. He may not be as big a name in Australia as some of the other international stars who are coming, but he knows touring cars.  He's the European Touring Car champion, a three-time World Touring Car champion and he will be coming fresh from Bathurst where he is racing with another team so he will have good car knowledge.Scott Dixon, Will Power and Dario Franchitti may have raced at the Gold Coast before, but a lot of their track knowledge will be negated by the fact that the track is being shortened this year.  There has been a lot of talk in the past week about the Melbourne Storm and the salary cap rort.Some say that we will one day have a salary cap to keep a lid on costs.  However, a large part of the cost in our sport is the car itself, not the drivers.The car of the future project will go some way to reducing those costs.The other factor is that some teams, like ours, actually build cars for themsleves and other teams, so that is a separate income stream.  I just don't know that a salary cap would suit our category.

MotoGP 250cc qualifying round in Mugello, Honda rider, Raffaele de Rosa pulls off an incredible save from disaster.

The boys at the workshops in Banyo have been madly building spare cars for us and the Supercheap guys over the past few weeks.  That could be more important then ever with us facing a potential weekend of carnage at our third street circuit in a row at Hamilton in New Zealand this weekend.We don't have a spare Holden yet after putting all our time and effort into getting our two race cars up and running for this season. So it's vital we get these spares in place quick smart.Obviously they won't be ready in time if there is any carnage here in Hamilton, so we'll have to take things a bit more cautiously than we have in the past.Like all street circuits there is bound to be a lot of carnage.  Jamie almost destroyed his car here in qualifying a couple of years ago and I did some damage to my car last year in the back chicane.Our strategy for this weekend therefore is simply to stay out of trouble.  The key to that will be qualifying.On any street circuit you want to be in the top three rows as it's difficult to pass and being up the front keeps you out of the crash and bash of the first few laps in the middle and back of the pack.  Thankfully my qualifying has been better and more consistent this year.We've only had two other goes at this circuit, but it's now in firmly in my mind and we have a great knowledge of what it takes to do a fast lap here.  There are a couple of sections of the track where I have struggled with mental attitude and car set-up such as in the back chicane, but I will try to rectify that this year.We had a fairly good result in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago with a third overall thanks to a little bit of luck.  But mostly it was good because we made some big leaps forward in car set-up so we come here with a lot of confidence in our machinery and our strategies.Street circuits are a lot more demanding on bumps, kerbs and changes in bitumen surfaces, so we will have to see if our new-found knowledge helps.  I'm also going into this round feeling well relaxed and wound down after the high-charged start to the year.It's hard to believe that here we are in April and we've already had four rounds, although only three of them were for points.  Now we head into an absolutely crucial part of the year.It will be intense over the next five rounds which are mostly only two weeks apart.  Straight after Hamilton we have two rounds at Ipswich and Winton with soft tyres for the whole round.That will be a whole new ball game and will require totally new strategies for the teams.  From my understanding we will practice on the hard tyres and then switch to the softs for qualifying and racing. It will be interesting to see how the teams get their heads around that concept.We had our only victory at Winton last year on a soft tyre, so hopefully we will be right there.  I think most of the fans are pretty excited about the soft tyre concept.But last year we virtually had to nominate a race where we could win as the tyres wouldn't last for two races.  This year the whole meeting is run on soft tyres so every team has a level opportunity to race for victory on both days.My prediction is the driver and the team that keeps out of trouble the most over the next five rounds will be leading when we go into our nine-week mid-season break in July and August.

The State is also neglecting an opportunity to get hoons off the streets and into a safer, regulated location to show off their cars, according to Australian National Drag Racing Association project director, Gary Miocevich.Miocevich wants the Victorian Premier, John Brumby, to intervene in the three-year battle to get a new facility, particularly with a State election due this year.  "He should show some leadership on this," Miocevich says.More than 1700 people have registered their views on the Victorian Premier's website.  Miocevich is the project director of the Andra initiative, Motorvate Melbourne, which is campaigning for a new Victorian drag racing facility.He says the government's own studies have shown a drag venue would bring in $190 million a year to the state.  "The Government is supportive but they don't seem to understand what a drag racing venue really is," he says."Quite frankly it has not being listening to their constituents and in reality drag racing is part of the Labor heartland."  The proposed Melbourne venue would combine drag racing with a kart facility, driver training and have room for grassroots motorsports enthusiasts for drifting and motorkhanas."It makes sense to combine a whole lot of motorsport activities in one area," Miocevich says.  He says it is curious that government costing of the facility has blown out from $38 million to $60 million when a state-of-the-art drag venue in Perth cost $20 million.Andra wants a new facility beside the Melbourne-Geelong freeway between Melbourne and Avalon.  The Calder raceway has been ruled out because it is too close to new housing developments.  "Nor does the venue meet the FIA or ANDRA standards for drag racing," Miocevich says.Miocevich says that if a track was approved tomorrow the "longest part of the process is getting the government to come on board".  "The shortest part of the whole job is actually constructing a venue," he says."The Perth venue was built in 10 months."  Miocevich says a specific facility would provide significant social and community benefits.  "You can see the frustration with youth on the streets," he says."The illegal hooning and street racing that occurs is not motorsport.  "If you can provide a safe and organised venue where these people can go, you won't eliminate the problem but you have a safe and legal place for it."Miocevich is disheartened over the lack of action.  "I guess it's easier for governments to do nothing than address the issue," he says.  "If you look at drag racing there has been no ANDRA championship venue for 10 years and that's just unacceptable."Miocevich says the Government is happy to invest in facilities for AFL, tennis, golf and harness racing fans but when it comes to motorsport "unless you come from the big end, the Grand Prix end of town you don't get a look in".  "I think its unfair and its wrong," he says.

I think that would be the greatest outcome from this project that Skaifey has been working on.  The obvious manufacturers that could join are Toyota and Dodge because they are already involved in NASCAR and everyone reckons we are close to their racing formula.It would also be nice to have Nissan Subaru, Mitsubishi and others join in. The category needs other manufacturers' support  to sustain our current growth.  Interesting to hear Skaifey talking about the parity issue which ensures technical equivalency between Ford and Holden teams and would ensure other manufacturers were competitive.He said our team's successful switch from Ford to Holden showed parity could be achieved with a minimum of fuss.  I don't think it was a minimum of fuss.From our track record so far this year it looks like we've done well without much fuss, but to be honest there was a lot of work behind the scenes.  In one sense it's right that we carry over a lot of components from one make to the other, but there is still a lot of hard work involved.The season continues when we return to Hamilton in New Zealand next weekend for the third year.  I did well in 2008 with a second and a couple of top-five finishes, but last year was terrible. I think I hit everything but the safety car.I had altercations with other cars, tyre barriers and concrete walls, you name it.  It's a fantastic circuit, but it's bumpy and unforgiving.One particular area of concern is the back straight chicane. It's very tight and narrow and with the tyre bundles there you can't run a millimetre wide or you smack them. I got the car up on two wheels there and broke the front end last year.  You need to be aggressive to get a good result, but it can all go wrong so easily.The race is very well supported by the Kiwis and I've got great motivation this year to rectify my results from last year.  After Hamilton, we then have two rounds back to back at Queensland Raceway and Winton on soft tyres.My teammate Jamie hates the soft tyre rule, but I actually like the concept. I'd even love to see the soft tyre as our normal tyre and have a super-soft option tyre.  It's a great idea that just needs to be massaged. And I think they have done it.The way it was last year with a soft tyre option you basically had to determine which day you wanted to win a race and then go for the soft tyres.  This year they have a better solution of having a whole weekend on soft tyres. I believe this is a big step forward.It means everyone is on the same playing field and it is then up to the engineers and drivers to make the most out of them.  If the category is looking at ways of introducing more pit stops to create more excitement and unpredictability, soft tyres will create that.Jamie and I have received our new lightweight carbonfibre Bell helmets which are FIA-approved F1-style lids.  In Europe they are the new standard, but they are not available yet in Australia.They are lighter and therefore cause less fatigue, which is good for the endurance events.  They are also stronger and, of course, more expensive to go with it, but our heads are precious, so you don't mind the expense.I always have my children's faces on the back to remind me what I'm racing for.  I got some new photos taken of Levi and Chilli at our last test day and the helmet will be painted in time for our race at Winton in May.  I'll try and fast track it, but the painter's not that quick. He's very fussy.

V8 SUPERCARS (After round 3/15)1 Jamie Whincup (Holden)  7712 Mark Winterbottom (Ford)  7143 James Courtney (Ford)  6964 Shane van Gisbergen (Ford)  6305 Lee Holdsworth (Holden)  5736 Craig Lowndes (Holden)  5527 Rick Kelly (Holden)  5308 Paul Dumbrell (Holden)  4899 Michael Caruso (Holden)  46210 Steven Johnson (Ford)  455(Next race, April 16-18, Hamilton, NZ)FORMULA ONE(After Melbourne, round 2/19)1 Fernando Alonso (Spain)  372 Felipe Massa (Brazil)  333 Jenson Button (UK)  314 Lewis Hamilton (UK)  235 Nico Rosberg (Germany)  206 Robert Kubica (???)  187 Sebastian Vettel (Germany)  128 Michael Schumacher (Germany)  99 Tonio Liuzzi (Italy)  810 Mark Webber (Aust)  6(Next race: April 4, Malaysia)NASCAR SPRINT CUP(After race 6 of 36)1 Jimmie Johnson (Chev)  8982 Greg Biffle (Ford)  8843 Matt Kenseth (Ford)  8824 Kevin Harvick (Chev)  8375 Jeff Burton (Chev)  7856 Kurt Bursch (Dodge)  7767 Jeff Gordon (Chev)  7738 Tony Stewart (Chev)  7709 Clint Boyer (Chev)  74710 Dale Earnhardt (Chev)  73929 Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)  543(Next race: April 10, Phoneix)WORLD RALLY(After Mexico, round 2/13)1 S#aacebastien Loeb (Fra) Citro#adien  432 Mikko Hirvonen (Fin) Focus  373 Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) Focus  254 S#aacebastien Ogier (Fra) Citro#adien  255 Petter Solberg (Nor) Citro#adien  206 Henning Solberg (Nor) Focus  167 Daniel Sordo (Spn) Citro#adien  128 Matthew Wilson (UK) Focus  68 Frederico Villagra (Arg) Focus  610 Mads Ostberg (Nor) Impreza  4(Next rally: April 4, Jordon)WORLD SUPERBIKES(after Portugal, round 2/13)1 Leon Haslam (UK)  852 Max Biaggi (Italy)  693 Carlos Checa (Spain)  604 Michel Fabrizio (Italy)  465 Nori Haga (Japan)  436 Jonathan Rea (UK)  397 Sylvain Guintoli (France)  338 Leon Camier (UK)  329 Troy Corser  (Aus)  2910 James Toseland (UK))  25(Next race, April 11, Valencia)Australian MX(After Horsham, round 1/8)1 PJ Larsen (KTM)  602 Ryan Marmont (KTM)  562 Kirk Gibbs (Yamaha)  564 Cody Mackie (Kawasaki)  555 Michael Phillips (Honda)  436 Luke George (Kawasaki)  407 Daryl King (Yamaha)  388 Luke Styke (Yamaha)  379 Kade Mosig (Suzuki)  3510 Brendan Harrison (Yamaha)  34(Next race, April 18, Canberra)

Hamilton probably thought it was just a bit of fun, but that's no way to conduct yourself in public. Hopefully he's learnt a valuable lesson that he's not above the law. The same goes with Alfie. In no way can I condone drink driving. As for his dancing frolics, from what I can understand he's had a good night and just been unlucky that someone recorded it. But sports people have to understand that they are in the public eye 24/7.I never put myself in any position that can be portrayed differently, but I have been very lucky to have have my wife, Nat, by my side to keep my feet on the ground plus strong friends and associates around who have kept me under control.My teammate Jamie copped a $3000 suspended fine for speeding on his warm-down lap after his Top 10 Shootout at the Melbourne Grand Prix. It's hardly in the same league as the other two incidents, but we take our public behaviour so seriously, Jamie was straight around to apologise to the marshals, so you can guarantee he won't do anything like that again.I had a pretty solid weekend with three top 10 finishes and third overall. We had a sensational GP in 2009, but this year we had to fight all the way. We had good pace and balance on Friday, but we experimented for Saturday's race and unfortunately miscalculated the grip level after the F1 qualifying session.For the Sunday race, my race engineer Jeromy (Moore) and I had some good luck and came up with the right set-up. We also had a bit of good luck on the track with others in front of us running into troubles.Even though it's not a championship weekend, we take the GP seriously. However, it also gives us the opportunity to try a few things we normally wouldn't on a championship weekend. In the end, I think we came away with a far better understanding of how our car works. It was a significant step forward.Hopefully the engine problems that forced Jamie out aren't a step backwards. It was disappointing for him as he was in the running for a podium for the weekend. I still don't know what the issue was that made his car drop a cylinder, but we will make sure it doesn't happen again or to my car.Before we head to New Zealand next week for the next round I've packed the caravan and am heading off with Nat and the kids to Southwest Rocks. It's an area we came across on a return trip from Bathurst two years ago and we fell in love with the area. We're going with friends with kids so they can all run around together.I'm enjoying more and more being able to get away in the caravan. With my hair going grey I suppose you could call me a rookie grey nomad. But you don't have to be a grey nomad or retired to enjoy this country. We've had the caravan for four years now and we love venturing out into areas and places you wouldn't see if you kept flying over it.When we get back and before we head to New Zealand, I'm having a bike track day with the guys from Triple 8 at Morgan Park in Warwick. Most of my fans know how into motorbikes we all are at Triple 8, including our boss Roland Dane.I've had dirt bikes on the farm and most of the team rode their dirt bikes from Brisbane to Darwin a few years ago for the Hidden Valley round. I also love getting the bike on the track to blow off some steam.Although my sponsorship ended with Yamaha last year, I now have a deal with Suzuki and I'm still anxiously waiting for my new bikes. Apparently they're on the next ship from Japan.