Race track

Forecasting a win was a big call for a bloke who does not like to pump-up his own tyres, but Webber was always confident that the Red Bull RB5 was a winning car. And now he's down it. In absolutely dominant style.Webber's win in the German Grand Prix reminded me a lot of Michael Schumacher, his F1 role model, as he qualified on pole position, biffed Rubens Barrichello on the run to the first corner, then recovered from a Stewards penalty to outdrive his rivals with speed, skill and commitment. It was typical of the drive and talent which has taken Webber to the top of global motorsport, and the wild ride from Formula Ford in Australia to the top step of the podium.I've been a Webber fan for many years, and have many great memories of time with the bloke - like hot lapping at Calder Park in a Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR sports prototype - and there are plenty of others. But in this memorable week for Webber-mania it's worth mentioning a few, and talking about their commitment.Firstly, there is Ann Neal. She is Webber's long-term partner and has been the powerhouse for the whole project. The impact of his first win hit me on Sunday night when Ann, who always stays in the background, stood with his helmet below the podium. Ann had to be forced to go by David Coulthard, but admits it was something she had to do.Alan Webber needed no pushing to stand in the cheering crowd, and his wet eyes reflected his emotion. But I can remember many, many other times when Webber Snr has been there for his son, even watching him mow the lawn at their house in Britain. And he's a real motorsport enthusiast, too, who can tell you which of the young Aussies are worth watching.Geoff 'Joffa' Donohue first met Webber when he was working for one of his sponsors, Yellow Pages, and now he is part of the team and the man behind the Tasmanian sporting challenge. He is a ripper bloke who has done everything he can to help his hero make it to the top.And then there is motorsport publisher, Chris Lambden. He was one of the earliest sign-ups for the Webber train and has sacrificed many years of F1 tipping chances by pushing his man. When Webber drove an F1 car for the first time he paid his own way to be there, and that's a massive commitment. There are countless others who are part of the Webber team and it's great that all of us were able to celebrate this week.But as Mark would say, Germany is done and it's time to move on to the next success.

His fitness is right up with marathon runners and Tour de France cyclists, he is sharper in business than most successful entrepreneurs, and he works a room like an American presidential contender. He is the full package in professional sport and easily justifies a paypacket in the $10 million range. But it wasn't always like that.I can still clearly remember the night he and his long-term partner Ann Neal put their F1 dream on the fast track. It was the first Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in 1996 and Webber was outside the function centre at Melbourne Park with a list of the main movers in Formula One. Through the night he hit every one and the contacts he made, with a polite introduction and follow-ups on his career and results, won him a break with Mercedes-Benz.He would drop in for a chat whenever he was back in Melbourne from his race base in the UK, usually working sponsors like Yellow Pages, and often took advantage of my gym membership to hone the fitness that was always a major priority. Watching Webber at full tilt on a treadmill, at maximum effort for an hour, has stayed with me.So has the weekend we nearly lost him.It was Le Mans and he was driving for Benz when his prototype sports car backflipped at more than 220km/h. Twice! Webber was clearly shocked by the first crash, but jumped back in the car the next morning because that's what blokes like him do. When it happened again through no fault of his driving . . . well, he didn't drive for Mercedes again.Everyone cheered when he graduated to F1 and his first AGP with Minardi was like Mardi Gras, but then there were the down times with Jaguar and Williams, We had many talks when he had to work hard to put a positive spin on things.Many people questioned his ability or just lost faith. They said he was too old, too slow, too nice, too tall, too matey, or just too ordinary. But Webber was always fast. And one of the very best test drivers in Formula One. The too-tall Aussie was never seen as a superstar, never got a call from McLaren or Ferrari, but smacked down a long list of talented team mates including former regular race winner David Coulthard.When Webber went to Red Bull - born from the ashes of his former Jaguar team with a massive splash of energy drinks cash - it looked as if he had admitted defeat. Taking a shot with Williams for sentimental reasons when he could have been with Fernando Alonso at Renault had clearly hurt. But not as much as the hurt that came when he crashed and broke a shoulder and leg in Tasmania in December, in a mountain bike prang that could have ended his F1 career.He rebounded as only he can and this year his gamble on Red Bull has paid off and we have seen the real Mark Webber and the best Mark Webber. He is fast, committed, concentrated, and happy.Lots of F1 people expected Webber to be smashed by his team mate Sebastian Vettel, but the bloke from Queanbeyan has lifted - again - to a new level of speed and commitment against the German baby hailed as the new Michael Schumacher. Of course, it helps to have a car that does the job.Now he is a winner and stands alongside Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, who also went on from their first victories to a world championship. Based on Sunday afternoon in Germany there is no reason why Webber cannot also become a world title holder. He qualified like a champion, raced like a champion and crushed his rivals like a champion. "Howzat?", Webber said after cracking pole position for the German GP. Beauty, mate, is the answer for that long overdue win.

The big result for me was the enthusiasm about bringing another manufacturer into the sport. I think the poll just highlights how the world changes and motorsport has to be right on the front foot with these changes. We can't be stuck in your old ways. We have to keep changing to keep it fresh. However, I'm not so sure about another manufacturer.I think what it is telling us is that the fans are now starting to support drivers and teams, not just Holden V Ford. The days of red or blue are fading. It will never completely go, but we are starting to convert the fans to supporting people and teams which is better.It's the people behind the machinery that make the difference in this sport. Fans realise that V8 Supercars is not just Commodores and Falcons. They are purpose-built race cars. That's what racing is all about; having a fast piece of machinery and watching guys trying to get that machinery around the track as quick as they can. It's putting more emphasis on the drivers and teams.I note that in NASCAR there are four manufacturers, but two are pretty shaky at the moment.I don't mind which way our sport goes, just so long as our cars stay the great race cars they are with lots of horsepower and really good brakes and suspension.Meanwhile, I'm starting to look ahead to the enduro season in our sport and changing my training slightly.Surprisingly we are in the car for a lot longer in a normal sprint race than in an enduro. However, with the enduros we are in the car three or four times a day, rather than just once. So you really have to convert your mind and body to switching on and off, on and off.Most athletes do one major training session a day, but for the enduros we have to do several smaller sessions a day to get our bodies primed.Craig and I are teaming up yet again for the endures, which is great. I'm not absolutely sure yet which car, engineer and mechanics we will use, but for the past couple of years it's been mine. This year I think we will work with Craig's race engineer, Jeromy Moore, and drive Craig's car.I think Jeromy is up to it. He's very smart and switched on. He's had Craig ultra-quick all year and he's been innovative and pushing us along which is why I've had the success I've had. So I've got no problems jumping into Craig and Jeromy's car. I know they will do a good job.Can I just add that I was totally stoked by Valentino Rossi's 100th win in the MotoGP last weekend following on from his incredible last-lap battle with Jorge Lorenzo the previous weekend.I'm a big bike and Rossi fan and I'll be glued to the TV screen on Monday morning when they go round at Laguna Seca in the US.

The winners are undoubtedly the eight members of FOTA and especially the driving force behind the breakaway series – Ferrari.The big loser: Max Mosley, who has agreed to not stand for re-election and whose current duties will be taken on by Michael Boeri (current President of the FIA Senate). Flavio Briatore may also consider he has lost out to some degree, as he was considered a front runner to fulfil the role currently held by Bernie Ecclestone within the breakaway series. Ecclestone is undoubtedly relieved and would have played no small part in Mosley’s backdown.Mosley’s budget cap has been scrapped and the FOTA teams have now agreed to sign a new Concorde Agreement to the end of 2012.The proposed 2010 regulations have also been scrapped and the car will now use the existing regulations with some small changes to allow a move to cost-cutting of a much lesser degree.We will publish the full press details when they become available.Full list of Teams below – which now comprises 26 cars on the gridTEAM                        SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO                     VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES     BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM                           RENAULT F1 TEAM                                       PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING                     SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO                              RED BULL RACING                                           AT&T WILLIAMS                                         FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM                            BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM            CAMPOS META TEAM                         MANOR GRAND PRIX                           TEAM US F1                                         

After a lengthy meeting last night to discuss the FIA’s compromise offer, all eight teams comprising FOTA have voted to set up the new breakaway series that has been threatened for the past year.Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW, Sauber, Toyota, Brawn, Red Bull and Scuderia Toro Rosso have decided they cannot accept the compromises offered by Max Mosley and are now preparing for the establishment of the breakaway series.The implications of this decision are obviously massive, the establishment of a new series is a substantial undertaking and the logistics of the current Formula 1 series is simply the largest for any sport in the world. FOTA now have to go from ground zero to that scale in far less than a year.After the recent announcement of the three new teams to enter the F1 Championship – Campos Grand Prix, Manor Grand Prix, Team US F1 -- it leaves just Williams and Force India as the established teams in F1.Williams use a Toyota-sourced engine and Force India the Mercedes unit. Depending on the individual contracts, these two teams may find they will need to move to the Cosworth unit that the new entries will be using.Lola recently also announced it had withdrawn its request for entry into the F1 series, and given that within the statement issued by FOTA after the meeting that they will actively encourage other teams, we may yet see Lola and Prodrive/Aston Martin racing against Ferrari in a Grand Prix series.Bernie Ecclestone has issued a warning saying that he will actively sue any breakaway series that tries to sign TV rights.The battles are about to commence… unfortunately for some time they will be fought in the courtroom.Official FOTA Press ReleaseDate:19 June, 2009FOTA UNITED ON THE FUTURE  Silverstone, 18 June 2009 - Since the formation of FOTA last September the teams have worked together and sought to engage the FIA and commercial rights holder, to develop and improve the sport.Unprecedented worldwide financial turmoil has inevitably placed great challenges before the F1 community.  FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport.   In particular the manufacturer teams have provided assistance to the independent teams, a number of which would probably not be in the sport today without the FOTA initiatives.  The FOTA teams have further agreed upon a substantial voluntary cost reduction that provides a sustainable model for the future.Following these efforts all the teams have confirmed to the FIA and the commercial rights holder that they are willing to commit until the end of 2012.   The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.  The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners.  This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide,   partners and other important stakeholders.   The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series. 

We've won at Symmons Plains the last two years and had an awesome team result last year so we're high on confidence. However, what we can't forget is that while we've had good pace this year, we haven't been the fastest in qualifying the past two years. We've been very fortunate in those years that our main rivals haven't had their best weekend so we will still battle if the opposition is on their game this weekend.Tassie is one of those unique tracks with long straights and only four corners. It's almost like an oval circuit. A lot of people don't understand oval racing and don't appreciate how difficult NASCAR racing is. It looks from the outside like it's easy and boring, but the thing is that for the driver and teams the fewer corners there, are the more technical each corner becomes. So at Symmons Plains you only have four corners to make up time on your opposition. That means qualifying times will be very, very close.I know V8 Supercars driving standards observer Tomas Mezera has predicted that the racing will be cleaner than at Winton despite the soft tyre rule being employed again, but I disagree. On this circuit it's easy to hold the opposition out because there are so few corners and that will mean the guys on soft tyres will take chances and make suicide missions up the inside. I think the soft tyre rule will make the racing more exciting, but it will also create more carnage.I'll be going flat out to win but I'll also be careful to keep the car straight. Don't ask me what we're doing about this flexible splitter mount. I heard Jim Beam Racing and Team IntaRacing are planning to use it and Wilson Security Racing is waiting to see what we do, but I still don't know what we are doing. All I can say is that we won with it and we won without it. We've proved our point. I don't think it's an issue, it's an old story and I'd prefer not to make any more comment about it.What I would like to comment on is the Gold Coast SuperGP, formerly known as Indy. This week we passed the milestone of 150 days to go and I'm already excited. For me last year's race was one of the highlights of my career as it's my home race and that makes it extra special. This year the V8s get priority in pit lane which means we get the old Indy Car pits, but I am glad the A1GP is on board as the main support category.Aussies are very patriotic and a lot of people will come out and support the Team Australia car plus we'll get our usual huge V8 crowd. I have no doubt the Gold Coast event will be big if not bigger than last year.As for doubts raised about racing at Perth next year, I believe it's important that we go there to complete the national championship. The track offers good racing and as far as the drivers are concerned we don't mind it. However, the circuit doesn't offer enough corporate facilities which are important for our sport. I do hope they upgrade that so we can return next year and ensure this is a truly national championship.

but it should be called a splashdown with all this rain we've been having.At the start of the year we had five new FG Falcons built for us and other race teams. Craig got the first and I got the second.Now we've built a new one for Craig which he will race at Tasmania next weekend. His car will then become our team spare.With any new race car you are allowed to do a shakedown test of 20 laps.That just means a systems check, not a performance test, so unless the track is totally under water, we should be going ahead.We don't have to do the shakedown, but it's highly advised to sort out any issues, warm everything up and check it all works, and that it's safe and balanced.In fact, it's probably better that it's raining so they can test things like the heated windscreen.Then the cars go straight on the truck to leave on Sunday for Melbourne and the ferry across to Tassie.It's been a massive break since the last round in Winton and I've been filling in my time renovating my house down the coast.In fact, it's taken up all my spare time but I will get a bit of a fun break next week when the team blows off some steam at Morgan Park circuit in Warwick on our bikes.Most of our team are bike nuts, including our boss Roland (Dane) who has a great collection of motorcycles.It won't be super-serious and I'll make sure I keep the rubber side down on my trusty KTM this time. I had a slight "off" the last time we had a team track day at Queensland Raceway.Speaking of motorcycles, I believe we were hoping to get Troy Bayliss in a race car this week for a test.However, being the current World Superbike champion, he still has commitments to Ducati — even though he's retired — so he's currently in Europe.Obviously it's going to be a big transition for him, but bikes and cars both have a throttle, brake and tyres and there's still the same concept of trying to get the most out of your machine and tyres.I think it is probably slightly easier for a bike guy to go to a car than for a race car driver to go to bike racing.Troy loves his cars and is really keen on a V8 trial. It's a thing that motorsport guys have common — if it has an engine, we love it.I also have to say, I love street circuits and I'm really excited about the new rounds in the streets of Townsville in July and Homebush (Sydney) in December - what a great finale to the season that will be.I'm really pleased for our far north Queensland fans who've been deprived of motorsport for a long time. I hope we can race in Townsville for many years to come.I always say we should have a good mix of permanent tracks and street circuits.This is the best motorsport championship in Australia so we have a huge responsibility to keep permanent circuits alive for things like driver training, road safety courses and track days.It's important that people who don't have an opportunity to race can still enjoy their cars in a safe environment rather than racing on the roads.

Dan Bowden of Bowden's Own museum which is restoring the car invited race fans to hear the engine fired back into life at the Pacific Ford FPV dealership in Maroochydore next Wednesday (MAY 20) at 6pm."It's raucous. It sounds fantastic," he said."We had it running for the first time yesterday and it just sounds gorgeous."It has a very distinctive note to it; very masculine""We had one of his V8 Supercars next to it and kicked it over and it sounds nice, but we kicked this over and we had our next door neighbour coming round."I'm not sure if the dealership quite understands what it sounds like, but they'll get over it ... eventually."Bowden said reviving the engine was the first stage in the full restoration of the original vehicle.The TruBlu race car was built with the money received from well wishers and Ford Motor Company after Dick Johnson famously hit a rock and crashed out of the Bathurst lead in 1980.Johnson and co-driver John French had a fairytale Bathurst win and the Australian Touring Car Championship the next year in TruBlu."Hopefully we can get Dick and Frenchy back together in it when it's completed," Bowden said."The way we see it, it's not finished until the driver gets back in the car."The Bowden family bought the car and Johnson's other old race cars two years ago after the legendary racer had a sponsor pull out."He needed to sell his cars so Dick contacted my father (David) and did the deal."Part of the deal is we always have cars on display at his workshop museum in Yatala."The most recent Bowden restoration of an ex-Johnson race car was the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship-winning Greens-Tuf Falcon which is now back at the Dick Johnson Racing Museum.It features the engine from the 1983 XE Falcon destroyed at Bathurst during a dramatic top-10 shootout crash at Forest Elbow.The TruBlu race car has been in the Bowden workshop for the past two months for mechanical restoration."The engine restoration was a big job," Bowden said."All the fuel had gone off, brake linings and everything."This is the problem when you leave them sitting around."The next stage of the restoration is the bodywork."It's very important to restore the car sympathetically and keep it as original as possible," Bowden said."I've seen to many race cars restored and they look like a show car which is not how they were."It's important to retain the integrity and authenticity as well as having it presentable."Bowden said the fully restored vehicle would be displayed and driven at historic race events around the nation."That's the plan with all our cars," he said."We're looking at different historic events, but nothing is yet planned."Bowden said he could not put a figure on the cost of the restoration project."Let's just say it's not cheap. With these cars parts are hard to come by, particularly on race cars," he said."We have to fabricate some of the components and that's where the dollars add up."We've been doing this over 10 years and we have it pretty down pat and if we can't do it here we know someone who can."Bowden said Johnson had been helpful with technical and historical information about his cars, which helped with the restoration."Dick is very emotional about his cars and he's very sympathetic," he said."He cares about the history of motorsport, unlike some drivers."We're lucky that he's that appreciative of the old cars. It's a pleasure to work with him."Bowden said he would ask his father to contact Johnson to invite him to the firing-up ceremony on Wednesday."He's so very busy with his V8 team and they are going well this year, so we don't know whether he will come along," he said.Web: www.bowdensown.com.au  SIDEBAR The Greens-Tuf Falcon is one of six historic Dick Johnson race cars at the DJR museum, at 10 Emeri St, Stapylton.The museum also houses trophies back to 1980, race suits, pictures, posters, laurels and car parts.Entry to the museum and race shop is free.Visitors can also book in for a one-hour workshop tour conducted on Thursdays and Saturdays at 11am.Workshop tours cost $15 for adults, $7.50 for school children and concessions.

Ripping around Albert Park last weekend in a couple of racing cars was rare old fun.There is something special about cutting loose in the 21st century with no restrictions and no speed cameras.It's the automotive equivalent of clearing your sinuses after a terrible head cold. You can breath again, your eyesight is better, your head is clear and things just seem to be crisper and sharper.I was lucky to be asked to sprint a BMW 135i in a three-way run-off against a V8 Supercar and a Formula One racer in the Ultimate Speed Challenge and even luckier to be given a miniature Toyota Aurion to run in the Aussie Racing Car contests at the AGP.Track time in the 135 convinced me I was right to rate it as a real-world alternative to an M3. The baby BMW is quick, balanced and real fun - particularly with the traction control switched off and all the space at Albert Park to throw it around.The track car was very mildly tweaked with a free-flow exhaust, but was lapping quicker than a Z4M I drove a year earlier. This time I managed a win over the real racing cars, although Greg Murphy scored the overall win with two victories in his Sprint Gas Commodore.The Aussie car was something else again.I was not sure what to expect from the scaled-down V8 Supercar, because lots of people joke that they should be carrying clowns from the circuit.But there is nothing silly when you strap inside and uncork the 1.2-litre motorcycle engine fitted to a race-bred chassis. Except, perhaps, your smile.The Aussie Aurion was of the most demanding and rewarding cars I have driven, with supercar punch and cornering grip that trumps a real V8 Supercar. The braking distances at Albert Park, after topping 220km/h down the straight, were stupidly short.I never got close to the front-runners in the Aussie class but my race on Saturday was the best I have had in more than 25 years of motorsport, with more passing between two cars than you often see in a whole V8 Supercar contest.

At 12.30pm today he will become a V8 Supercar racer again when he straps into Greg Murphy's Sprint Gas Commodore at Winton.This is not just a private fun run, because Skaife will hit the track with 29 other drivers in official practice for the latest leg of theV8 Supercar championship and he will be on it."I will have my race face on. That's the way I do things," Skaife told the Herald Sun yesterday."I only know one way to drive in a racecar. I'll be at 100 per cent, giving it everything.""I've been asked to give the team my feedback on their car and that's what I'm out there to do. It's serious stuff."Skaife was recalled to the race ranks by his former boss at the Holden Racing Team, Jeff Grech.There is a chance that he could also join the Sprint Gas team for the V8 Supercar enduros at Phillip Island and Bathurst later this year, although he has approaches from a number of other teams including Kelly Racing."I always said I was only retiring from fulltime race driving. Not all race driving," Skaife said."I was never going to be able to go cold turkey on this."Skaife is now making his name as a Channel 7 commentator, providing his own insights on the V8 Supercar action, and is also working on projects including a radio program and a lifestyle television show.But he has not given up his fitness or his commitment to racing."I think I could still do a pretty sharp job at Bathurst for the next three or four years. I'm still working with my trainer and doing 2 or3 runs a week. I'm about 25 per cent off my maximum fitness level," he said.Skaife will not discuss his race offers, but could clearly drive for any of the leading Holden teams in the enduros. And he has also had approaches from the Ford side of the V8 Supercar divide.Apart from the Sprint Gas car, he also has private test sessions booked with another Holden team and with Stone Brothers Racing on the Gold Coast."I'm looking forward to the driving. I've seen a lot more cars since I stopped racing fulltime than I ever did when I had my Holden Racing Team blinkers on. And it's fair to say that I've been surprised by a few things," Skaife said.He is taking things seriously enough to create a set of Skaife Racing overalls, splashed with his own personal sponsors, as well as a new helmet, boots and gloves. And that's what he will be wearing when he straps into Murphy's car."My old boss Jeff Grech from HRT called me and asked me to have a drive. They want to get a bit of feedback on the car and what it might need," Skaife said."I'll be giving it everything I can. Testing and developing a car is something that I've always enjoyed."You can bet that I'll be hanging around once I get out of the car, to see if I have made an improvement and how Murf feels about the feedback and any changes I've made during my session."