The Australian Racing Drivers Club

For members and guests

ARDC News

The ARDC pays homage to Bathurst history at SMSP

The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC), which kicked off the now annual and iconic Australian motorsport event, the Bathurst 1000, has paid tribute to the race, the place and the club’s racing heritage with the announcement of its newly named Turn 9, dubbed ‘Panorama’. The ARDC, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, formed an alliance in 1954 with the Bathurst Light Car Club to purchase land between Murray’s Corner and Hell Corner in order to build the Mt Panorama pit lane and establish the Bathurst circuit. In 1962, the ARDC ran the first six-hour race at Bathurst to prove that Mt Panorama could handle a then-500 mile event. One year later, the Armstrong 500 race meeting moved from Phillip Island to Mt Panorama, and the Bathurst 500 was born. “Given the ARDC’s place in Australian motorsport history in presenting and developing this country’s most iconic race, the Bathurst 1000, it is only appropriate that we recognise this part of our history in naming Turn 9 of the circuit ‘Panorama’”, said ARDC CEO, Glenn Matthews. Panorama sits atop the new Brabham Circuit, and appropriately its position is the highest point of elevation at the Sydney Motorsport Park track, with an amazing vista to the equally iconic control tower. The 4.5 kilometre Brabham extended circuit was created by combining the original Eastern Creek International Raceway layout with an exciting and undulating extension designed by Apex Circuit Design from the UK, and launched with the re-branded Sydney Motorsport Park in May, 2012. Racing this still-new circuit on August 31 and September 1 in the Touring Car Masters as part of the annual Australian Muscle Car Masters, Bathurst masters John Bowe and Jim Richards were on hand to launch ‘Panorama’ to the motorsport world. “It’s fantastic that we have two Bathurst legends here at the 2013 Muscle Car Masters to help us celebrate its naming this weekend, at an event that celebrates the Bathurst cars of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s,” added Matthews. Now in its ninth year, the Muscle Car Masters is a weekend-long celebration of Australia’s muscle car heritage, and a tribute to the drivers who raced them. On-track action includes races for historic touring cars, Bathurst beasts, Formula 5000 V8 open wheelers and production sports cars, with the Touring Car Masters one of the major drawcards of the Fathers’ Day weekend festivities, and most categories will use the Brabham circuit and fly past ‘Panorama’ over many a lap.

MORE INFO:

www.sydneymotorsportpark.com.au

www.old.ardc.com.au

www.musclecarmasters.com.au

CAMS announces FIA Academy at SMSP

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text]

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) is on the search for one young Australian driver who can take on the world.
CAMS will be hosting the Asia Pacific Region Selection Event for the 2013 FIA Institute’s Young Driver Excellence Academy in October with the search starting now for a young Australian driver who will become one of up to 19 from across the Asia Pacific region to converge on Sydney for three days of intensive testing, training and evaluation.
They will be here to stake their claim on the single guaranteed Asia Pacific position available on the FIA Institute’s global Academy.
The selection process for the Academy involves a series of five qualifying events in regions across the world to give as many drivers as possible the opportunity to participate.
Each of the qualifying events produces one winner to go forward to the 2013/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy with a total of eight participants in the final Academy training programme, which aims to help drivers develop their motor sport careers, while increasing safety skills and actively promoting the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility on and off the track.
The Asia Pacific Region Selection Event for the 2013 FIA Institute’s Young Driver Excellence Academy will be hosted by CAMS and will take place at Sydney Motorsport Park on 20-23 October.
CAMS President Andrew Papadopoulos said “CAMS is delighted that the FIA Institute has asked us to organise and run its regional selection event. It is a great tribute to the expertise of staff at CAMS and we look forward to playing a continued role in the identification and development of young talent in our region for many years to come.”
The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club has partnered with CAMS to make the Asia Pacific Selection Event possible in Australia.
The program will be headed by CAMS ambassador and former V8 Supercar driver Cameron McConville who will develop a comprehensive elite program including involvement from the NSW Institute of Sport and recognised motor sport fitness experts.
They will oversee exercises designed to evaluate fitness and driving performance, media techniques, teamwork and psychology.
All Asia Pacific Region National Sports Authorities (ASNs) can nominate one driver each with the single Australian spot to be nominated by CAMS with the applicant having met the minimum criteria set out by the FIA Institute.
A selection panel consisting Geoff Morgan, Chairman, Australian Motor Sports Foundation (AMSF), Neal Bates as the Rally representative and CAMS’ Director of Racing Operations Tim Schenken will determine who of the Australian applicants will be successful.
Drivers aged 17-23 from circuit and rally disciplines, who have demonstrated excellence in competition so far, will be considered.
The application form and a list of selection criteria are available to view and download HERE.
Applications close Friday August 23 and are to be submitted to CAMS.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Shannons Nationals event wrap

EVENT RELEASE: The most controversial finish in the recent history of the Australian Manufacturers Championship has clouded results after Sunday’s three-hour race at Sydney Motorsport Park.
On track to take a strong one lap victory but running on fumes and driving without the benefit of pit-to-car communication or a working dashboard, Stuart Kostera (sharing with car owner, Dylan Thomas) brought the CXC Global Mitsubishi lancer in to pit lane for a desperate splash-and-go fuel stop, at the end of today’s three-hour race.
However, uncertainty surrounding the end of the timed race and the displaying of the checkered flag saw the car classified as a non finisher, due to being in pit lane at the end of the race.
The CXC team believes that they are the rightful victors given their car crossed the control line after the completion of the timed race – even if it was in pit lane.
His nearest rivals believe that because the car was in pit lane and never actually received the checkered flag, the car should not be classified.
The fact that the Kostera / Thomas car was a lap clear of their nearest rivals adds to the confusion.
Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey (BMW 1M) have been classified the winners pending a protest from the Mitsubishi team.
Having led the early running, the Pro Duct Mitsubishi driven by Glenn Seton and Bob Pearson developed a clutch drama in the second hour that saw the team unable to select fifth gear, the team eventually retiring to the garage when the dramas became too severe.
Garry Holt and Ryan McLeod were classified third, the Michael Benton / Geoff Russell FPV GT fourth and the class D Honda Integra of Jake Williams and Brendan Stone scored a remarkable fifth outright.
Results are officially provisional pending a protest lodged by the CXC Global team, with a hearing to be held at Queensland Raceway in three weeks.
Despite having a group of top-flight international drivers thrown at him, Radical Australia Cup dominator Neale Muston continued his command of the sports car class by winning the First Neon 250 endurance event today.
Muston won the opening 45-minute leg comfortably over Ash Samadi and Richard Kimber, and then went on to defeat the pro drivers in the second to wrap up another round victory.
Pro drivers were assessed a drive-through handicap as part of their status this weekend though that scarcely changed the result; when leg two leader James Winslow pitted for his brief visit to pit lane Muston was already running second on the road.
Samadi finished second overall – based on combined points from both legs – whilst SR3 pilot Simon Haggarty finished third.
Winslow smashed the existing Sydney Motorsport Park RAC lap record, lowering the benchmark to a stunning 1m25.7027s in his V8-powered SR8.
Jack LeBrocq today completed a perfect weekend in the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli, sweeping to another victory in his Erebus Motorsport Mercedes Benz SLS AMG.
The young Victorian now has four race wins in a row to his credit, and today he won by nearly a full minute to complete a weekend of domination.
Klark Quinn continues to accumulate championship points – his second place finish today keeping him on course for a second Australian GT title – though it didn’t all go his way.
The Porsche driver was pressured in the closing stages by a charging John Bowe, who only just missed out on scoring second in the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari he shared with Peter Edwards.
Tony Quinn finished fourth in his Aston Martin whilst Lamborghini driver Roger Lago bounced back from a non-finish yesterday – a drive-belt broke on the V10 engine – to finish fifth.
Phil Woodbury and John Goodacre were the big winners in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Pirelli, the pair taking out the professional and elite divisions of the one-make Porsche category, respectively.
Woodbury won race two today, resisting a charge from Richard Muscat in the closing laps after the series leader started from the rear of the grid thanks to his race one non-finish.
Contact with Jon McCorkindale restricted Woodbury to a 10th finish in the final race – but it was still enough to take the professional class win. Muscat won the third race, continuing his impressive season with another podium.
Goodacre actually won the round outright, and led home Steven Grove and John Morris in the series’ elite division.
John Magro completed a perfect weekend in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, sweeping to victory in today’s 12-lap feature race having won both sprint races yesterday, too.
Tim Macrow and Nathan Morcom completed the podium, Macrow continuing to lead the Gold Star standings ahead of the next round in Queensland.
Ben Grice completed a perfect weekend in the Suzuki Swift series, with pole position and two race wins to his name. Having won yesterday’s sprint race, Grice comfortably led for the entire one-hour distance contested today – taking victory by over eight seconds. Allan Jarvis and Luke Fraser rounded out the top three.

 

ARDC Members clean up at Philip Island

The first round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship for Production Touring Cars was run and won on Sunday 26th May. Part of the third round of the Shannons Nationals, the race was a four hour, two driver test in wet and dry conditions around the iconic Victorian circuit. Driving one of the Pro – Duct Mitsubishi EVO Xs, team owner Bob Pearson and co driver extraordinaire, Glenn Seton paced themselves in the early stages then came home with a withering run on the damp track to claim victory by over a lap.

Bob is a long term member of the ARDC, winning the Club Championship back in 1995. Glenn has just re joined at the urging of Terry Thompson, ARDC Director, who helps out in the Pro-Duct team during race weekends. Glenn has lost none of his wet weather driving ability. The display of car control in slippery conditions during the last stint was awesome to watch. At one stage he was taking up to 7 seconds a lap from the second placed car. He also set a new lap record some 1.5 seconds faster than the previous time. The resurfacing of the famous Island track saw most lap records fall during the weekend. The new control tyre for the series is a Hankook and excellent preparation of the Pro-Duct EVO to suit this tyre played a big part in the win. Some teams seemed to have problems with the tyres but a number of cars sailed through the event with no rubber issues. The next round will be a three hour at SMSP in July, then on to QR in August before Wakefield Park in October with two 200km races – that will be a lot of laps of Wakefield.

The final will be at Sandown in November.

– Terry Thompson

2013 ARDC Club Championship

Our Board of Directors has overhauled the points scoring system for the annual ARDC Club Champion award.
The previous point score was based on the top ten drivers in every race at ECIR/SMSP, scoring points if they were current ARDC Members. Because different racing categories competing at different levels did not race each other and took part in varying numbers of races, the only fair way of comparing performances was to work out an average of points scored per race.
This gave an advantage to competitors in small categories and drivers could “sit on” early good results and not compete for the rest of the year to preserve a good average.
For 2013 and beyond, ARDC Member competitors will score points in the ARDC Club Champion competition every time they run in an ARDC-organised race at Sydney Motor Sport Park. One point will be awarded to Members for every competitor they finish ahead of, including non-finishers. Then this number will be multiplied by the number of laps scored in each race. This will equalise meetings with lots of short races as compared to meetings with fewer long races.
We will also be running a separate competition for our Supersprint competitor Members. At each of the three rounds of the NSW Supersprint Championship we are running this year, ARDC Members will score a point for every person they beat in their class. This number will then be multiplied by the number of laps completed on the day. The driver with the most points over the three meetings will be declared the ARDC Supersprint Champion for 2013.
– Brian “The Guru” Goulding

 

Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival

Porsche Cars Australia is pleased to announce the inaugural Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival, held on the weekend of May 25 and 26, 2013 at Sydney Motor Sport Park.
The format of the exclusive all-Porsche event will be centred on the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia, which will both headline the weekend’s racing schedule. Other events will include several all-Porsche races, Regularities and historic demonstrations on both Saturday and Sunday.
Recent improvements to the circuit facilities will allow the entire circuit, figure 8, skid pan and four wheel drive track to facilitate various events and activities throughout the weekend.
Off-track attractions will include the Porsche Concours d’Elegance and Porsche Show ‘n’ Shine, while the Porsche Sport Driving School and Porsche Kids Driving School will provide the full spectrum of the Porsche driving experience to those big and small.
The action will start at 8:30am both days, with tickets available at the gate (online sales have now closed). Weekend Passes just $55 for adults and $5 for children 17 and under (with a paying adult). Daily passes are $30 for adults, and again, $5 per day for a child. Parking is free!
Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival is set to be a true ‘Festival’ of all things Porsche. We look forward to seeing you there.
Visit www.rennsportaustralia.com.au for more information.