After more than 30 years as a Blue-Oval battler Dick Johnson, often fighting single-handed against a horde of Holdens (GM), has been tossed to the curb by Ford in a dash for cash.

Craig Lowndes will also be caught in the crossfire from a decision by Ford to centralize its cash commitment with just two V8 Supercar teams, Ford Performance Racing (FPR) and Stone Brothers Racing (SBR).

Lowndes’s team Triple Eight was dumped by management at Broadmeadows in a money move that also affects former Bathurst winner Jason Bright’s team.

The decision is likely to save Ford about $3 million, a significant sum as it battles falling sales of its flagship Falcon.

“This is a weird one,” a stunned Johnson said when told of the Ford decision. “I’m 63 but right now I feel more like 190. It’s already been a tough year.”

Roland Dane, the head of Triple Eight, defended the team’s record.

“Ford have clearly got some issues they have to deal with,” Dane said. “I wish all the employees at Ford all the best, because the company has obviously got a few challenges at the moment.”

The Ford cutback comes as the company looks for more bang from its V8 Supercar buck, although it says motorsport is still its single biggest sporting spend.

Full details of Ford’s future will not be revealed for some time, with FPR believed to be working on a three-car program for next year with James Courtney moving from Stone Brothers to take the extra wheel. But FPR and SBR will form a technical liaison.

The impact is likely to be extensive and could even shake the foundations of V8 Supercar racing, because Holden has also scaled back its involvement in recent years and new company chief Mark Reuss has recently said he would be happy to see another carmaker in the contest.

Johnson joked that he might even end up driving a Toyota, although his lifetime commitment to Ford is unlikely to change.

“We’ll see where it goes from here,” he said. “I need a bit of time to think about things. I see no reason to stop being a Ford person.”

Johnson began his racing career in Holdens, but had his first start in a Falcon in 1975. Since then he has raced American Mustangs and British Sierras, and even a production-class Laser, before returning to Falcons in the V8 Supercar era. He also rallies in an Escort.

His ties to the company date from 1980, after he hit a rock while leading at Bathurst and Edsel Ford - then the marketing chief at Ford Australia - offered a dollar-for-dollar deal to match donations from his fans.

“It went from there. I guess the biggest win for me was getting the first championship in 1981,” Johnson said.

“And Bathurst in the Sierra days was pretty good, before the Bathurst wins in the early 1990s.”

Johnson’s team has been hit hard by money troubles in recent years, with the laconic Queenslander losing more than $2 million of his personal fortune in keeping the operation running. He is now facing a bankruptcy proceeding.

Technorati Tags: V8 Supercars, Dick Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, Graig Lowndes, Ford Performance Racing, Stone Brothers Racing

Portugal have got the ball rolling for the 2008/09 A1 Grand Prix season after revealing Filipe Albuquerque will be their full-time driver for the next two years.

The first team to reveal their plans for the fourth A1 GP season, Portugal were always keen to secure the long-term services of the youngster after making his debut earlier this year and scoring in each of the eight races he participated in.

Albuquerque, who was left on the racing sidelines for 2008 despite finishing third in the World Series by Renault last year, was delighted to be following in the footsteps of GP2 race winner Alvaro Parente in representing his country.

“A1GP is an extremely competitive championship, and I’m sure that in the coming seasons, it will reach new heights,” Albuquerque, who took three podiums for Portugal in those eight races, said. “I can only feel honoured for the chance I have been given to continue representing my country.”

Team principal Luis Vicente was also thrilled to confirm Albuquerque, particularly as he was instrumental in hauling Portugal up to 11th in the standings having only scored five points with Joao Urbano in the first 12 races.

“We are extremely satisfied and feel privileged to be continuing with Filipe for the next two seasons,” said team principal Luis Vicente.

“We firmly believe in his skills. Filipe is extremely fast and talented, as well as very mature and professional. With that in mind, this is the ideal scenario for stability. I can assure the fans, that we’ll do everything possible to win the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport for Portugal.”

Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall won the inaugural V8 round held at Darwin’s Hidden Valley circuit and the former series champion is aiming for another top result in the Northern Territory this weekend.

Following his strong performances over the past few rounds The Enforcer will take to the circuit full of confidence aboard the Supercheap Auto Commodore in Darwin.

During the previous round, held at Sandown last month, Ingall finished the weekend as the highest placed Holden driver in fifth place. The former series champion is confident some further improvements to his car by his dedicated team of engineers will assist him in his quest to achieve another top five finish this weekend.

Ingall is one of only a handful of drivers who has competed in every round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series held at Hidden Valley. From his ten previous visits to the Top End he has finished on the podium on three occasions.

“There is no doubt that Darwin is definitely one of the highlights on the V8 calendar, the place has a fantastic relaxed feel about it and the weather is great,” said Ingall.

“The track itself is quite enjoyable to drive and with the slight changes we’ve made to the car in between rounds I’m confident we will once again be able to mix it within the top five.”

Practice begins on Friday followed by qualifying on Saturday morning and the opening 42-lap race on Saturday. A further two 42-lap journeys will be contested on Sunday top complete the round.

There’s a valid reason why we love the Aussie V8 Supercar Series, two words.

Jessica Yeo!

Jim Beam Racing is due to arrive in Darwin ahead of this weekend’s V8 Supercar round at Hidden Valley expecting to pick up where they left off from the Championship’s last round at Sandown where both Steve Johnson and Will Davison finished strongly.

The team has endured up and down fortunes since Davison took his maiden round victory at Eastern Creek in round two; after qualifying third at Sandown last month Davison was forced to retire from the opening race with mechanical difficulties while Johnson put in a solid top ten round result after disappointing qualifying.

With a new Dunlop control tyre to be introduced in Darwin, both Davison and Johnson expect the first practice session on Friday to play a huge role in the outcome of the weekend as teams search for the best car set up and find out just how the cars react to the new rubber compound.

“We have a run sheet in place for Friday’s practice with a variety of things we want to test in relation to the new tyre this weekend in Darwin,” explained Davison.

“It may very well have an impact on team strategy depending on just how much extra grip and consistency we get from the tyre.

“From all reports the new tyre will provide some extra grip but we will just have to wait and see if it does change how we go about our strategy for racing.”

Johnson also pointed to the Friday’s practice session as very important to the team’s fortunes for the weekend.

“There’s an element of the unknown for sure, no one has used the tyres at a round before so we need to ensure we are on top of things by the end of practice,” said Johnson.

Johnson was also pleased to announce wife Bree has given birth to their second child yesterday morning, baby daughter Lacy Renee Johnson a week out from the Darwin round.

“It’s definitely a relief that she has come into the world before I leave for Darwin; I was able to be by Bree’s side and everything has worked out quite well, both mother and daughter are healthy and did an amazing job” said Johnson.

Technorati Tags: V8 Supercars, Australia, Hidden Valley, Asian Motor Sports

Fujitsu Racing’s Jason Bright heads to one of his most successful race tracks in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, Darwin’s Hidden Valley, for the sixth round of this year’s title chase.

Bright’s overall record reads one round win, plus two other podium finishes, plus three pole positions from nine starts. Hidden Valley was the venue for Bright’s first overall round win in the series as well as first-ever pole position.

Visiting for the second time with his own team, Bright is looking forward to returning to a track that he enjoys racing at.

“Darwin is a great track and a place I really enjoy visiting,” said Bright.

“The whole atmosphere and the chance to escape the Victorian winter really works for me and I look forward to the race every year.

“If we get inside the top-10 in qualifying, from that point I’m sure we can justifiably look at moving further up over the weekend.”

Fujitsu Racing Chief Engineer Geoff Slater is looking forward to the Darwin challenge.

“After the wintery conditions we had at Sandown, at least in Darwin we will be guaranteed warm and dry conditions at this time of the year,” said Slater

“The track presents its own challenges with the long straight and the technical section around the back.

“We are very happy with the handling in our Ford Falcon V8 Supercar and our engine shop has been working very hard to improve that end of the deal as well.”

Extended practice takes place on Friday lunchtime. Saturday includes the elimination-styled qualifying format and the opening 42-lap race. Sunday’s schedule includes another two 42-lap races.

Technorati Tags: Auto racing, V8 Supercars, Jason Bright, Australia, Motorsports

A guaranteed warm welcome in Darwin has IRWIN Racing’s Marcus Marshall looking forward to a top result at Hidden Valley, the sixth round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Guaranteed warm weather is just one of the attractions, with Marshall confident that the IRWIN Racing Ford Falcon can finish in the top-half of the field.

“I really like Darwin and the Hidden Valley layout,” said Marshall.

“A couple of race meetings back we qualified in the top-20 and finished just outside the top-half of the field. Sandown was not as good, but importantly we know that we can get back on the pace and Darwin is the perfect place to prove that.

“Darwin could prove to be our best race of the first half of the year.”

IRWIN Racing Lead Engineer Greg Foletta is looking forward to Darwin.

“We had a very good run in Perth and in many ways Darwin is a similar type of circuit,” said Foletta.

“Importantly we are sure that we can be better than Perth and that has us very excited going to Hidden Valley.

“We are very happy with our race package and as Marcus said we can feel confident of getting a very good result.”

Marshall and the IRWIN Racing team hit the track for practice on Friday, ahead of qualifying and the opening 42-lap race on Saturday. Sunday concludes the weekend with another two 42-lap races.

Technorati Tags: V8 Supercars, Hidden Valley, Australia, Darwin, Ford Falcon

Japanese Motorsport is set make a huge impact this weekend at Round 4 of the Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney NSW. This is the same track that JMS driver ‘Turbo’ Tom Monkhouse won at last year, and the whole crew is itching to return for back to back victories.

At the last round in SA, the JMS boys had a hugely successful campaign, and now with all the team vehicles in premium race trim, there is nothing stopping them going for a podium finish. It has been a long road in the development of the JMS drift cars, but after some good old fashioned perseverance, and some solid commitment to making the cars as reliable as possible, the set up’s have been confirmed as the best the drivers have ever experienced.

More power, more grip and more acceleration will make the JMS team one to watch this weekend. Into the mix is that sensational win at last year’s event, which will no doubt have the team riding high in the confidence stakes heading into the event.

‘Turbo’ Tom Monkhouse – Nissan 180sx RB26
Drift Australia Competitor

“Last year I won this event, and this year I know all too well what it takes to be on top in the last race on Sunday afternoon. I have a simple plan of attack……just that….ATTACK! If you take the time to learn the track’s layout, it is very easy to use to your advantage. There are some corners that can be used to accelerate up on a competitor, and I know just when, and how to do it. Top rung on the podium is my goal, and I will flat out from the Saturday qualifying to get it”

‘Gelignite’ Jack Monkhouse – Nissan S14 200SX
Drift Australia Competitor

“Tom has had good success on this track, and we have talked at length on how to get around the layout as fast as possible. My vehicle is basically a twin to the car he drove at the event last year, so I expect to be very competitive come race day. I have a feeling my biggest competition will come from Tom, and last year we faced each other at this track, so I think this year it’s my turn to lift that number one trophy!”

Ben ‘B-Train’ Monkhouse – Nissan S13 Silvia
Super Drift Competitor

“Tom has a lot of advantages to draw from at this track, and I am confident of using his knowledge to make my campaign stronger. My ride is almost perfect, and the Super D guys won’t know what hit them when I unleash the new power we have tuned in. The B-Train is ready to roll!”

Ben Stack – Team Manager

“We had a great event in SA, and with Tom last years winner at Eastern Creek, there is only one place we are aiming for at this round……Number 1. Each of the cars representing JMS have been thoroughly sorted and prepared, and I expect that Round 4 will be one of success and confidence as the boys chase down our first trophy finish.”

Technorati Tags: Drift Australia, Australia, D1 GP, Drifting, Eastern Creek Raceway, Asian Motor Sports, Drifting

The SUPER GT International Series MALAYSIA race, Round 4 of the 2008 AUTOBACS SUPER GT, was run at the Sepang International Circuit (lap = 5.542 km) in Malaysia on June 22. In the GT500 class, the No. 24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R driven by the pair of Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira and Seiji Ara started from 4th position on the grid and staged a come-from-behind victory. In the GT300class, the No.77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA driven by Tetsuya Yamano and Kota Sasaki scored an impressive pole-to-checkered win.

GT500
The race started at just after 16:00 in the afternoon. On the first corner of the opening lap the No. 32 EPSON NSX (Loic Duval) made a half-spin., apparently due contact with the No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL GT-R (Sebastien Philippe) running just behind it. No.12 suffered damage to its front end and was forced to return to the pit for repairs. This caused both machines to drop far back in the competition. Meanwhile, the No. 24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira) starting from 4th position on the grid passed the No. 17 REAL NSX (Toshihiro Kaneishi) to come through the first lap in third position.

The pole starter, No. 22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Michael Krumm), and the number two qualifier, the No. 1 ARTA NSX (Ralph Firman), continued to run lap after lap in that order. The gap between them gradually widened, and by lap ten No. 22 had a nearly 5-sec. lead. After that, however, No. 22 was unable keep its pace, and by lap 23, Firman had closed the gap to 1.5 sec.

No.22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R At the end of lap 25, No. 22 and No. 1 in second position both made their pit stops at the same time. Both teams changed all four tires, refueled and made their driver changes, with .Masataka Yanagida replacing Krumm at the wheel of No.22 and Takuya Izawa taking over from Firman in the No.1 machine. The two cars returned to the track with the gap between them virtually unchanged. But, within a few laps No. 1 had closed in on the tail of No. 22. Finally, on the first corner of lap 30 Izawa in the No.1 machine pulled up alongside Yanagida in No.22 and the two machines went into the 3rd corner side-by-side. This resulted in a collision that sent No. 22 into a half-spin that allowed No. 1 to move into the lead. No. 1 was judged to be at fault in the collision, however, and assigned a drive-through penalty. When the penalty was run on lap 35, No. 22 was back in the lead.

The penalty had dropped Izawa in the No. 1 machine back to 4th position, but he quickly began to push toward the front again. On the first corner of lap 37 Izawa passed the No. 18 TAKATA DOME NSX (Takashi Kogure > Ryo Michigami) to move into 3rd. From there he went on to close the gap on No. 24 (Seiji Ara) until his machine suddenly began fall off the pace on lap 47. Violent lateral shaking during braking told Izawa that something was clearly wrong with his machine and he had no choice but to bring it back to the pit on lap 48. Perhaps because of the earlier collision, the nut on the right wheel had loosened. By the time it was tightened and he was able to return to the track, Izawa had dropped to 11th position.

Meanwhile, Ara in car No. 24 was closing in on the leader Yanagida in car No. 22. By lap 45 the gap was down to 0.6 sec. On the next lap it was 0.5 sec. and at the end of lap 47 it was 0.3 sec. By this point a tight tail-to-nose race had developed between the two leaders. Exiting the second corner of lap 50, No. 22 suddenly lost acceleration and No. 24 easily slipped past into the lead. After the race, Yanagida (No. 22) commented that he had pressed the pit lane switch by mistake.

No.18 TAKATA DOME NSX Having taken the lead in this way, Ara (No. 24) ran on unchallenged to the checkered at the end of lap 54. For the No. 24 WOODONE ADVAN Clarion GT-R (Joao Paulo Lima De Oliveira /Seiji Ara) it was the first win of the season, and their first since this same round at Sepang last season. This gave the team its second straight Sepang victory.

Second place went to the No. 22 MOTUL AUTECH GT-R (Michael Krumm/Masataka Yanagida). Having looked like the clear winner with just ten laps remaining, it was a disappointing podium for the No. 22 pair, but it gave the GT-R its third 1-2 finish of the season.

Third place went to the No. 18 TAKATA DOME NSX (Ryo Michigami/Takashi Kogure). This was there second consecutive 3rd-place podium finish following the last round at Fuji Speedway. Finishing 4th was the No. 25 ECLIPSE ADVAN SC430 (Takeshi Tsuchiya/Hiroaki Ishiura). While driving the second half of the race, a malfunction in his cool suit caused Ishiura to suffer from heat exhaustion and he had to be carried off to the medical tent on a stretcher after finishing the race, but his perseverance won the team valuable points and made his team the top SC430 finisher.

GT300
The GT300 class race started off with an upset as the third-place starter, the No. 11 JIMCENTER ADVAN F430 (Tetsuya Tanaka), bumped the second position starter, the No.19 WedsSport IS350 (Manabu Orido) on the second curve of the opening lap. No. 19 machine suffered suspension damage that forced it to retire from the race, and No.11 was given a drive-through penalty that dropped it far back in the pack.

This gave 2nd place to the No. 43 ARTA Garaiya (Morio Niita) momentarily, but it was unable to maintain a fast enough pace to hold that position. It was the No. 2 I.M JIHAN CO.LTD APPLE Shiden (Hiroki Kato) that soon moved into 2nd, with the No.4 EBBRO UEMATSU 320R (Ryohei Sakaguchi) following in 3rd. On lap nine, No. 4 was passed by the No. 7 ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7 (Hiroyuki Iiri), which had been gradually moving up from its 10th-position start.. This move put No. 7 in third position. Continuing its charge, No.7 overtook No.2 on lap 14 and moved into 2nd place.

No.46 MOLA LEOPALACE Z
While all this was happening, the pole starter, the No. 77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA (Tetsuya Yamano), continued to lead the race at a fast pace, and by lap 15 it had developed a 10-sec. lead over 2nd place. Back in the pack, the No. 46 MOLA LEOPALACE Z (Kazuki Hoshino), which had jumped up to 7th position early on from its 12th position grid start, continued to push toward the front, moving into 5th position by the 17th lap.

From lap 20 the routine pit stops began. On lap 26, the leader, No. 77, and the 2nd-place runner, No. 7, both made their pit stops at the same time. The two teams changed drivers, with Kota Sasaki replacing Yamano in No.77 and Ryo Orime taking the wheel from Iiri in the No.7 machine. Due to the time required for its pit work, No. 7 returned to the race in 4th position. The No. 2 machine, which had assumed the lead when the two leaders made their pit stop, continued to lead the race until making its own pit stop on lap 34. After changing drivers, No. 2 returned to the race with Kazuko Takahashi at the wheel only to be passed immediately by No. 46 (Hoshino > Hironobu Yasuda) and No. 4 (Sakaguchi > Masaki Matsushita). With this, No. 46 was now in 2nd place and No. 4 in 3rd.

By the time all the teams had finished their pit stops, No. 77 (Sasaki) had returned to the lead. At this point, the gap between No. 77 and No. 46 (Yasuda) in 2nd was now a safe margin of more than 10 sec. that allowed Sasaki to cruise on with little stress.

No.7 ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7
These two leaders went on that way to the checkered. For the No.77 CUSCO DUNLOP SUBARU IMPREZA (Tetsuya Yamano/Kota Sasaki) this was the team’s first victory since round five of the 1998 season. Of course, this was also their first win since switching to the all-wheel-drive Impreza machine.
Finishing 2nd for the second race in a row was the No. 46 MOLA LEOPALACE Z (Kazuki Hoshino/Hironobu Yasuda). In the race for 3rd, No. 7 passed No.4 at one point to stand in 3rd position, but No. 4 came back and re-passed on lap 48 to claim 3rd. It looked at that point as if No. 4 was certain of a podium finish, but t developed engine trouble on the last lap. Although Matsushita was able to bring the limping No. 4 machine to the finish line, he was passed just before the checker d by No. 7 again and had to settle for 4th. His gave the No.7 ORC AMEMIYA SGC-7 (Tetsuya Yamano/Kota Sasaki) its its first podium finish since its win in the season opener.

Australian Christian Jones took his second Porsche Carrera Cup Asia victory of the day, winning Round 6 with another faultless performance on the 4.2km Zhuhai International Circuit. Jones crossed the line with a comfortable margin of more than four seconds from GruppeM Racing’s Tim Sugden. Hong Kong’s Darryl O’Young was 3rd for the second time today, but his consistency paid off to put Team Jebsen top of the Championship leaderboard after six races.

O’Young now leads with a one point advantage over Jones, who had arrived in Zhuhai 3rd in the standings. Team StarChase driver Christian Menzel, Class A leader at the start of the weekend, now lies 3rd after a dramatic change in fortunes for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers.

Jones, fastest in qualifying, untouchable on his way to two emphatic victories and setting the fastest lap in both races, proved beyond doubt he is worthy of the support he is seeking so he can contest the rest of the season, and continue his fight for the title.

Team Jebsen’s O’Young was delighted to put his team top of the leaderboard, despite a trying weekend: “Leading the Championship is the best part of the weekend, and that’s where I want to keep us for the rest of the season,” he said.

SC Global Racing’s Matthew Marsh crossed the line 4th ahead of Team PCS Racing’s Mok Weng Sun, both drivers recording their best finishes so far this season.

In Class B, ThunderAsia Racing’s Melvin Choo also notched up his second win of the day, ahead of Hong Kong’s Philip Ma and Australian Paul Tresidder. Tressider had had a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday, but had fought back superbly to claim a podium finish in the second race of the day.

Jones got away well from pole, however Sugden was not as quick off the start and had to fight off a hard-charging O’Young. Meanwhile Menzel was on a charge, getting by Team BetterLife’s Marchy Lee to go 4th off the start.

Malaysia’s Tunku Hammam, 2nd in Class B, had a disastrous start from the 4th row of the grid, but fought back hard to finish 11th, setting the fastest Class B lap on the way.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Danny Chu had started from the back after a disappointing first race, but was up to 9th by the third lap. Chu is new to both the series and GT racing this season, but there is no doubt he is now finding his feet.

Disaster struck for Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee on Lap 3, when the Team BetterLife race went off. On the same lap, Marsh got by Menzel, but the German immediately began piling on the pressure, headlights blazing. Marsh held him off valiantly, but Menzel reclaimed 4th position on Lap 5, only to crash out four laps later after making an uncharacteristic driver error.

Choo’s win strengthens his grip on the Class B standings even further, and he now has a 25 point margin from rival Hammam, whom he admitted he almost missed during the race: “It feels different without him around. I was looking out for him. I won’t go so far as to say I missed him, but it was definitely different.”

After two 12-lap races in searing temperatures, all the drivers were feeling the effects, particularly those who elected not to use their cool suits. Choo was experiencing cramps in the final two laps, while Sugden had taken liquids with him in the car in an attempt to rehydrate enroute.

Although it was not the happiest of birthdays for Menzel, he and Team StarChase were able to raise some funds for the victims of the recent China earthquake. Along with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, and Ringo Chong and Team Kangshun, they gave donors the ride of a lifetime with some hot laps in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia now travels to Indonesia for Rounds 7 and 8 at the 3.9km Sentul International Circuit outside Jakarta from July 18-20. The next races will be run as part of the Asian Festival of Speed weekend.