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Formula One Australian Grand Prix 2012

Editor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:30:34 +0000

The 2012 Formula One season kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March. Practice sessions begin on Friday, 16 March. This is followed by the Qualifying round on Saturday, 17 March. The race consists of 58 laps around a 5.303 km circuit, totalling 307.574 km.

Date: 18 March 2012
Time: 17:00
Venue: Albert Park
City: Melbourne
Country: Australia

V8 Supercars Acquired by Archer Capital

Editor — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:34:50 +0000

The majority shares of V8 Supercars Australia Auto Racing Championship will now be controlled by Archer Capital, and the series is valued at an estimated $316 million. Archer Capital is based in Sydney and funds Australian Motor Racing Partners Pty Limited. The organization will now own sixty percent of the series. The remaining forty percent of the V8 Supercars will be retained by the management holding and teams. Even though Archer Capital has taken on some debt in taking over the series, Andrew Gray, Director of the Australian Motor Racing Partners, expressed his optimism in regard to the takeover.

Andrew Gray spoke at a conference, which is viewable on the V8 Supercars website, saying that Australian Motor Racing Partners are a company that considers themselves long-term investors and that they are patient. He commented that the industry has grown and that they foresee a lot more growth in the future. Tony Cochrane will remain the chairman of the V8 Supercars Series, continuing to supervise the daily management that includes races in Australia, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi. Last year, the sport attracted approximately a hundred and twenty thousand spectators for each event. It is hoped that the new structure of V8 Supercars will develop the sport and create an infrastructure for the sport to continue on a steady growth pattern, and possibly add additional venues to the series.

The Australian Motor Racing Partners have a very distinguished history behind them, and are known to be successful in developing businesses and brands. With the backing of this leading company, V8 Supercars has a wonderful new future ahead of it. Financially the sport will be able to continue and develop under the watchful eye of the new investors, who will also be assisting in promoting the sport.

Tony Cochrane is also excited about the future, being quoted as saying: “It has been a fantastic and exciting 14 year journey to date, and this new ownership structure and investment are an exceptional outcome for everyone who loves this sport. Everyone in V8 Supercars should be immensely proud of the business and the sport that has been created. For my part, I am most proud of the nearly 1,600 jobs that are now contained within V8 Supercars. I have been asked and have agreed to continue with my role as both chairman and full voting board member as I see the coming years as the most exciting and most dynamic in V8 Supercars’ history.”

Podium for Vettel in Australia

Editor — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:31:19 +0000

Sebastian Vettel once again proved that he is a champion by winning the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday 27 March 2011. In 2010 he became F1 world champion, and together with Mark Webber, his team mate, he assisted in securing the Constructors Championships for the Red Bull team. Born in Germany on 3 July 1987, he was the youngest runner up in 2009 when Jenson Button won the title. Now it seems that his flawless driving and natural talent is putting him back into contention for winning the 2011 Formula One season.

Coming into the new Formula One season to defend his title, Sebastian Vettel pulled away in pole position at the Australian Grand Prix and finished his race virtually unchallenged. Lewis Hamilton held onto his second place finish, just over twenty-two seconds behind Vettel. Vitaly Petrov, driving for Lotus Renault, was beaming with pride as he stepped onto the podium for the first time in his Formula One driving career to celebrate his third place finish.

Christian Horner, principal for the Red Bull team, was overjoyed by Vettel’s victory, stating: “Sebastian’s been dominant all weekend and to turn up and win the first race with a faultless drive was fantastic. To have book-ended the two championships by winning the last race in Abu Dhabi and the first race here is a fantastic achievement.”

Vettel spoke to the media after the race and is keeping an open mind in regard to the coming season, saying “I try to keep saying to the team that we have to keep our feet on the floor. It was a very good race. A lot of points and I think we enjoyed ourselves, which is even more important. But it is a long year, a lot of things can happen.”

Ferrari had to be happy with a fourth place finish by Alonso, and Mark Webber crossed the finish line shortly thereafter to take fifth position. They were followed by Jenson Button in sixth position, Sergio Perez in seventh and Kamui Kobayashi in eighth. Button suffered a setback after an illegal passing move was penalized, and twent- two drivers, including the legendary Michael Schumacher, were forced to retire due to problems with their vehicles.

Townsville 400

Editor — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:00:46 +0000

The popular Townsville 400 is a renowned V8 Super Car Event. The race takes place on a track with a circuit length of 2.87km, with an average speed of 140kph. The event consists of two 200km races. Be sure to catch the action!

Date: 9 to 11 July 2011
Venue: Townsville circuit
City: Townsville
State: Queensland
Country: Australia

Powercruise

Editor — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:30:38 +0000

Powercruise is the top modified car event in Australia and New Zealand, which has now expanded to the United States. This thrilling event sees fans driving their cars alongside modified street machines, drag cars, hot rods and imports. Other highlights of the show include powerskids, drifting, off-street drags, burnouts, show ans shine, Miss Powercruise and so much more. Powercruise was created so that auto fans could do what they’re not allowed to do on the roads.

Date: 22 to 24 July 2011
Venue: Brainerd International Raceway
City: Brainerd
State: Minnesota
Country: United States of America

Mark Webber

Editor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:06:50 +0000

Australian Formula One driver Mark Alan Webber was born on 27 August 1976 in the New South Wales’ town of Queanbeyan in Australia. His father a motorcycle dealer, Mark Webber began racing motorcycles at a young age. In 1991 he decided to start karting, winning the New South Wales state championship two years later in 1993. The following year he went on to compete in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, where he finished 14th overall. 1995 saw greater success for Webber, who gained a number of victories and finished in fourth place.

Mark Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995, so as to further pursue his career in the world of auto racing. That same year he took part in the Formula Ford Festival for the Van Diemen team and took third position. In 1996 Webber came in second overall in the British Formula Ford Championship and third in the Formula Ford Euro Cup. At the end of 1996 he was signed by Alan Docking Racing to begin his foray into Formula Three racing in 1997. His Formula Three season was successful, ending the season in fourth position overall. Webber was signed to the Mercedes team for the 1998 FIA GT Championship. He met with further triumph that year, taking the runner-up position after five wins. 1999 saw Webber again racing for AMG, but the season was cut short after aerodynamic problems with the vehicles.

In 2000 Webber made a move to Formula 3000 racing. Racing for Eurobet Arrows, he came in third overall in the FIA International Formula 3000 series. A talented driver he went on to take second place in the 2001 F3000 season, driving for Super Nova Racing. 2001 also saw Mark Webber test driving for Benetton Formula One.

Mark Webber’s Formula One career began in 2002. Competing for the Minardi team, with teammate Alex Yoong, he impressed many in his debut season. Webber decided to join the Jaguar F1 team for the 2003 season, gaining 17 of the team’s 18 points and coming in tenth overall in the standings. He carried on with Jaguar in 2004, though it was a difficult season with few highlights to speak of. 2005 saw Webber joining the Williams team, though it was not quite what was hoped for, though he did qualify with seven top-five grid slots and gained a podium position in Monaco. Still with Williams in 2006, he was able to score just seven points for the season. Webber had a trying 2007 season with the Red Bull team, ending on 10 points and 12th place overall. 2008 was an improvement gaining 21 points and finishing 11th in the standings.

2009 was Mark Webber’s most successful F1 season. He finished fourth in the drivers’ championship with 69.5 points, racing for Red Bull. Amongst his achievements for the season were eight podium finishes, three fastest laps and two race wins. He continues racing with Red Bull for the 2010 season.

Armidale Motor Show 2009

Editor — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:21:28 +0000

The 2009 Armidale Motor Show is gearing up to be an event that motoring enthusiasts should not miss out on. There is something for everyone at the show and will feature a range of vehicles of various shapes and colors such as vintage vehicles, street machines and hotrods, but there will also be motorcycles and trucks to marvel at. Food stalls and vendors will offer their latest products at show prices and is the ideal opportunity to shop for a few wanted accessories. The Show will open at 9 am and continue through the day till 4 pm.

For more information about the show and its exhibitors, contact Trent Hamel at newwnglandtowing@bigpond.com or on 0404 869 869.

Date: 26 September 2009
Venue: Armidale Racecourse
City: Armidale, New South Wales
Country: Australia

Button makes history

Editor — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:18:43 +0000

Sunday, 29 March 2009, was a very important day for the Brawn GP racing team, as it was to be their debut as a Formula One racing team, and the stakes were high. After Honda decided that they no longer wanted to be a part of F1, Ross Brawn, the team principle took the chance to take over the team and see how far they could go. It is obvious that the change is exactly what the team needed, as they exploded on the Melbourne track for the Australian Grand Prix.

In 1950, the Alfa Romeo F1 team won their debut race, followed by the Mercedes team in 1954, who managed to pull of the same feat. And on Sunday, the Brawn GP team became the first team since 1977, to win their debut

It seems that the other teams were constantly running into trouble, with Felipe Massa (Ferarri) losing his steering and an unfortunate Kimi Raikkonen spinning out on the 48th lap. Two crashes also sent drivers out of contention, with Robert Kubica (BMW) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) crashing into each other a mere four laps before the end of the race and the collision between Nick Heidfeld (BMW) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) also effecting Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Mark Webber (Red Bull). Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) finished in fourth position, followed by Timo Glock (Toyota), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Williams) and Sebastien Buemi (Red Bull).

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Brawn GP, with Button commenting after the race: “This is where we deserve to be, after the difficult times we have had. Roll on the season, I am so excited about this year.” When asked about the finish, Jenson Button had this to say, “This is a fairytale ending for the first race. Some people may say it’s a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don’t care, I won the race and that’s all I care about.”

Jack Brabham

Editor — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:50:11 +0000

Sir John Arthur “Jack” Brabham, OBE was born in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville on April 2, 1926. At the young age of 15 he left school and went to work in an auto repair garage but later became an Australian racing driver and a Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966.

He served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II and then in 1946 he opened a small repair business. His interest in cars led him to race midget cars and during his first season he won the NSW Championship. It was in 1955 when Jack Brabham made his Grand Prix debut at the British Grand Prix, driving his own personal Maserati 250F. Later on he joined the Cooper Car Company team who initiated the running of cars with engines at their rear, something many of his peers laughed at. This move was advantageous as the weight is concentrated on the rear wheels giving more traction. Brabham won the World Championships both in 1959 and again in 1960.

In 1961 Brabham and Ron Tauranac founded the Brabham Racing Organisation. Jack did not do well with the new engine limit of 1500 cc in Formula One, making no wins, but later when it was changed to 3000 cc he won the championship in a Brabham-Repco. This made him the first driver in Formula One World Championship to win a race in a car carrying his name. After racing for one more year Brabham decided to break away from racing by selling his share to Ron Tauranac and heading back to his home country Australia.

All three of Jack Brabham’s sons – Geoff, Gary and David – are involved in racing in one way or another. Over the years Brabham was given many awards. He was named 1966 Australia’s Man of the Year and was awarded Order of the British Empire in 1967 by the Queen and appointed Knight Bachelor in 1979. In 1990 he was inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Then in 2006 Brabham was honoured, along with the marque Cooper at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Brabham, in 2008, was named an Officer of the Order of Australia because of his services to Motor Sports.

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Albert Park

Editor — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:50:11 +0000

Situated in the City of Port Phillip in Victoria, Australia, Albert Park and Lake lie roughly 3 kilometres south of the Melbourne CBD. Set in 555 acres of stunning parkland, the Albert Park incorporates a number of sporting facilities, ovals, a golf course, a walking track and the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit.

Besides hosting a number of premier racing events, the park and Gunn Island provide a great habitat for a number of bird species, bats, possums, reptiles and amphibians. You’ll also find the Bob Jane Football stadium and the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre at Albert Park while the lake is used to host regular regattas.

Every year the Australian Grand Prix is held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, a street-based circuit that snakes its way around the Albert Park Lake. It is this spectacular event for which the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is best known and the race usually takes place on the Labour Day weekend. Though the race takes place on a number of everyday sections of road, these sections were rebuilt prior to the inaugural race in 1996 so they are quite smooth when compared to other public road circuits. Add to this the picturesque setting of Albert Park, and the racetrack is an unbeatable location for Formula One racing. What’s more, the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park is one of the few places on the Formula 1 calendar which are situated near a body of water.

Drivers generally find that the track is fast and easy to drive and learn. However, it does not make overtaking easy and spectators generally have to have a grandstand seat in order to enjoy the race. As early as four weeks before the major event, the majority of the trackside fencing, pedestrian overpasses and grandstands are put up in preparation. All of this is generally removed again in the two weeks following the event. Though a small number of people find the limited access to the various park facilities during this time to be an inconvenience, the majority of the public enjoy the race and venture out to see it each year.