Motorsport: A racing fan's perfect address

Midweek motorsport reportJanuary 10, 2007

While prices of land in the estate start at US$675,000, the developer, a company called Unlimited Speed, admits that buyers will probably need to be worth more than US$40 million. It says a Victory Lane residence will probably be the second, third or fourth property of those lucky enough to buy there.

Within the estate will be the Phil Hill Motor Sports Complex, named after America's 1961 world champion. [The country's other F1 champion, Mario Andretti, was not born in the US]. The circuit is designed by Hill and Australian Bob Barnard, best known -- but not necessarily fondly remembered -- for the revamp of Victoria's Phillip Island circuit in the late 1980s and running the two motorcycle grands prix there won by Wayne Gardner. Barnard has recently been involved in a rework of the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

The Victory Lane track -- designed to Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) standards and with all-grass graded run-offs, free of walls and gravel traps -- incorporate 16 configurations made up of two circuits -- one open, flowing and undulating of 4km, the other a more winding 3.2km. A mile-long (1.6km) main straight will double as an aircraft runway, capable of accommodating large private jets.

"Our team has created what I believe to be the ultimate lifestyle development for motor sports enthusiasts and their families," Hill says. "Victory Lane is building a track that will offer an enduring challenge to any driver who can explore the limits with a high degree of safety built in."

Andrew Goggin, president of Unlimited Speed, says: "We're going to adhere to a certain gentleman's ethics code to racing. When you're out on the track with a vintage Ferrari that's worth between $10 million and $18 million, you don't want to be jammed up in track traffic."

But he adds: "The people who build here -- and drive here -- will be former professional drivers, current drivers and amateurs to semi-professionals."

Goggin says the main idea of Victory Lane is to let racing enthusiasts enjoy motorsport yet remain with their families instead of going away on weekends. "Much of racing centres around families," Goggin says. "Think of the Andrettis, the Unsers, the Foyts. We think our concept helps foster a family racing culture."

There will be a climate-controlled and security-monitored paddock to store race cars, as well as the obligatory 18-hole golf course, fishing and recreational lakes and equestrian facilities. The estate will be limit to 120 homes. Already 28 blocks have been sold, ranging from three to 30 acres. Groundbreaking for the track is set to take place next month.

For racing enthusiasts, this looks like a dream coming true. And we'd even have something in common with the neighbors!

American-based South African Elmer Symons, riding in the Dakar for the first time on a KTM bike after twice working as a crewman, was killed in a crash 142km into the sandy 405km fourth stage between Er Rachidia and Ouarzazate in Morocco.

Symons is the 24th competitor to have died in the event's 29-year history, but the total toll is now 49. Last year Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott and two children died in separate accidents during the event. In 2005 two motorcycle competitors were killed.

Spain's double world rally champion Carlos Sainz, in a four-wheel-drive VW Touareg, has stretched his overall lead in the Dakar's car category this year.

Although Schlesser, a one-time F1 driver and a two-time Dakar winner, won the latest stage over sand dunes by almost eight minutes and improved to seventh place outright, Sainz leads his South African VW teammate Giniel de Villiers by almost two  minutes while Portugal's Carlos Sousa, another VW driver, was second on the stage and is third overall.

Mitsubishi has dominated the Dakar this century but has been unimpressive so far this year, with the event's French icon Stephane Peterhansel suffering a burned out clutch in his Pajero on the latest stage, eventually arriving 25 minutes behind Schlesser. Peterhansel is 10th outright but ahead of the iconic Finn Ari Vatanen in a VW.

The highest-placed Mitsubishi on the stage was that of fourth-placed Spaniard Nani Roma, who is also fourth overall. Fellow Mitsubishi drivers Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan and last year's winner, Frenchman Luc Alphand, were sixth and seventh respectively on the latest stage.

Spaniard Marc Coma, victorious last year in the motorcycle category without winning a stage, claimed his second stage win this year in as many days as he took the overall two-wheel lead. Coma finished 12 minutes ahead of compatriot Isidre Esteve, who is still second overall. Both are riding KTMs, which dominate the bike field.

Today's fifth stage is the third in Morocco, over 325km from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan.

World ain't Cody and Ben's oyster
Australia's Asia-Pacific rally champions Cody Crocker and Ben Atkinson's hopes of a Production World Rally Championship campaign this year have been dashed, and that could see them back in the Australian Rally Championship.

Energetic Tasmanian team owner Les Walkden admitted defeat this week in the quest to raise the money for a PWRC campaign.

Walkden had hoped to run the Subaru Impreza WRX STI in which Crocker and Atkinson won the 2006 Asia-Pacific title, after Crocker's three national titles with Subaru's factory team until its withdrawal from the ARC at the end of 2005.

Walkden says he exhausted every avenue in chasing funding to supplement the commitment of his Les Walkden Enterprises and its associated supporters.

"In the end we are probably half a million dollars short, so we have made a decision to concentrate on running Cody Crocker in the Lake Mountain Sprint (in Victoria's Yarra Valley on January 26-28) and Rally Tasmania (February 16-18), with another Asia-Pacific campaign, and even an ARC entry, still a possibility," Walkden says.

Meanwhile, Ben Atkinson's brother, Chris, who is entering his third year in the main world rally championship with the Prodrive-run Subaru factory team, says tyre choices will be even more critical this year with all the top teams on BF Goodrich rubber after Pirelli's withdrawal.

Atkinson has been busy getting acquainted with the new brand ahead of the Monte Carlo Rally. That's on January 19-21, and Atkinson's hoping to do better than last year's sixth.

Winton snaps up Wakefield Park
Wakefield Park at Goulburn, 180km south of Sydney, has been bought by Winton Motor Raceway, which is near Benalla and Wangaratta in Victoria's north. Wakefield Park is a 2.2km national standard racing facility with round three of the V8 Supercar Development Series on April 1 its main event this year. It will also host two rounds of the Australian Motor Racing Series.

It was established in 1994 by Paul Samuels and John Carter as "The Home of Club Motorsport" and was acquired by a Sydney consortium in 2000.

Winton Motor Raceway chief executive Mick Ronke says: "Wakefield Park is similar to Winton in that they are among Australia's busiest race circuits. We are experiencing a growth period at Winton and we look forward to bringing Wakefield Park similar opportunities for further growth."

Garry Willmington will continue as circuit manager, with the existing staff at Wakefield Park, which will be resurfaced within a year. Winton is undergoing $1 million improvements ahead of its fourth round of the V8 Supercar Championship on May 18-20.

Provided McLaren gets the competition law clearances it hopes for within six weeks, the team's ownership structure will then be: Mercedes-Benz parent DaimlerChrysler 40 per cent, Mumtalakat Holding Company (wholly-owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain and chaired by Sheik Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the Bahraini Finance Minister and a member of the Bahrain royal family) 30 per cent, and Dennis and TAG Group 15 per cent each.

It will be the first time since taking control of the team in 1984 that Dennis and Ojjeh will have been minority shareholders, but the team management will not change.

McLaren, founded by the late New Zealander Bruce McLaren in the 1960s, is the second most successful team in F1 history, behind Ferrari, but it has not won the constructors' championship since 1998 and has not produced the world champion driver since Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and '99.

McLaren failed to win a Grand Prix in 2006 after 10 victories in 2005. It has recruited Spain's world champion of the past two seasons, Fernando Alonso, from Renault for this season and he will be partnered by British rookie Lewis Hamilton.

Bahrain is the host of the only GP in the Arab world and the website grandprix.com says its acquisition of the McLaren stake, for an undisclosed price, could be the forerunner to a production facility in the kingdom for McLaren's next road car project.

There are two surprising aspects to the shareholding shuffle: it will prevent Mercedes-Benz moving to full ownership of the team, at least in the short term, and McLaren's Middle East link previously was much stronger with Dubai, whose Emirates airline sponsored it last season.

There were reports in Germany last year that Mercedes was close to buying the 60 per cent of McLaren it did not own after paying about US$400 million for its 40 per cent in 1999.

Abu Dhabi, which like Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, owns 5 per cent of Ferrari, for which it paid US$137 million. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company also owns 17 per cent of Spyker, the Dutch sportscar company that bought the Midland F1 team (originally Jordan) last September.

The Spyker F1 team will use Ferrari engines in F1 this season.

Coming soon -- a McLaren movie
A movie is in the wings on Bruce McLaren, who was killed testing one of his CanAm sportscars at Goodwood in England in 1970. Grandprix.com reports that the film will be produced by some of those involved in the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. An announcement could come within a couple of weeks.

Car makers get F1 advisory body
As an extension of the agreement between the FIA and car makers involved in F1 that averted any threat of a rebel series, and set F1 on a road to a "greener" and possibly more relevant future, a commission has been established for the manufacturers to have input into the sport.

Importantly, though, it will be only an advisory body, without any real decision-making power.

To be called the Formula One Manufacturers' Advisory Commission, it will be chaired by BMW's Professor Burkhard Goeschel, the main negotiator of the truce with FIA president Max Mosley. BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari, Renault, Honda and Toyota will be eligible to have representatives.

The FIA will be represented by Mosley, its F1 technical delegate Charlie Whiting, and technical consultants Tony Purnell and Peter Wright. As much as ever in recent times, the real power is likely to still be with Mosley.

Perhaps the most anxiously awaited will be the Scuderia Toro Rosso launch to see how similar its chassis is to Red Bull Racing's machine for Mark Webber. A legal fight could ensue if it is seen, especially by Dutch-owned team Spyker, to be basically the same.

Ferrari pair laws unto themselves
Ferrari says Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will be allowed to race each other this year, provided it is not to the detriment of the team. "It will be a healthy competition between two drivers that could create great results," team boss Jean Todt told Italy's Corriere Della Sera newspaper.

"We will be very careful to make sure that this internal rivalry does not become counterproductive. The interests of Ferrari are what is most important, and Raikkonen and Massa know this law very well."

After the launch of the new Ferrari this Sunday, Massa will drive the car at the team's Fiorano test track in Maranello, while Raikkonen will get his first drive on January 21 at Mugello.

Long-haul tests for F1 teams
Apart from the usual pre-season testing in Spain, most F1 teams are set to do several days in Bahrain before the season starts at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15-18. Then, because of the three-week gap to the second race in Malaysia, there will be a test at Kuala Lumpur's Sepang circuit on March 27-29.

A good ol' boy for Daytona
A 72-year-old has entered for upcoming Daytona 500 and will become NASCAR's older starter if he makes it. James Hylton has already driven the classic race 16 times, with his best finish being third in 1967 behind Mario Andretti and Fred Lorenzen.

Hylton's last start in a premier division NASCAR race was in 1993, but he had a brief outing in the Busch Series at Milwaukee last year.

Entered for Daytona on February 17 in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo built and prepared by Richard Childress Racing, Hylton says: "I have always wanted to be able to race the 500 and not be limited by budget constraints. Even though it has taken over 40 years, I am finally at that position. At my age, the odds against me are astronomical, but it's a challenge -- and I love a good challenge."

Hylton was rookie of the year in NASCAR's Grand National Division in 1966. He finished second in that championship that year and repeated the performance in '67 and '71. He also won the 1970 Richmond 400, the 1970 NASCAR Grand American Citrus 250 and the 1972 Talladega 500, and captured four pole positions in Winston Cup competition (now called the Nextel Cup).