Geoffrey Harris•5 Oct 2012

NEWS

MOTORSPORT: Final curtain for Michael Schumacher

As if there isn't enough nostalgia at Bathurst this weekend, news of Michael Schumacher bowing out of F1 for good will spread it worldwide as one team is on the brink

Texas V8s confirmed but no other dates or TV deal

The focus of Australian motorsport fans is properly and inevitably on Bathurst this weekend, but there are big things happening elsewhere.

Michael Schumacher (pictured) has confirmed that he will retire from Formula One for good at the end of this world championship, while there is now a huge cloud over the Force India F1 team. Force India owner Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher airline is on the verge of collapse, its flights halted, its pilots and engineers unpaid for seven months and debts of more than $1 billion. Mallya faces having other assets seized and auctioned.

The 29 Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons competing in the last Bathurst 1000 under the two-make format are being fine-tuned for Sunday’s race, with qualifying today and then the top shootout tomorrow. It’s still bright and sunny on the Mountain today but there is the possibility of a thunderstorm late Saturday and a clearing shower forecast for race day. A sprinkle of rain, or a bit more, could spice up a nostalgic event in which, as we pointed out here midweek, there are too few genuine contenders for victory.

It’s now official that the new American round of the V8 Supercar Championship in Austin, Texas, will be on May 17-19. The full 2013 calendar is said to still be a couple of weeks away, and there are no obvious signs of progress on a new television deal for the sport yet.

However, with the Nine Network’s financial difficulties making lots of headlines in recent days, Ten’s woes in the ratings as well as on the financial front, the biggest weekend of the season may bring V8 Supercar and Seven negotiators closer to a renewal, possibly with a strong Fox pay-TV component. It is clear, with executive chairman Tony Cochrane stepping away from that role, perhaps as early as the end of this month now, that still relatively new chief executive (and former Fox executive) David Malone has prime responsibility for striking the new deal.

Incidentally, NASCAR in America also is turning its attention to a new TV deal after its existing contracts expire at the end of next year. Sporting News has mentioned this week that the existing eight-year deal is worth US$4.48 billion – and US$585 million this season, with tracks getting 65 per cent of the TV revenue.

Title out of reach, Webber craves Suzuka success

Mark Webber now concedes that he’s “only an outside chance” for this year’s F1 world title. But - with six races to go, starting with this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix – Webber has vowed: “I’m going to push flat-out until the end.”

Having been one of several strong contenders for much of the first half of the season, Red Bull-Renault driver Webber is now fifth and a distant 62 points behind Ferrari’s leader, Fernando Alonso.

Unless Lewis Hamilton can string together a succession of wins in his last races with McLaren-Mercedes, before his switch to the Mercedes factory team next season, it now looms as a two-man tussle between Alonso and Webber’s teammate Sebastian Vettel.

While acknowledging his chances are minimal, Webber has spoken passionately of how he would love to add a GP victory at Japan’s Suzuka circuit to the nine he has accumulated elsewhere.

“This is one of the classic races on the calendar,” he said. “Suzuka is a beautiful circuit, with lots of fast and flowing corners. At the end of every lap you look forward to starting the next.

“Through the first sector of the lap you can really feel the performance of an F1 car. You’re changing direction at very high speeds and you have to be 100 percent committed to get a good lap time.

“Some races you want to win more than others - the classic races like Monaco [where he has won twice], Silverstone [where he also has won twice] and Spa. Suzuka is on the list as well because it’s such a great racetrack; it would be very satisfying to win here.”

Having had the pleasure of attending two Japanese GPs at Suzuka, this author shares Webber’s awe of Suzuka. TV does not do the circuit any justice, giving little clue to its undulation. It is actually quite like Bathurst, nestled in the side of a mountain.

With his title chances shot, a victory at Suzuka certainly would be something for Webber to savour from this campaign.

Schumi sees reality – it’s time to say goodbye

And so to Michael Schumacher …

After the news a few days ago that Mercedes had snared Lewis Hamilton from next season the man with the most staggering record in F1 history (91 GP wins, seven world titles) had two choices: retire for the second time or continue with another, lesser team – perhaps Sauber.

The 43-year-old Schumi has opted for retirement. It’s a wise call. In this observer’s view it is a pity he came back in 2010 after a three-year layoff. It would have been best to have remembered him for the supreme brilliance of his first career, rather than diminish those memories.

Schumacher said in Adelaide in 1995 that he didn’t want to stay too long in racing. Yet he raced on for more than a decade, accumulating all those titles, finished with a swashbuckling drive at Interlagos in Brazil (even though he didn’t win), went away for three seasons, then made a misguided comeback. It has yielded just one podium, while teammate Nico Rosberg has delivered Mercedes GP’s sole victory.

“I never regretted my comeback … but at some point it is time to say goodbye,” Schumacher said at Suzuka yesterday. “I had a lot of criticism in the past three years, which was partly justified.

“There is no doubt we did not achieve our goal of developing a car capable of fighting for the world championship in those three years. But then it is also clear that I can still be very happy about my overall achievements in F1.

“During the past weeks and months I was not sure if I would still have the motivation and energy which is necessary to go on. It is not my style to do anything which I am not 100 per cent convinced about.

“With this decision (to retire) I feel released from those doubts. In the end it is not my ambition to just drive around but to fight for victories, and the pleasure of driving is nourished by competitiveness. It was hard work for me to keep the motivation (in his comeback) and keep the energy and always go forward.

“I said in 2006 that my battery was empty, and now I am on the red zone with my batteries. I was not sure if I could recharge them with the time we have available or not, and I felt it is time for freedom again. I didn’t want to decide … but the team found an option with Lewis that sort of helped me find that decision.”

Proof that he’s made the right decision was him describing the recruitment of Hamilton as “the special moment in a way” that enabled him to come to the conclusion it was indeed time to bow out “without any hard feelings and without any regrets”.

As great as Schumi has been he hasn’t often been known for his grace, but finally he’s wrapping it all up gracefully. While a management role, perhaps with Mercedes GP (already overloaded with management), may await him, his immediate focus is: “Six races to go. That is what comes next.”

Although he’s had far more than his share of success, one more victory in those final races would just round things out nicely.

Hyundai ‘great boost’ for WRC

Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) president Jean Todt says Hyundai’s return to the WRC is proof of world rallying’s strength.

Hyundai announced at the recent Paris Motor Show that it will campaign its i20 in some WRC rounds next year /news/2012/small-passenger/hyundai/i20/paris-motor-show-hyundai-i20-to-go-rallying-32826 before a full program in 2014. It quit its previous effort in 2003.

Todt said this week that Hyundai’s return “is a great boost to our championship and underlines the faith global manufacturers have in our sport, despite the difficult economic times we all face”.

Meanwhile, Ford factory driver Jari-Matti Latvala is weighing competing offers from the Blue Oval and new entrant Volkswagen for next season. Latvala said neither manufacturer had imposed a deadline on him and that it may not be until next month that he makes his decision. At VW he would be teammate to Sebastien Ogier, the French sensation squeezed out of the Citroen team in which he was immensely competitive with the sport’s greatest driver, Sebastien Loeb, while Ford offers a better chance of a world title sooner.

“Ford is committed to the WRC until the end of 2013, but VW is a longer commitment which is a strong thing,” Latvala said. “On the one hand the Ford is a very good car which is very, very competitive and it would be really strong to be fighting for the drivers' championship with Ford.

“I have stayed at Ford for many years and I always wanted to see Ford win a world championship. This has not happened in my years, so it's not an easy situation. Sometimes there are tough choices; I know leaving is hard, but there is a possibility. It’s very hard.”

Nissan 370Zs add spice to ARC

While V8 Supercar racing will have four Nissan Altimas competing next year, the Australian Rally Championship will have a pair of Nissan 370Zs.

As the ARC’s emphasis switches to two-wheel-drive cars, after the long dominance of turbocharged four-wheel-drives, West Australian team Allstar Garage announced its intention to field the 370Zs for WA drivers Nic Box and Danny Williamson.

Team frontman Box admitted the 3.7-litre, six-cylinder coupes were “an unusual choice” and would be at a weight disadvantage to the likes of Honda, Mazda and Ford hatches but claimed they had “real potential”, would be capable of winning stages outright and should be popular with rally fans.

“Jack Monkhouse in his rear-drive Nissan Silvia turbo has proven that cars like this can be competitive in the right hands,” Box said.

A six-round ARC calendar has been announced for 2013 – starting on the first weekend of March with a revived Canberra round but without the Rally Calder stadium event introduced to the series this year. The National Capital Rally will coincide with Canberra’s centenary celebrations.

“With the backing of the ACT government it was important to welcome Canberra back as this was one of the iconic rounds of the championship for many years,” ARC chief executive Scott Pedder said. “With a number of new manufacturers and teams coming on board in 2013 and the need to keep budgets at a reasonable and manageable level it was not yet time to expand to seven rounds. We believe Rally Calder will return at some point, because the concept is a good one.

“Eventually in the next few years I see the championship expanding to seven or more rallies and see no reason why we shouldn’t have a round in, say, the Northern Territory and also return the series to Tasmania.

“With more manufacturers coming into the championship they will want us to reach as many of their customers as possible, so expansion will be on the agenda.”

2013 Australian Rally Championship calendar

March 1-3	National Capital Rally, ACT
April 5-7	Forest Rally, WA
May 24-26	Rally SA
July 12-14	International Rally of Queensland
September 12-15	Rally Australia, NSW
November 15-16	Rally Victoria, Victoria

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MOTORSPORT: Final curtain for Michael Schumacher

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