Motorsport Friday report: Tributes to Brock

Peter Brock was going to be at the Festival of Speed on Tweed this weekend. Instead the event at Murwillumbah near the Queensland-NSW border has been transformed into a giant memorial for Brocky.

The festival's original theme for this weekend was a celebration of Bathurst icons from yesteryear, but it was inevitably re-focussed specifically on Brock by his fatal crash a week ago in Targa West.

Among the icon's cars booked to run on the Tweed course are his famed Austin A30; the first of his nine Bathurst-winning cars, the 1972 Torana XU1; his 1976 Chev Monza; 1977 Torana A9X; 1980 VC Commodore; 1984 VK Commodore and 2002 Team Brock Commodore V8 Supercar. Parade laps will be held each day from today until Sunday. Brock's mentor, Harry Firth, will be among those attending the festival. So too will Jim Richards, who was both a rival and co-driver to Australia's greatest touring car racer. Website: speedontweed.com

V8 Supercars will be racing in the Fujitsu Series at Mallala in South Australia this weekend and a minute's silence will be observed for Brock before the start. There will also be a lap of honor of Holden Torana, Monaro and Brock-Commodore road cars owned by enthusiasts.

Marcos Ambrose will carry tributes to Brock and crocodile hunter Steve Irwin in this weekend's New Hampshire round of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the US. Ambrose's Ford F-150 will have a logo on the side with Brock's famous 05 number.
Two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion Ambrose has notched two third-place finishes, one driver-of-the-race and two rookie-of-the-race awards, one pole position and led the most laps in one race in his first season in the American series. Websites: marcosambrose.com and truckseries.com

>> Rally bond deeply rooted
Teamwork takes on new meaning in rallying today. Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Scott Pedder needs some dental work on a root canal, so he's flying from Melbourne to Brisbane to have it done by his co-driver, Glen Weston, an endodontist.

Rallying's husband-and-wife stars Simon and Sue Evans are poised to claim the NEC Australian Rally Championship at next weekend's final round, the NGK Rally of Melbourne, in a Toyota Corolla. They have 170 points, Toyota Racing Development teammates Neal Bates and Coral Taylor 154, Subaru WRX pair Dean Herridge and Bill Hayes 148 and Mitsubishi's Pedder and Weston 110.

It's a fight between the top three combinations, with 50 per cent bonus points on offer at this round. Based on stages times in recent events, the Evans Toyota is seeded No. 1 ahead of the Evolution IX Mitsubishi Lancer, then the other Toyota and the Subaru.

The Melbourne rally will have a new, free ceremonial start at NewQuay Promenade, Docklands, next Friday from 6.30pm, followed by more than 200km of competition in 16 stages in the Yarra Valley on the following two days. Organisers say they have 55 entries, including Rick Bates making a one-off return to gravel rallying in the factory Ford Focus, substituting for regular driver Michael Guest -- who is not competing due to a recent suspension of his civil driver's licence. Website: rallyofmelbourne.com.au

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone reckons that Schumacher, who will retire at the end of the season, had "at least two more years in him". Ecclestone also reckons that recent penalties on Renault and Fernando Alonso have been farcical. Many others see those penalties as part of Ecclestone contriving to ensure the world title fights between Alonso and Schumacher and Renault and Ferrari go down to the wire.

Schumacher's manager, Willi Weber, has hit back at Alonso's claim that the German is the "most unsporting driver in the history of F1", calling it "an unbelievable insult" and "completely below the belt". Schumi "will give a suitable reply at the next race", the Chinese Grand Prix on October 1, says Weber, adding: "Alonso is a brilliant driver, but his behaviour leaves a lot to be desired." Motor sport's governing body, the FIA, is investigating Briatore's recent angry outburst after Alonso was penalised five places on the grid at Monza. Weber says it is all sour grapes. "Renault have finally realised that they are going to lose the title," he says.