MOTORSPORT: HO, HO, HO for great Falcon legacy

Lot 6 boys: Inspiration for future generations
The Falcon GTHOs of the late 1960s and early 1970s are Australia's most revered muscle cars. They gained Ford huge kudos in racing, especially at Bathurst.

And the legacy of those race cars, fondly known as "Hoeys", the drivers and now especially the men behind the scenes who built them into race winners in a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne is being perpetuated.

The GTHO Lot 6 Foundation will serve as a benevolent fund in case any of the men from that warehouse in Mahoneys Rd, Thomastown -- across the Hume Highway from the Ford factory -- should need, but more importantly it will assist in the development of future motorsport engineers and mechanics.

The foundation is the vision of "Big Al" Turner, the American who came to Australia to oversee the project in which the "Hoeys" went racing. Turner and the Lot 6 boys celebrated a 40th anniversary two years ago, but "Big Al" wasn't at the foundation's launch last night in another warehouse in Richmond, in inner Melbourne, from where his Australian son-in-law Peter Dietze operates.

Dietze read a message from Turner and a tie-up with the RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) university was announced with the aim of creating, with Victorian government assistance, a world-class school and to provide scholarships.

Three of the old HO race drivers -- Allan Moffat, Fred Gibson and Alan Hamilton -- were present, as well as some of the behind-the-scenes men who gave their hearts and souls to the project and still feel the rewarding glow of it and a few guests. Among them was Bob Graziano, the American now heading Ford Australia. Graziano wasn't among the several speakers; rather it was a night for him to be appraised of the proudest moments in his company's racing heritage in this country.

Dietze, who used to lie under Turner's HO company car as he warmed it up in the mornings and called the rumble of its V8 engine an opera to his ears, reckons the "Hoeys" are "the greatest icon in Australian motoring".

Rod Barrett, who heads Ford Performance Vehicles and is a director of the new foundation, says they were "the most emotional and evocative Australian car ever made" -- and must wish he had something now that could capture the hearts of Australians in the same way. And supporters of the Blue Oval hanker for machines -- built at the instigation of the Broadmeadows factory and under its eye -- to recapture the glory that came with the "Hoeys".

The highlight of last night's quaint function was when a red Phase III sitting near the warehouse door was fired up. The smiles were broad and, especially among the Lot 6 boys, there may have been a few tears in the eyes. Now that it's been launched, the GTHO Lot 6 Foundation will begin activities around Australia, starting with the All Ford Family Day at Sydney's Eastern Creek this Sunday (July 31) and then the GT Nationals in Brisbane.

Its website is still at a skeletal stage but is worth a visit here.

Grand Prix driver for Gold Coast 600
The spots for international drivers partnering regular V8 Supercar drivers at the 21st anniversary of motor racing on the Gold Coast street circuit in October are almost filled.

An active Formula One driver is among them -- Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi, the teammate of young Australian Daniel Ricciardo at the Spanish-owned tailened outfit HRT F1, formerly known as Hispania Racing Team. Liuzzi will fly down to Queensland between the Korean and new Indian grands prix for the second of what has become the Gold Coast 600 after almost two decades of "Indy". He will share a Falcon with Tony D'Alberto in the October 21-23 event.

Six other visiting internationals have F1 experience -- Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais, a two-time Indy winner at the Gold Coast, Austrian Christian Klien, Finn Mika Salo, Dane Jan Magnussen, Italian Gianni Morbidelli and Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin.

We'll publish the full line-up when it's completed, as well as that for the earlier Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance races with predominantly local co-drivers.

Tasmania set to keep V8s beyond this year
The Tasmanian government and V8 Supercars Australia appear close to an agreement that would keep a round of the country's premier racing championship at the island state's Symmons Plains circuit beyond this year.

The Hobart Mercury has reported that a 70-30 likelihood of a deal for next year and 2013 -- on pretty similar terms to those that the government earlier cancelled out of earlier this year, perhaps with some government commitment to assist in an upgrade of the venue. New Tasmanian tourism minister Scott Bacon said the government "remain fully committed to keeping the V8s at Symmons Plains". And V8 Supercars chief operating officer Shane Howard said after talks with Tasmanian representatives on the Gold Coast this week, that he hoped an agreement could be reached within a week or so.

"There is a willingness from both parties to work together to get the right result," Howard said. "There are a number of issues from our perspective -- the government grant to get us there, assist with the promotion of the event, and working to get venue improvements locked in place."

Lots of milestones at Hungarian Grand Prix
Australia's F1 drivers Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo are taking inspiration for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix from fellow Aussie Cadel Evans' victory in the Tour de France cycling classic.

The race at the Hungaroring in Budapest marks the anniversary of Webber's last F1 win a year ago -- and there is anticipation of a one-year extension of his contract with Red Bull Racing being announced there.

Lots of milestones are being reached this weekend -- the 100th GP for the 2.4-litre V8 engines that replaced the 3-litre V10s at the start of 2006, the 2009 world champion Jenson Button's 200th GP after his debut in Melbourne in 2000, and the 100th GP for Nico Rosberg -- just 14 less than his world champion father Keke.

Red Bull road car idea might have wings
Speculation is growing about the possibility of Red Bull road cars now that it is promoting Nissan-Renault's luxury brand Infiniti on its Renault-powered RB7s driven by world champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has told Britain's Autocar: "Red Bull used to be known only as an energy drink company, but now it is recognised as an engineering team. It's a natural evolution for us to get involved in road car engineering."

Most of the talk centres on a special edition of the G37, see here and here.

VW still has an eye on F1
Volkswagen decided months ago against coming into F1 in 2014, somewhat controversially when it seemed the push for "greener" turbocharged engines was to entice it, yet may still be interested a few more years down the track.

"I could imagine involvement in F1 in 2018, when the company is at the forefront of the industry," VW executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine. "We have enough brands that could do that," he said.

Atkinson a non-starter for Rally Oz
Australia's top rally driver, Chris Atkinson, has ruled out driving in the new Rally Australia on NSW's Coffs Coast in September. Atkinson, a former World Rally Championship regular until Subaru quit its factory involvement in the sport and leading this year's Asia-Pacific Championship in a Proton, is attending this weekend's WRC round, Rally Finland.

"We needed the support from the Australian manufacturers (to compete in Rally Australia)," Atkinson has told wrc.com. "I talked to a few of them but in the end we ran out of time to get everything in place... But it doesn't mean I will stop working and hopefully we can do a few events next year in a World Rally Car.

"I don't know what Proton's plans are -- their car is improving all the time so we'll have to see what happens." Atkinson said his greatest WRC memory was standing on the podium in Finland three years ago.

Meanwhile, the third round of this year's Australian Rally Championship is on this weekend in the Mt Crawford Forest and Barossa Valley of South Australia. It is likely to be a battle between the series-leading Toyota Corolla Group N (P) of Ryan Smart and John Allen and the "unrestricted" Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX of Mark Pedder and Lee Tierney. It was at this event last year that Pedder's brother Scott had an horrific accident on the Cromer stage in the forest that ended his driving career -- and he has since become the championship's chief executive.

"Rally SA was Scott's first national rally win in 2005 and it would be great to repeat that feat this year, but I think I will avoid any advice he has regarding the best way to drive through the Cromer stage," Mark Pedder said.

"Ambrose has the experience of veteran crew chief Todd Parrott to guide him through his first year with Richard Petty Motorsports," Spencer said. "Parrott builds beautiful cars and that's paid off, particularly on intermediate tracks this season, where Ambrose has three finishes of sixth or better.

"At 19 races into his third season, Ambrose's average start and finish are at a career best... And certainly with Watkins Glen (a road course) coming up in less than a month, Ambrose has to be considered a threat to win there as well."

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