MOTORSPORT: Is there a future for Rally Australia?

Midweek motorsport reportJuly 4, 2007

For two decades Australia's round of the world rally championship ran in Western Australia before the WA government decided the returns didn't warrant the cost. A mysterious group hatched a plan to relocate the event in south-east Queensland, although there won't be a Rally Oz this year.

The event was last held in WA late last year and the next is scheduled for September next year, with the proposed headquarters at Norwell -- between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. However, veteran rally journalist Jon Thomson points out in today's edition of Auto Action that the organisers of the new Rally Oz "have failed to meet their deadline for revealing the event's route".

"There had been assurances from key organisers that details would be revealed by the end of June," Thomson writes.

Pointing out that there are now just 14 months before the event is due to be run, Thomson says there is "precious little information on exactly where and when the rally will run".

The Norwell base for the proposed event is supposed to be part of a $650 million motorsport precinct which was the subject of a front-page story in Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper three months ago. We raised queries about the proposal here at the time, especially as the consortium involved had not even acquired all the land it needed let alone obtained permits for what it wanted to do -- and indications from the Queensland government were that those permits may not be forthcoming. We also queried whether the finance was in place or achievable for such a grand project.

Our doubts only grow stronger when we read of the lack of detail as the clock ticks down and of deadlines not met.

Further cause for concern about the future, and viability, of a world rally championship round in Australia is the recent news that the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) intends to cut the number of rounds each year from 16 to 12 from 2009. The FIA's intention is to have a two-year cycle, with 24 different rallies over those 24 months.

Under that scenario, Rally Oz would only be held every two years.

World Rally Commission president Morrie Chandler, a New Zealander, admits the two-year cycle won't appeal to many event organisers. In particular, it could make sponsorship difficult to obtain.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to entice more manufacturers into the WRC the championship will be for Group N (production) and Super 2000 cars from 2012 -- with S2000 cars being allowed four-wheel drive but not turbocharging.

Tassie's annual mid-winter Safari in the state's south had been its national championship round for years but dropped off the calendar this season due to various problems.

Les Walkden, the Launceston-based rally lover who has fielded cars for several leading Australian and international rally drivers, has bought two events in Tasmania -- and the tarmac Rally Burnie in the state's north-west is now touted as an ARC round next year.

Meanwhile, Queensland's Sunshine Coast is geared up for its new tarmac rally this week.

The event is modelled on Targa Tasmania and South Australia's Classic Adelaide. Sections of public roads will be closed to other traffic over four days as more than 120 drivers race against the clock in the Suncoast event.

Cars from classics dating back to the 1950s to the latest Porsches, Subaru WRX STis and Mitsubishi Evos will cover 900km between Thursday and Sunday -- 180km of that in timed runs on special stages.

High-profile competitors include Jim Richards in a Porsche and Channel 7's Grant Denyer in a Subaru.

Tarmac rallying has boomed in Australia in recent years while the ARC on gravel courses has struggled. Australia's third major tarmac rally, Targa West is close to fully subscribed well ahead of its September running dates.

These things are always subjective, but here are a few observations from our quick scan of the list:

The 18-man judging panel comprised AA editor Andrew MacLean, deputy editor Rob Margeit, editor-at-large Mark Fogarty, AA contributors Luke West and Jon Evans, long-time Channel 7 motorsport presenter Mike Raymond, V8 Supercar commentator and Jim Richards' tarmac rally co-driver Barry Oliver, the great New Zealand open-wheeler and sports car driver Chris Amon, Australian drivers Will Power, Craig Lowndes and Mark Webber, Williams F1 technical director Sam Michael, driver manager Greg Siddle, and journalists Paul Gover, Peter McKay, Bob Jennings, Barry Lake and Stephen Ottley.

We might post AA's full list of 100 Greatest Drivers here at some point, but in the meantime don't let us deter you from picking up a copy of the magazine not only to see the order but read the comments.

Stepney is no longer in Ferrari's employ following news that the team had asked Italian police to investigate him amid claims of sabotage and white powder supposedly found in the fuel tanks of the red cars at the Monaco GP -- all of which Englishman Stepney claims has been a dirty tricks campaign against him.

Meanwhile, McLaren says that a senior member of its technical organisation has been "the subject of a Ferrari investigation regarding the receipt of technical information". It says the unnamed person concerned received a package of technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April.

McLaren says it has no involvement in the matter, condemned it, and will fully co-operate with any investigation.

The person has been suspended from McLaren, pending what the team calls "a full and proper investigation of the matter".

Website grandprix.com comments that "McLaren clearly understands that this is a serious problem and that there is no doubt about the allegations".

Stepney has been on holiday with his family in Asia but his Italian lawyer says he will see Italian police when he returns to Maranello tomorrow, try to clear his name, and may take legal action against Ferrari.

Stepney had been with Ferrari more than 10 years and was a key part of the team that took Michael Schumacher to five straight world titles between 2000 and 2004. He rose from being chief mechanic to technical manager for the race and test teams, and was seen as close to fellow Englishman Ross Brawn, the long-time Ferrari technical director now on a year's "sabbatical" from F1.

Stepney's relationship with the Scuderia appears to have fallen apart when he was given a role that kept him away from races this year.

Bookmaker William Hill has Hamilton at 5-2, while Ferrari's Felipe Massa is at 3-1 with Betfair and Kimi Raikkonen 3.1-1. Hamilton's McLaren teammate, and the world champion of the past two years, Fernando Alonso is being quoted at 3.6-1 by Betfair.

We've seen odds for Mark Webber of 400-1 and 699-1. Even BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica are at 66-1 or more.

"I don't feel the desire to want to promote me," Coulthard was quoted as saying by Britain's Press Association. "It's not like I do a David Coulthard Charity Challenge, which would be as much an ego massage for myself as it would be raising money for the charity."

We've sensed some underlying frictions between Webber and Coulthard -- when aren't there between F1 teammates? -- but that is a weird tack for Coulthard to take. Then again, he does reckon he's driving as well as Lewis Hamilton but just doesn't have the car to show it.

F1 drivers in the twilight of their careers sometimes say and do strange things.

Meanwhile, Melbourne's Herald Sun -- the country's largest-circulation daily newspaper -- has an editorial today calling on the Victorian government to reveal how much it is paying for the city's GP.

This comes on the heels of Malaysia's revelation that it paid Formula One Management A$44m for the Kuala Lumpur race this year.

"If it is good enough for Malaysia to be open, there seems no reason for the real cost to Victorian taxpayers to be kept secret," the Herald Sun says.

>> V8 Supercars has a win over 10
A brief item in Auto Action today reveals that V8 Supercars Australia has won a secret settlement from Network 10 in a breach of contract claim. V8SA took action against 10 claiming it was owed $400,000 for services not supplied under the terms of the previous TV rights deal between those parties for the coverage of V8 Supercar racing.

AA says the action was settled out of court in June for an undisclosed amount.

Wonder what part these obvious frictions played in the recent outburst against 10 by V8SA chairman Tony Cochrane, although that was painted as being more about his view that 10 was effectively blocking some V8 Supercar live telecasts into South Australia by Channel 7.

Cochrane said then that the V8s would not be shown on F1 telecaster 10 if they returned to Melbourne's GP next year. A V8SA spokesman is quoted today as saying that while that return is "a long way down the path … there's still plenty of work to do".

>> HSV team snares Rat for enduros
Following his split with the troubled Team Kiwi, this week's electronic edition of Motorsport News reports that Paul Radisich has been snapped up by V8 Supercar racing's champion team Toll-HSV for the Sandown and Bathurst enduros.

It is not clear yet whether Radisich will be paired with Rick Kelly or Garth Tander, or whether the HSV regulars will drive together and Radisich be teamed with fellow New Zealander Craig Baird.

Whatever happens, Porsche Carrera Cup racer David Reynolds, who had been the fourth man in the HSV squad for the enduros, will now move across to the Supercheap team to co-drive with Paul Weel.

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