Motorsport - midweek report

Holden has already tested a prototype of its new VE Commodore V8 Supercar, today's Auto Action reveals, but it won't be unveiled until after the Bathurst 1000.

The VE ran at Holden's Lang Lang proving ground in Victoria last Wednesday and Thursday, driven firstly by Todd Kelly and then by Mark Skaife, the magazine says.

This week it is at the Woomera rocket range in South Australia for high-speed, straight-line aerodynamic testing.

Auto Action editor-at-large Mark Fogarty reports that plans to unveil the VE Supercar at Bathurst have been postponed "to avoid interrupting its pre-homologation development".

Instead there will be a stand-alone launch for the car in mid-October.

"According to those who've seen the car, it looks particularly mean from the front, with bulging wheel arches that accentuate the road car's heavily-flared fenders," Fogarty writes. "Several insiders have described its front-end appearance as similar to Germany's wildly modified DTM machines."

Perfect send-off for the King
Tuesday's state funeral in Melbourne for Peter Brock was a perfect tribute to Peter Perfect. It encapsulated Brocky's life and career beautifully. There were tears, inevitably, but overwhelmingly it was a celebration of a man for whom the word icon could have been invented. Lots more Brock tributes are still ahead, particularly the Sandown memorial in Melbourne this Friday afternoon, then a fortnight later at Bathurst where he will forever be the King of the Mountain, and then two weeks further on at the Gold Coast Indy, where the organisers are promising "something uniquely Queensland".

Indy on Seven from '07
Channel Seven will take over telecasting the Champ Cars at the Gold Coast Indy from Channel 10 next year. Seven has already won the rights to the V8 Supercar Championship, a round of which is held at the Gold Coast meeting, and Indy chairman Terry Mackenroth says it would have been uneconomical to have two host broadcasters.

"We felt that Seven was our best option," Mackenroth says. In reality, it was the only option. Indy organisers claim they are "on track to be the biggest four-day event in the country" this year. "We'll have a stellar year and we'll eclipse the Formula One record for a four-day event," Mackenroth says.

Record fine for Turkish GP
The World Motor Sport Council has fined Turkish Grand Prix organisers US$5 million -- the biggest fine in the sport's history -- for violations of podium protocol at the recent race in Istanbul. The FIA, the governing body of international motor sport, felt its political neutrality had been compromised by the president of the Turkish Cypriot "state" -- an entity recognised only by Turkey -- participating in the trophy presentations. The Turkish GP organisers are thankful not to have lost the race at the US$150 million Istanbul Park. Grandprix.com has called the fine "a weak response and a bad precedent".

Schumi 'emperor' in next life
Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber says he plans to make the seven-time world champion an "advertising emperor" after he retires at the end of the season. "Most of our existing partners will stay with us, and we will also be working on the next super deals," Weber says. Schumacher's personal sponsors DVAG, Shell and Omega have already renewed deals with him. His fortune is estimated at more than US$800 million and it is said he could earn about US$26 million next year, more than world champion Fernando Alonso, Schumacher's Ferrari replacement Kimi Raikkonen, or his brother Ralf.

Cosworth out in the cold
Cosworth is struggling to find an F1 team to power next year, when Williams will switch to Toyota engines and Scuderia Toro Rosso will have either Renault or Ferrari motors.  Spyker, which until recently was called Midland and originally Jordan, is giving up Toyota power and has been talking to Cosworth but is said to be closer to a deal with Ferrari.

"I am very fortunate in a way to have a fresh chance to throw my career back on track (with the Red Bull team in 2007), because it's been a tough two years at Williams," Webber says. "You can't have a season as bad as this, really. Next year will be better. I'm very confident of that."