MOTORSPORT: Seton goes Holden for Bathurst!

>> HRT Seto's new Great Race hope
The start of the V8 Supercar Championship is less than a month away (Adelaide's Clipsal 500, March 1-4) and new VE Holden Commodores are being wheeled out, but already much of the focus is on the endurance races in September and October.

Ford stalwart Glenn Seton, now out of a full-time drive and still without the Bathurst victory he craves, will be announced tomorrow as Mark Skaife's Holden Racing Team partner for the enduros, according to today's edition of Motorsport News magazine.

"Holden is expected to make much of Seton's defection (from Ford) as his best chance to win the Bathurst 1000," the magazine says. "He is also expected to be involved with the team's ride car program as a way of maintaining drive form, as he did last year when he joined Stone Brothers Racing (for the enduros)."

Seton and Skaife are contemporaries and were in Fred Gibson's Nissan team together in the 1980s, but have never driven together in the big races.

Motorsport News says another driver on the list to partner Todd Kelly in the other HRT Commodore "had his most recent V8 Supercar appearances at the wheel of a Ford".

Larry Perkins' Jack Daniel's team was the first to unveil a VE Commodore this week, and it has another under construction so that its young drivers, Shane Price and Jack Perkins(pictured), will both have the new model for the Clipsal.

HRT and the related reigning champion HSV Dealer Team will launch their VEs and new liveries tomorrow as well as name endurance co-drivers.

Jason Bright's Britek Motorsport has already confirmed its endurance line-up, announcing that reigning Fujitsu development series champion Adam Macrow and another Fujitsu series ace, Warren Luff, are with its again this year, joining Bright and Alan Gurr.

"Adam and Warren would have been on the list of a number of leading teams and, with only six test days allowed, it was important to get them onboard early so that we can make use of them straight away," says Bright, now heading his own team after making way at Ford Performance Racing for Steven Richards.

"We were delighted with the performance of Adam and Warren at Sandown and Bathurst last year. They were on-course for a top-five finish at Bathurst before engine dramas. The final line-up for each of our Falcons (to be unveiled this Friday) will be decided after testing and evaluating what options work the best."

Super Cheap Auto Racing will only have one VE in time for Adelaide -- and it will go to newcomer Paul Dumbrell, while Cameron McConville will start the season in an updated VZ Commodore.

V8 Supercar Championship Series
1. Mar 1-4, Clipsal 500, Adelaide.
2. Mar 23-25, Barbagallo, Perth.
3. Apr 20-22, Placemakers V8 Int, New Zealand.
4. May 18-20, Winton, Victoria.
5. Jun 9-11, Eastern Creek, Sydney.
6. Jun 22-24, Sky City Challenge, Darwin.
7. Jul 19-22, Queensland Raceway, Ipswich.
8. Aug 16-19, Oran Park, Sydney.
9. Sep 14-16, Betta Electrical 500, Melbourne
10. Oct 3-7, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Bathurst.
11. Oct 18-21, Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, Surfers' Paradise.
12. Nov 1-3, BIC, Bahrain.
13. Nov 16-18, Tasmania Challenge, Launceston.
14. Nov 29-Dec 2, Grand Finale, Phillip Island.

>> FPR set for longer life
Ford Performance Racing, owned by Prodrive's David Richards, is expected to extend its arrangement with Ford before the start of the Supercar season.

The BF Falcon that Steven Richards (no relation to David but son of Jim) will drive this season will be unveiled next week.

David Richards, who has been in Australia in recent days, anticipates FPR being a title contender this year with Richards S and youngster Mark Winterbottom, who was third in the championship last season.

"I'd expect us to be in the top three in the championship," Richards D says. "I'd expect us to have regular wins and I would hope that both the drivers will be fighting for a potential title."

>> AFL deal good for V8 fans
The Australian Football League's protracted television dealings have seemingly been finalized, with an announcement expected tomorrow. Fox Sports will telecast four of the eight games each week and channels 7 and 10 two each. Seven's games will be on Friday nights and mid-afternoon Sundays.

After months of speculation that the two free-to-air channels would have to screen all eight games every week (four each), this news will be soothing for Supercar fans wondering about new V8 telecaster 7's ability to deliver on its commitment to V8 racing.

>> Johnson toasts 'God-send' deal
Dick Johnson Racing's new sponsorship from Jim Beam bourbon is for three years -- and Johnson says it's "a God-send". Without it, the team would have had to be sold, or would have folded.

Johnson says that he's hoping to be back up among the top five teams this year with son Steven, ninth in last year's championship, and Will Davison, who was 19th -- but perhaps a bit unlucky not to be higher.

One report says Jim Beam snared DJR for about one-third of what bourbon rival Jack Daniel's is paying the Perkins team.

>> Kiwi Reid eyes V8 enduros
Jonny Reid, the New Zealander who has driven his country to second place in the A1 Grand Prix series, wants a drive in the V8 Supercar enduros.

In the middle of last year Reid had a test drive of the Commodore of Mark Porter, the fellow Kiwi who died as a result of the horrific crash in the Fujitsu race at Bathurst last October. Now 23, Reid was last on the grid at Bathurst in 2003 with Smith's Trucks Racing.

He's uncertain about his open-wheeler future beyond the A1 series, although Auto Action magazine says 'Black Beauty' A1 team owner Colin Giltrap is contemplating a Champ Car team which could accommodate him.

>> Big new plans at Ipswich
A massive motorsport development is reportedly being planned for Ipswich near Brisbane. It's being talked about as a $650m project, entirely separate to Queensland Raceway.

It may be related to the proposed revival of Rally Australia in the Sunshine State next year. Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale says a West Australian company is behind the concept.

>> Restoration for Brock's Daytona
The car in which Peter Brock died is to be rebuilt to its original condition and displayed in a museum dedicated to the racing legend.

The owner of the Daytona Coupe, Richard Bendell, wants the silver sportscar restored to its original condition, according to Mick Hone, who was Brock's co-driver in the ill-fated Targa West last September. Hone and Brock's partner, Julie Bamford, want that too.

The rebuild will be done at Bendell's workshop on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and it is then slated to go into Brock enthusiast Peter Champion's planned museum at Yeppoon, near Rockhampton in Queensland. Champion hopes to open the museum in May, with about 20 other Brock cars there too.

Meanwhile, the silver HSV Commodore signed by thousands of Brock fans at Bathurst last October may be housed in the National Motor Museum at the foot of Mt Panorama -- but not until next year, after a national tour.

Bathurst Regional Council has called for expressions of interest for its proposed Brock memorial, which it hopes to have in place by this year's 1000.

>> Ambrose working up to speed
Marcos Ambrose has been testing his new Busch series Ford Fusion at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week and tomorrow moves to Virginia International Raceway -- a road course.

Apart from a few laps this summer at the V8 Super School on the Gold Coast while on holidays, this will be the first road circuit Ambrose has been on since he won the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship finale at Phillip Island.

Sixty Busch cars have been on track at Las Vegas, where the banking has been increased from 12 to 20 degrees.

"It's really fast around this place -- when you are running at up to 190mph (305kmh) and doing 30 seconds flat around a 1.5-mile (2.4km) oval you're really moving," Ambrose says.

"Towards the end of the (first) day the weather cooled down and we really turned in some fast times. This is a handling track so I'm quite encouraged that we are going well. I'm very pleased with the day's work. I'm excited about getting back behind the wheel of a race car on a road course next," he said

Comparison of Ambrose's Busch Fusion and his previous Falcon Supercar

>> Webber predicts 'reasonable' start
While Mark Webber's Red Bull RB3 has been nowhere near the pace yet at Formula 1 testing in Spain, he reckons he will have a "reasonable car" by the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 18.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine says Webber and teammate David Coulthard had reported a general lack of aerodynamic grip in the Adrian Newey-designed, Renault-powered RB3, in contrast to data from the team's new wind tunnel.

It says the car was up to 4kmh slower at Valencia than engine supplier Renault's works team last week, that its new high-speed gearbox was not even used due to faults, and that it was failing to use Bridgestone's control tyres effectively.

"Even after long runs the rubber looks like new," the magazine says.

However, Webber told Australasian Motorsport News magazine: "The early results were pretty much what you would expect. Aero efficiency, cooling, all that important basic stuff was good.

"There is a bit more Adrian wants to do on the initial aero package, which he's hoping to have onboard for the second half of the Bahrain test [over 10 days later this month] so I think we'll have a reasonable car in Melbourne and, with some development over the first half dozen races, we could have a pretty good car as the season moves on."

Toro Rosso and Super Aguri are the only two F1 teams yet to launch their cars for this season -- and Toro Rosso is yet to name its drivers.

Formerly Minardi and half-owned by 10-time GP winner Gerhard Berger with Red Bull, Toro Rosso intends to run basically a Red Bull RB3 with a Ferrari engine, while Super Aguri -- which won't launch its car until March 12, the Monday of Australian GP week -- intends fielding last year's Honda (the model in which Jenson Button scored his first GP win in Hungary).

Spyker and Williams, in particular, argue that such customer cars are not legal until 2008.

Spyker boss Colin Kolles says legal action is likely: "For sure, if we don't like the cars" at scrutineering in Melbourne.

A possible compromise being mooted, but not by either Spyker or Williams, is that Toro Rosso and Super Aguri be allowed to race but not score constructors' championship points or receive a share of the sport's television revenues for the year.

Kolles, though, seems intent on legal action.

"They will have to learn it the hard way," he says. "I don't argue afterwards any more. We are trying to find a solution and there are some people who think they are super-clever. And we will see at the end of the day, who has the evidence and the proof. And I can tell you that I have them and some people are very naive."

>> In a flap over Ferraris
Lots of fuss in Melbourne the past couple of days about a proposed Ferrari festival in the city's Italian district, Carlton, in early March.

It is hitched to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Prancing Horse marque. Apart from 60 road-going Ferraris, it is intended to run an F1 car on a 1km 'track' in Lygon St.

Controversy has erupted in light of Victoria's stringent efforts at cracking down on 'hooning' and the Melbourne City Council's $100,000 contribution -- without the knowledge or agreement of many councilors and staff -- to a promotion for the city's GP two weeks later.

GP chairman Ron Walker says the F1 Ferrari will only be "strolling along" rather than speeding.

>> Bernie indebted to fans
F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone made a big admission during the announcement of Abu Dhabi's new GP track and its addition to the calendar from 2009.

As much was being made of the new circuit being designed to make overtaking a priority and inject some excitement into F1, Ecclestone admitted the sport needed to put on more of a show.

"We need to start giving back to the public," Ecclestone says. "We owe the public."

>> Dancing on ice, F1-style
St Moritz in Switzerland is the world's oldest snow-sports resort. On the frozen lake there the 100th anniversary of its prestigious international horse racing event called White Turf is being celebrated this week.

Those celebrations got underway, courtesy of BMW Sauber, with an appearance by the team's experienced driver Nick Heidfeld in an F1 car with special spiked tires from Bridgestone.

Heidfeld says it was the most unusual drive of his life.

 "The frozen track was much rougher than what I'm used to in F1. It wasn't easy to apply force on such a surface."

On hand was an eight-man crew that had to warm up the engine every half hour to stop it freezing.

>> Atkinson set for snow job
Australia's world rally ace Chris Atkinson has a flash new apartment in Monaco, has been testing Subaru's new-model Impreza on the gravel roads of Sardinia but is now among snow-bound forest roads of Sweden for this weekend's second round of the WRC.

Atkinson and teammate, Petter Solberg, remain in updated 2006 model Imprezas for the Swedish Rally (one of the most unpredictable and extreme events of the season) and the next weekend's Rally Norway.

Atkinson and fellow Australian, co-driver Glenn Macneall, exceeded expectations with the outdated car by finishing fourth in the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo. They finished two places ahead of Solberg and Phil Mills -- who won in Sweden two years ago.

This rally is the second fastest on the WRC calendar, behind Rally Finland, and with a winning average speed of 110.78kmh last year. It is in forests near Hagfors, a small town in the centre of the country where temperatures that can fall as low as -25 degrees C.

The 20 stages, comprising 342.09 competitive kilometres, are covered with a layer of soft snow on a base of hard ice and visibility is poor.

Tiny tips made of tungsten, the hardest and heaviest metal on earth, are inserted in the WRC cars' tyres which strike the ground 17 times every second at 120kmh to provide the necessary traction and grip to keep the cars on the course. Each tyre has 384 tungsten studs inserted and glued one-by-one in the tread.

Atkinson started his career with Subaru's WRC team on the Swedish Rally in 2005 and his best finish on snow is 11th place in this event last year.

"We're aiming for the top five or six in Sweden and Norway," Atkinson says.

"If we come away with some more points I'll be happy. I've got fond memories of my debut with the team here in 2005. It's such a fun event."

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