MOTORSPORT: Straightening out F1

>> Crackdown on underfloor tactics
Two weeks after the first Formula One grand prix of the season in Melbourne, and a week out from the second in Malaysia, the world governing body of motorsport -- the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile -- is trying to get something straight.

There have been rumblings that since the Australian GP that the victorious Ferrari and fourth-placed BMW-Sauber were using technology that, while it may not have broken the letter of the F1 regulations, may have contravened the spirit of the rules.

Rival teams have quietly claimed that the floors of the Ferrari -- and perhaps BMW -- cars in Melbourne used a spring device to improve aerodynamics at high speed.

As so often in F1, it is essentially a row between top British team McLaren and Italy's Ferrari, which is often perceived -- especially by McLaren -- to receive favourable treatment from the sport's rule-makers and enforcers.

The Melbourne podium just happened to be filled by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher replacement Kimi Raikkonen on the top step, with McLaren's Fernando Alonso and rookie Lewis Hamilton flanking him.

Rather than protest in Melbourne, McLaren boss Ron Dennis simply mentioned, without even naming Ferrari, that question marks often arise over interpretation of the rules out of the first race of the season.

Dennis suggested though, that if the FIA took no action to clarify contentious matters, other teams would run similar things on their cars at the next GP, which happens to be Malaysia's on April 6-8 at the Sepang circuit on the outskirts of KL.

The tale of what has happened since has perhaps been best told on British F1 telecaster ITV's website, as follows: "McLaren's engineering director, Paddy Lowe, wrote to FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting raising the floor-mounting issue and asking for permission to use a Ferrari-style system.

"Lowe's letter was clearly intended to prompt the governing body to clarify whether it will continue to deem such systems legal even though their effect is to circumvent rules limiting bodywork flexibility.

"F1's technical regulations state that bodywork (including the floor) must not deflect more than 5mm vertically when a 500 Newton load is applied upwards.

"The spring device used by Ferrari has been on the team's cars since the end of last season and has passed all subsequent scrutineering checks.

"The concern from rival teams is that, while the car passes the 5mm deflection test at rest, the spring device causes the floor to lift under greater loads at high speed, leading the diffuser to stall.

"If true, this would confer aerodynamic benefits -- reducing drag and thus either increasing straight-line speed or allowing the team to run more downforce for a given straight-line speed.

"The FIA has responded by toughening up the deflection test to ensure that the bodywork flexibility rules are strictly adhered to in future.

"From the Malaysian GP onwards, cars will have to pass scrutineering with any spring mounting devices removed."

The floors of the Ferraris and BMWs passed flexibility checks in Melbourne, but those teams are likely to present modified cars to scrutineers at Sepang next Thursday.

FIA technical delegate Whiting has sent a letter to all teams telling them that more detailed checks will be done on the underbodies during scrutineering to ensure they are adhering to the spirit of the rules about moveable devices.

>> Better signs for Red Bull
F1 teams have been testing at Sepang the past three days, but rain curtailed them yesterday and the test has been extended into today.

Lewis Hamilton was quickest Thursday in his Mercedes-powered McLaren, but 0.7sec slower than Kimi Raikkonen had been in his Ferrari on Wednesday.

The Red Bull cars looked more competitive, with Australian Mark Webber (pictured) second fastest to Hamilton yesterday -- and just 0.2sec behind, with eight other cars on the track.

Webber's teammate, David Coulthard, had been third quickest on Wednesday.

However, Adrian Newey -- the top designer responsible for the Renault-powered RB3 -- says Red Bull is going to need considerably more time to become fully competitive with the leaders.

"We don't yet have the resources of an established team," Newey has told F1 Racing magazine.

"We've grown rapidly already. Now we need a period of stability while we put all the systems in place and get to know one another.

"We'll still building up our facilities: the wind tunnel will be good, but it doesn't yet have some of the features the leading teams have; and there are some simulation facilities that take time to build up.

"You can't just order them off the shelf and get an express delivery for the next day."

>> Singapore alight with excitement
Singapore could steal Melbourne's thunder with the announcement of the first night GP as early as later today, according to reports from the island state off the southern tip of Malaysia.

Singapore's Straits Times newspaper says the announcement is expected by next week at the latest.

"There are just a few loose ends left in the deal to tie up -- an announcement could be made as soon as Friday (today)," the paper quoted a source saying.

Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is driving the Singapore proposal, with a supportive government behind him.

It has been mooted for either April or August/September next year on a 5km street circuit that Mark Webber is to gently ‘christen' in a Porsche GT3 tomorrow.

Melbourne could still win the race to host the first night GP, next March, if plans proceed in the Victorian capital, but it seems Singapore is set to get the bragging rights from the first confirmation.

The moves for evening races in the Asia-Pacific timezone are all about trying to improve F1's television audience in Europe.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has also been pushing for the GPs in Japan and China to start later in their day.

Malaysia, initially worried about the prospect of another GP so close in Singapore, now appears desperate to keep its round of the world championship and is prepared to run its race in the cooler night air.

>> Other moves on F1 calendar
France looks likely to lose its GP at Magny Cours next year, with Bernie Ecclestone increasing his lobbying for a new race in Paris.

Valencia in Spain is increasingly hopeful of an F1 race on its streets from 2009. It would be called either the European or Mediterranean GP.

>> Turkey gets off lightly
A $US2.5m fine imposed on the Turkish motorsport federation TOSFED by the FIA over the controversial podium ceremony at last year's GP in Istanbul has been dropped.

TOSFED, which instead has been reprimanded, pleaded for leniency on the grounds that the fine would bankrupt it, Autosport.com says.

TOSFED and race organisers MSO were jointly fined a record $US5m after Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat was introduced on the podium as "President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus".

Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern part of the Mediterranean island after a brief, Greek-inspired coup. Only Turkey recognises the north and the FIA, representing motoring organisations from 125 countries, feared the podium ceremony had compromised its political neutrality.

MSO paid its fine last year.

Bernie Ecclestone is in the process of taking over the running of Turkey's GP through his own empire.

Venezuelan Milka Duno (also pictured) is entered for the May 27 classic with Samax Racing, along with the better-known Danica Patrick for Andretti Green Racing and Sarah Fisher with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Janet Guthrie was the first woman to race at Indianapolis in 1977.

Fisher and Lyn St James were the first women to drive in the same Indy 500 in 2000, while Patrick came close to winning at the Brickyard in 2005, leading with just a couple of laps to go.

Duno has three wins in the Grand American Racing Series and was part of the second-place team at this year's Daytona 24-Hour race -- the highest finish by a woman in the 45-year history of that enduro.

Duno is expected to drive her first IndyCar race at Kansas City on April 29, a week before starting rookie tests at Indianapolis and intends to run 10 of the Indy Racing League's 17 races this year.

They are Dutchman Robert Doornbos (who is also the F1 test driver for Red Bull Racing) and Englishman Dan Clarke.

All Champ Car teams are racing the Panoz DP01 chassis this year.

Stoddart's outfit, Team Minardi USA, was previously CTE Racing-HVM.

Stoddart's partner, and the hands-on operator of the team, is the well-regarded Keith Wiggins, who ran the Pacific F1 team in the early 1990s, while funding comes from Dutch tycoon, Harry Meurmans.

Clarke (23) held his seat in the outfit ahead of Frenchman Nelson Philippe, the winner of last year's Gold Coast Indy. Clarke was runner-up in Champ Car's rookie-of-the-year last season after claiming a pole position and a third place.

He emerged from the British Formula 3 International Series, where he achieved seven podiums and one victory in 2005.

He is a former winner of Britain's Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.

>> New Asia-Pacific drive for Crocker
Rallying gets into top gear this weekend, with the opening round of the Australian Rally Championship and the fifth round of the World Rally Championship in Portugal.

The opening Aussie round takes place on Queensland's Sunshine Coast and in the Mary Valley with the rally base at Imbil, near Gympie.

It will see the debut of the first Super 2000 cars -- from Ford (two Pirtek-sponsored Fiestas) and Toyota (a singleton Corolla).

Meantime RallySportmag.com.au reports that triple Australian champion and reigning Asia-Pacific champion Cody Crocker finally has his season sorted.

With Les Walkden Rallying out of the Asia-Pacific series this year, Crocker is set to defend his title by driving for Singapore's Motor Image Enterprises.

He will run a car for Subaru Singapore, which will initially be prepared in Singapore and then shipped to New Zealand, where it will be completed before the second round of the APRC -- the Rally of Whangarai.

"The team I'll be driving for ran Toshi Arai in two Asia-Pacific rounds last year, so they should do a good job," Crocker says.

Crocker will again have Ben Atkinson (pictured with Crocker at last year's Rally Hokkaido in Japan), brother of WRC star Chris, as co-driver.

In the meantime, Crocker is preparing for the Bathurst 12-Hour circuit race at Easter, when he will share an Impreza WRX with Chris Atkinson and Dean Herridge.

Les Walkden is intent on reviving his plans for a Production World Rally Championship campaign next year.

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