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Kiwi teenager 'next big thing in V8s'





Teenage V8 Supercars talent Shane van Gisbergen's boss says the young driver is "miles ahead" of where his team expected him to be in his first full season in the sport.

As the V8 season passes the halfway point this weekend at Winton Raceway, van Gisbergen sits 12th in the driver's championship - remarkable considering he has been driving V8s for less than a year.
But the 19-year-old New Zealander's performances in 2008, including second in a race at Sandown in June, have most pundits and peers hailing him as the sport's up and coming talent.

"He's miles ahead. We never thought in our wildest dreams he would be at this level now," Stone Brothers Racing boss Ross Stone said of van Gisbergen ahead of round eight at Winton in north-east Victoria starting on Friday.

Coming from Stone, who has nurtured two-time V8 champion Marcos Ambrose and current driver James Courtney through his Ford team, it is high praise indeed.

Raised on acreage just outside Manukau City in New Zealand's north island, van Gisbergen started his career racing quad bikes - a pastime learned on his family's property.

"Dad used to rally a lot. When I was 15 I earned a scholarship to race Formula First in New Zealand and that got me started," van Gisbergen said.

It proved a stunning entry into car racing, winning the 2006 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship against older drivers at his first attempt to earn a drive with low-budget V8 outfit Team Kiwi Racing in 2007.

Then three-time V8 champion team SBR came calling.
Van Gisbergen was seen as a risky choice to replace Russell Ingall when the veteran defected to Holden for this season.
But it has been an impressive start - van Gisbergen ahead of established stars like Mark Skaife, Jason Bright, and New Zealand's leading V8 personality Greg Murphy in the season's standings.
Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Australian F1 ace Mark Webber, van Gisbergen has no plans to chase the F1 spot so many drivers his age aspire to.

"I always followed the Supercars. I never wanted to do Formula One or anything - always the Supercars," van Gisbergen said.

"The racing is just awesome - that's the best thing about it. You race F1, you can't follow anyone, you can't pass anyone, it's pretty much just boring. "That's why I love V8s."

Changes for V8 calendar as Sydney race emerges


NEW LOOK: The 2009 V8 Supercar season is set to run from March to December, with date changes for Tasmania and Western Australia looming and a Sydney street race to end the year inching closer to fruition.


AdvertisementThe 2009 V8 Supercar season is set to run from March to December, with date changes for Tasmania and Western Australia looming and a Sydney street race to end the year inching closer to fruition.


The Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from March 19 to 22 will be the opening round of a 38-week season under the proposed calendar for next year, which will be finalised and released next month.

It is believed notable changes include the Tasmanian round of the championship switching from November to May, effectively swapping timeslots with the WA round at Barbagallo.

The street race around the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, still subject to final NSW Government approval, has been pencilled in for early December as the grand finale of the championship.

And a Gold Coast round has been slated for October 22-25, despite concerns the annual IndyCarnival may not go ahead in 2009 because of a scheduling dispute between American Indycar bosses and the Queensland Government.

V8 Supercar officials and NSW Premier Morris Iemma confirmed the Sydney street race was a step closer to reality after the government's budget committee signed off on a feasibility study this week.

Government agencies will now work with V8 Supercars Australia on creating an operational plan for the event.

"The Homebush location is a fantastic Olympic legacy and the V8s could be a great addition to an already busy sporting and entertainment precinct," Iemma said.

"But we want to ensure maximum benefits to the people of NSW and the best return on the investment of taxpayer dollars."

Should Homebush get the go-ahead, it is likely to be locked in for the next five years.

V8 Supercars boss Tony Cochrane said the latest update on the Sydney street race he wants to make the jewel in the crown of the championship was great news for Australian motorsport.

"It reflects the fact that Premier Iemma and the NSW government want NSW to be the event capital of Australia," he said.

Cochrane also jets out to Singapore tomorrow to continue negotiations for a round of the championship there in 2010.

I knew it looked shorter..I knew it.From some other pictures that were put up I mentioned it looked shorter.

hahahaha...and it's called T2.[had to have a chuckle.]

stand on the ladder Rae, it will look taller :lol2:

It would only be shorter by a few mm though wouldn't it??

FJ wrote:It would only be shorter by a few mm though wouldn't it??

depends if it is 'stroked'

Q wrote:

FJ wrote:It would only be shorter by a few mm though wouldn't it??

depends if it is 'stroked'

hehehehehehe...stop it I'm getting excited.

CAMS has fined Team Kiwi Racing (TKR) for failing to produce an entrance licence and log book over the last two V8 Supercar rounds.

And V8 Supercars Australia (VESA) Chairman Tony Cochrane said the team has been ‘unofficially’ warned for its recent form.

The fines of $500 for each round is the latest blow to the team, which did not compete in the L&H 500 at Phillip Island last weekend because the sole engine it brought to the track failed in practice.

While the team was fined $500 for not submitting an entrance licence and log book at Round Eight of the Championship at Winton Raceway last month, that fine was suspended until the team again failed to produce the documents at Phillip Island.

According to the V8 Supercars Operation Manual, any car which does not have the CAMS log book at a round are not permitted to participate, “except upon the explicit authority of the stewards, subject to whatever conditions they may impose”.

When BigPond Sport spoke to Cochrane at the L&H 500 on Sunday, he was not aware that Team Kiwi had failed to submit the documents.

“It’s obvious that they are really struggling and unless something changes really radically it’s getting to the point where the Board is probably going to have a serious look at it,” he said.

“Have we looked it yet? No. Will we look at it? My gut feeling is probably.”

Cochrane said it was a concern when one of the V8 Supercar “family” was in strife, regardless of who it was.

“Obviously we would prefer them not to be struggling but they are struggling and I have my own personal views why they have been struggling, which I’m not going to share with anybody,” he said.

“I’d prefer it not to be happening and I would prefer it to be resolved.”

Cochrane said so far there had been no formal proceedings on TKR.

“There’s certainly been discussions in the background, but I repeat we were and remain very keen to see them get through this and see them stay as part of the game.

“I’ve got a bit of time for the whole program. I think Team Kiwi has raised our profile in New Zealand and I like punters that have a go and they have certainly had a go.

“It appeals to my great Aussie-ness.”

Author:Briar Gunther

What next? they must run out of drivers soon,,,,,,,,
Team Kiwi owner David John has argued the V8 Supercar Championship is now true international motor sport, after his team signed up Fahad Al Musalam for the upcoming Bahrain round.
Al Musalam is the reigning Champion in the local Lumina CSV series and is also leading this season’s Championship in the Middle East’s version of a Holden Commodore.
He won the praise of V8 Supercar stalwart Garry Rogers when he tested with Garry Rogers motorsport at Winton in May.
The test was apart of his prize for winning the 2007 Lumina CSV series.
It was the first time a Middle Eastern driver took to the wheel of a V8 Supercar and this weekend will be the first time a Middle Eastern driver will compete in the V8 Championship.
The Gulf Daily News reported that Al Musalam is looking forward to jumping the fence and driving the Team Kiwi Falcon.
“It gives me great honour to be the first Middle Eastern driver to be racing alongside some of the world's top touring champions,” Al Musalam told the Gulf Daily News.
“I will be racing next to the Australian drivers with all their experience, but I aspire to start, finish and perform to the best of my ability.”
John said signing up Al Musalam to the Team Kiwi car was done in conjunction with the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and V8 Supercars Australia.
“I think he’ll be good for the Series and that’s why we’ve done it,” John explained.
“He is a local hero as such being involved in plenty of motor sport activities in Bahrain and the Middle East as a whole.
“I think it’s good for the Championship round in that it will bring in some local interest.”
John said he was not expecting “massive things” from the 34-year-old.
“He has stated it is in his goals to start, be there in the middle and at the end,” he said.
“He knows he’s got a massive job ahead of him and hopefully with a bit of local track knowledge he will get a result.”
John said he was looking for extra performance in the vehicle.
“We started to see that with Steve Owen at Indy, but in saying that, if you are running 15th or (further) back, there is a distinct lack of exposure on TV,” he said.
“This provides an opportunity for a young driver to get a leg up and realise his dreams.
“He is the first Middle Eastern driver to ever drive in a V8 Supercar, so that is something he should be proud of and it is something we are excited to be part of.
“If you’re talking about V8 Supercars being global then this adds another flavour to it.”
John said people were “missing the point” if they thought having a New Zealand driver in the Team Kiwi car was paramount.
“It’s not about a Kiwi driver, it’s about a Kiwi team funded by New Zealand sponsors,” he said.
“At the end of the day the sponsors expect to get two things, media exposure and results and if you lack results you struggle to get media exposure.
“All of the sponsors are extremely excited and proud to provide the opportunity of what’s best for the team and best for the sport.
“V8 Supercars will get some benefit out of it, the BIC will get something out of it and he as a driver will get some benefit.”
John said he was pleased with Owen’s efforts at the Indy round.
“The thing I liked about Steve was there’s no ‘this is a problem’ or ‘that is a problem’, it was ‘hey, this is happening and you need to do this’ or he would drive around the small issues with the car instead of making big issues and then the team is wasting time on them.
“He was able to get the bigger picture and helped make sure the bigger changes were made and the little ones he tackled.
“The car’s now been proven; it’s better than what everyone else was saying.
“If you look at the lap times for the last race, obviously there’s been significant headway made over the Indy weekend; to be able to go head-to-head with some very good teams was very encouraging.”

Sounds like a suicide bomber............Hope he blows up Murphy.

FJ wrote:Sounds like a suicide bomber............Hope he blows up Murphy.

and david johns

and Tander

and FJ

Allshookup wrote:and FJ

Just had a look on the V8 Supercars website (Being nearly the end of the year) and 2008 must have been one of the better years for Ford.

Bathurst 3 years in a row (Same team)
First 2 positions for the drivers championship
First 3 positions for Team championship too.
10 out 14 round wins for Ford too.

It would have been nice to get Hamilton as well though. Maybe next time...

Holden Racing Team’s newest kid on the block says it has always been a dream of his to drive for the Red Lion’s greatest team.

Will Davison was given a standing ovation from Holden workers at the Red Lion’s Port Melbourne facility when it was confirmed today (Wednesday) that he will be Garth Tander’s new colleague in 2009.

“This is amazing; what an atmosphere… (it’s like) nothing I have experienced before,” he said.

Davison said he was not daunted at the prospect of racing for Holden’s main team.

“It’s very exciting because I feel really well prepared for this opportunity,” he said.

“I’ve worked hard my whole career to get here and I feel like I’ve earned it.

“They’re the benchmark team in Australia and it’s an honour and I’m just looking forward to knuckling down with everyone involved and achieving what I believe I’m definitely capable of.”

The 26-year-old revealed his family connection to Holden went back two generations.

“My grandfather, Lex Davison, actually drove the first motorsport event Holden entered, the Monte Carlo Rally, in 1953,” he said.

“Holden is really the heart and soul of my family so it is really good to be back home.

“Holden Racing Team, it’s the team I dreamt to drive for my whole life and I just can’t wait to get stuck into it.”

Tander, who won the V8 Supercar Championship in 2007, said Davison’s signing will reinvigorate HRT.

“Because when you look at it last year, Mark (Skaife) had been with the team for a considerable period of time and I’d been with the WP guys three or four years so I guess looking at the car … he’s entering the phase of his career where he’s really in control of what he’s doing.”

Tander had no concerns about Davison upstaging him and said the only goal was for HRT to become the all-conquering powerhouse it used to be.

“If he finishes first in the first race and I finish second I won’t be concerned at all,” he smiled.

Davison said he was “massively hungry” for a Championship and hoped to bring a young attitude to the team.

“Nothing else in my life really interferes with my job,” he stated.

And Davison is relishing the chance to work with Tander.

“I can’t wait,” Davison enthused.

“He’s a guy I’ve looked up to for the last couple of years and you actually benchmark yourself against the best.

“We want to work well together for the whole the team to move forward and that’s the key.

“Although we’re going to be competing against each other very hard, we’re going to work together really well to make sure we’re one-two and then we’ll sort out who’s one!”

Ford Performance Racing Team Manager Tim Edwards said a recent shakedown at Winton Raceway for the new FG Falcon served its purpose, but admitted not everything went to plan.

He indicated that Steven Richards’ new car was back in the transporter before completing its scheduled run.

Edwards said there was a problem with the #6 Falcon’s oil tank at the shakedown held on Tuesday, March 3, but said the day was far from a failure.

“There were a couple of little problems with the oil tank, but there were absolutely no major issues at all,” he explained.

“It was only that we didn’t have a fabricator or welder to make the changes so he (Richo) only did about 15 of his 20 laps.

“We chose not to do the other laps because we were getting oil spikes on some of the corners and we were using the new engines for Adelaide so we didn’t want to risk it.”

The leading Ford V8 Supercar teams will race the brand new FG Falcon for the first time at the Clipsal 500 from March 19-22.

Besides the 20-lap shakedown permitted for new cars under V8 Supercars Australia rules, the official test day – on Monday March 9 at Winton for Victorian-based teams and Wednesday March 11 at Ipswich for Queensland-based teams – is the only other track time for the new FGs before Clipsal.

Edwards said the shakedown served its purpose because it meant the team would not turn up to the Victorian test day behind the eight ball.

“It would have been disappointing if it had have happened at the test day,” he admitted.

“When you build a new car with 2000 new parts, if you think every one of those are going to be perfect… it just isn’t going to happen.

“The Queensland teams like Triple Eight are doing the same (car shake downs) today (Friday) and if they have zero problems with their cars then they are far superior than us.”

Edwards said with the oil glitch under control, Richards and teammate Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom can now “hit the track with anger” on Monday.

“Both of our drivers were ecstatic with their cars at the shakedown,” he said.

“Frosty managed to do his 20 laps and he didn’t have a problem.”

Edwards said the test day would allow the team to better understand some changes to last year’s components, including the fuel system with the introduction of E85 ethanol fuel.

“The engineers have had three or four months of thinking time so they have a raft of things they want to try to understand the car a little bit more,” he said.

“There’s a lot of stuff for us to get through on Monday.”

Meanwhile, Kelly Racing Commercial Manager Nick Ryan said a shakedown held this week for Todd and Rick Kelly’s new VE Commodores went “unbelievably well”.

“The general feedback from the shakedown was there are absolutely no major changes needed to the car, only minor tweaks,” he said.

“This is incredibly pleasing, considering the short amount of time it has taken to turn around the cars.

“The cars were cutting quick times from the outset and the team’s really ecstatic with their position; it reflects on the great work that everyone has done in the offseason.”

The two V8 Supercar test days are open to the public.
V8 Supercars urges each person who walks through the gate at Winton to pay a $10 donation (children under 12 are free) with all gate takings going to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Fans are urged to pay an entry fee of $10 per person (children under 12 are free) at the Queensland Raceway test day, with all gate takings going to the North Queensland Flood Appeal.

Punters are welcome to donate more than the $10 entry if they wish to help the respective appeals.

This is what SVG gets up to in his spare time.

t will be an all TeamVodafone front row for Race One of the Clipsal 500 tomorrow, after Jamie Whincup topped the timing sheets in a re-introduced Top 10 Shootout this afternoon (Friday).

Whincup posted the quickest lap of 1:21.8123 and teammate Craig Lowndes posted the fourth quickest time in the Shootout with 1:22.3369 after two times were disqualified.

The second quickest time – a 1:21.9633 by Lee Holdsworth – and third quickest – a 1:21.9829 by Mark Winterbottom – were scrubbed after the drivers were deemed to have kerb-hopped during their laps.

Whincup was happy with his new FG Falcon – which the team is calling a Hogster in reference to sponsor Hog’s Breath Café – but is not getting too cocky in the lead up to the 78-lap Race One on Saturday afternoon.

“The longer the race, the less pole means,” he said.

Had it not been for the two disqualifications, his teammate Lowndes would not start Race One from the front row.

Lowndes was pleased with his time because he admitted qualifying – and particularly the Shooutout - was not his strong point.

“It’s nice to have the top 10 (Shootout) back in the mix and to get one lap right is really difficult.

“My lap wasn’t that brilliant; but we managed to muscle around and get it back.

“I struggled through Turn Four; I slid into it basically and coming back through Turn Seven I didn’t quite get the line that I wanted.

“Our tyres get faster over a couple of laps so it’s something we will have to work on the next couple of meetings to get the car speed out of the one lap.”

Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander posted the third-quickest time once Winterbottom and Holdsworth’s quickest times were wiped.

Tander locked the rear tyres of the #2 Commodore during his lap.

“The lap itself was ok; I actually had an issue with the hairpin and locked rears and that locked the side front and that cost me a couple of 10ths,” he said.

“Other than that the lap was pretty good; after the hairpin at Turn Nine I tired to make up as much time as I could.”

The first Top 10 Shootout of the year was free of crashes, but Team BOC driver Jason Richards spoiled his chances of a quick time when he locked up his tyres at Turn Nine.

He finished any chance of a good time when he went on to make the same error at Turn 14.

Tander’s teammate Will Davison was on a flyer until he clipped the wall in the Senna Chicane and then went on to lock up his car at Turn Nine.

The first part of qualifying was red flagged not even four minutes into the session after Cameron McConville lost control of the #14 Wow Racing Commodore.

He clipped the right rear of the car in at the Senna Chicane, with the car ricocheting and planting itself into a wall further down the track.

Tander set the first sub-1min 22sec lap during the session, with a 1:21.7511 lap.

Whincup beat that time towards the end of the session with 1:21.3035 to break his own qualifying lap record (1:21.3301) that he set in February last year.

With 45 seconds of the session to go, Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Todd Kelly spun his car going into Turn Five and his car needed to be towed, putting a stop to anyone hoping to get in a last-minute quick lap.

In the second qualifying session, Whincup again broke the qualifying lap record with a lap of 1:21.2773.

Top 10 Shootout

Jamie Whincup, FG Falcon, 1:21.8123
Craig Lowndes, FG Falcon, 1:22.0668
Garth Tander, VE Commodore, 1:22.1887
James Courtney, FG Falcon, 1:22.3369
Fabian Coulthard, FG Falcon, 1:22.3919
Paul Dumbrell, VE Commodore, 1:22.5136
Will Davison, VE Commodore, 1:22.7285
Jason Richards, VE Commodore, 1:25.4188
Mark Winterbottom, FG Falcon, DSQ
Lee Holdsworth, VE Commodore, DSQ

1 Team Vodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 78 01:59:06.5279 25 1:23.0017
2 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:20.5552 63 1:23.5226
3 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:32.6039 42 1:23.3930
4 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 78 01:59:35.4559 49 1:23.5960
5 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:37.0436 53 1:23.4357
6 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 78 01:59:42.4383 5 1:23.5120
7 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:42.8291 53 1:23.5349
8 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:48.0255 23 1:23.6587
9 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:49.6857 27 1:23.8515
10 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 78 01:59:54.0898 23 1:23.6960

Great to see Ford dominate the weekend, Whincup is proving that it will be hard to take the title off him

Team Kiwi Racing is looking to resurrect their V8 Supercar aspirations
in the climax to the championship season at Mt Panorama.

David John says TKR has a competitive car available and
two outstanding Kiwi drivers to take up a wildcard spot in the Bathurst
1000 on October 9-11.

"There's a wildcard spot that has not
been taken up for the race. I've written to V8 Supercars to ask if we
can have it," John said.

"I have secured a competitive car and I have an agreement from Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid to drive if we get the opportunity."

John
said he has reached a deal with Kiwi-owned Stone Brothers Racing for a
car - the Ford driven into third place at Bathurst last year by James
Courtney and Dave Besnard.

The TKR founder said he has all the funding and commercial support in place for Bathurst.

TKR
had its licence revoked by V8 Supercars and resold to Australian outfit
Triple F Racing in May, after John was placed into personal bankruptcy.

He expects to be released from the administration prior to Bathurst after meeting all financial obligations of the bankruptcy.
sourced from stuff.co.nz

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/motorsport/2838799/Team-Kiwi-to-fly-at-Bathurst

Lets hope the fat bastard gets turned down ..... he's dragged the Kiwi logo through enough mud if you want my opinion.