Grid Lines....
27/5/2000 12:40 (Jason Whittaker) - Who will Gardner drive with in the enduros? Is Wakefield in line for a top-flight enduro drive? Will a Queensland round be cut from the Series? Will Bathurst get a revamp? We bring you all “the goss” from the Supercar paddock in this edition of Grid Lines….
**We have exclusively unearthed news that the race to sign Wayne Gardner for the impending bi-driver endurance events could be won by Brad Jones, after Gardner revealed Jones was one of three options he is considering. However, while Gardner has said he remains in negotiations, we have it on good authority it WILL be the Jones’ (Brad and Kim) who will snare the former 500cc champ for the Queensland 500 and Bathurst FAI 1000. “….Brad is one of three choices I have for Bathurst right now. I'm currently evaluating the best drive for me, and hope to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks,” Gardner told a Web Site forum recently.
**Queensland motorsport cult hero, Wayne Wakefield, could be in line for a top-flight V8 drive later in the year, with several teams chasing the signature of the Lites racer. We understand Wayne may have had offers from two Shell Championship teams, but to date declined all offers. If Wakefield doesn't secure a Level 1 drive, he will campaign his own Graphic Skills VS Commodore at the Queensland 500 and Bathurst.
**In more driver news, expect International open-wheeler stars Marcos Ambrose and Andrej Pavicevic, as well as local Formula Holden aces Christian Murchison, Simon Wills, Tim Leahey and Matthew Halliday, to come into the equation for enduro line-ups in top Level 1 teams later in the year. Wills, Leahey and Halliday have already tested with Mark Larkham’s Mitre 10 operation at Queensland Raceway recently.
**Ford V8 Lites racer, Craig Harris, has announced plans to expand his small operation, to encompass a second Lites car later in the season. Harris has established a full-contained race workshop to build and maintain a second car. Harris hopes another Lites team will be willing to merge with his operation to form the two-car outfit. "It's something we've been thinking about for a while. There is ample opportunity to easily run two cars and the economics of the idea makes a lot of sense," Harris said.
**It appears Queensland Supercar fans will be the biggest losers in Chairman Cochrane’s grand international expansion plans, with word filtering through one of the Queensland Raceway SCS rounds WILL be cut from the 2001 Championship. With plans to take the V8s overseas to New Zealand and possibly Malaysia, the Round 7 sprint-race fixture at Queensland Raceway will fall by the wayside as a result. With more Level 1 teams based in the Sunshine State than any other, it’s sure to create plenty of anger amongst local teams – and fans. Tony Cochrane is currently in Asia to inspect possible host circuits for any Asian V8 visit.
**It looks as though Australia’s greatest racing circuit will finally get the renovations it so desperately needs, with a consortium of business interests drawing up plans for new pit facilities. It is believed the new pit complex will be built on the outside of the circuit, opposite the exciting pit infrastructure (owned by the Seven Network). The new pit buildings could be in operation for this year’s FAI 1000 in November. Planning is also well under way for a massive, luxurious, five-star Hotel complex at the bottom end of Conrod Straight, to be completed by 2001.
**It appears our “serial pest” sighting tip-off in Darwin last week did ring true. It has been reported Peter Hore did make it to Hidden Valley over the weekend, only to be ejected before any disruptions took place. Surely I wasn’t the only one wishing “the pest” would be mowed down by a speeding Ford or Holden Supercar, was I?
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