Grid Lines....
22/6/2000 18:25 (Jason Whittaker) - Faulkner, Harris, Johnson, the Stone Brothers, Queensland Raceway, drugs and CAMS. What do they all have in common? Nothing. But they’re all in the news this week, and form this latest edition of Grid Lines.
## The Stone Brothers are the latest top-flight V8 team to commit resources to running a V8 Lites machine in the Konica Championship this year.
The Gold Coast-based garage has purchased the ex-Steven Ellery EL Falcon (the car that was destroyed at last year’s Gold Coast Indy event) and has rebuilt it to race in the remainder of the Lites Series, starting at Lakeside next month.
Aussie-turned-US racer, David Besnard (currently under consideration for an SBR enduro seat) will pilot the Lites machine.
The Brothers Stone join fellow Supercar campaigners John Faulkner Racing and the McLean Greenfield Mowers team, as having cars entered in both V8 championships.
## V8 Lites campaigner, Craig Harris, will expand his operation to include a second car, after Harris purchased the ex-CAT Racing EL Falcon over the weekend.
Harris hopes to debut the second Carsales.com.au Racing Falcon at the fourth round of the Konica Lites Championship at Lakeside in August, piloted by one of four drivers currently under consideration by the team.
"The Lites is an outstanding series and is the ultimate source of talent for V8 Supercars. I have no doubt that two cars will be a lot tougher to run in the series but I also know that we have the people in place to be able to do it," Harris said.
## John Faulkner Racing has displayed its versatility in building race-bred machinery, with the team announcing this week that a HSV GTS Commodore has been built in-house for GTP steerer, Ed Aitken.
The super-powerful 300KW Commodore has been in production at the Melbourne JFR garages since May, and will debut at the next round of the GTP Championship at Queensland Raceway next week.
“We have been running Porsche’s for many years and decided a change was in order with the older 911 RSCS now uncompetitive in Nations Cup. I spoke to John and we agreed to build a very potent version of the new GTS for GT Production,” Aitken said.
It is likely John Faulkner will partner Aitken when the car debuts at Bathurst for the three-hour “Showroom Showdown” in November.
## The Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) has stepped-up its campaign against drug-use in the sport, declaring a greater emphases would be placed on the governing body’s drugs policy.
In an effort to better educate drivers on drug use – what “can” and “can’t” be taken – CAMS will conduct a series of seminars, beginning at Queensland Raceway next weekend.
After attending one of the CAMS seminars, GTP steerer, Peter Fitzgerald, said, “I was amazed how comprehensive the policy is; it really opened my eyes to what general medication you can and can’t take. I’d recommend it to any serious driver to make the effort and take part in one of these seminars.”
## The new owners of Queensland Raceway – host for the Round 7 V8 battle next weekend – have promised a better weekend of racing for both fans and drivers.
The traffic “grid-lock” seen for the same event last year has been rectified, they say, with the widening of the Cunningham Highway from two to four lanes in the vicinity close to the entry.
Concerns over tyre “graining” – a problem experienced at both Queensland Raceway V8 meetings last year – have also been met, with each of the six corners receiving a water-blasting, vacuum, and a rubber-coating resurfacing from the breaking point to the ripple strip on the exit of the corner.
Over 30,000 people made the pilgrimage to the outer-Ipswich complex for the same event last year.
## Aussie Motorsport legend, Dick Johnson, was given the chance to “carry the flame” last weekend, after the Queenslander was chosen to run a leg of the Olympic torch relay.
Johnson travelled to Harvey Bay for the experience, which he describes as one of the highlights of his career.
Before his run along the city’s Esplanade, Johnson said, “My role in the Torch Relay is one which I will certainly treasure for years to come."
Johnson is a five-times Australian Touring Car Champion, and in 1998 was awarded an AM (a member of the Order of Australia) for his services to Motorsport.
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