2 Litres Set For Top Tussle

Report and Photos by Rod Eime
(Extract from forthcoming Fast Fours & Rotaries magazine)

The 1995 Australian Manufacturers Championship (aka 2.0 Super Touring)
burst onto the front pages of the nation's newspapers and TV screens in
a way no one would ever have imagined.

On Sunday March 5, a modest crowd had turned out to witness the opening
round at Melbourne's remote Phillip Island circuit. A track much
favoured by cycle and car racers alike for its high-speed sweepers, long
straight and challenging twists and turns. Some would say it is this
country's best track.

At exactly 13:30 that day, Gregg Hansford's RPM Ford Mondeo went loose
in the rear, oversteering out of the hairy, flat-out turn one. The car
left the track and bounced heavily off the outside tyre wall, ending up
helplessly marooned in the middle of the track. Completely unsighted,
Mark Adderton's Peugeot 405 slammed into the Ford at over 200 km/h.
Hansford never had a chance.

Tributes and dedications flooded the media, honouring a man who, by
virtue of his laid-back, no-fuss nature and considerable four and two
wheel talent, had charmed motor sport insiders and public alike. The
tragic loss of Gregg Hansford has ensured that every Australian, and a
good many overseas, are keenly aware of our emerging 2 Litre formula.

___________________________

The opening round heralded a new competition in two litre racing -
Audi vs. BMW. A full tilt, flat-out battle for manufacturer honours
with considerable overseas backing from the respective factories has
meant that 1995's racing will be anything but the unchallenged BMW
demonstration of 1994.

The 4WD Audi 80s burst onto the scene, convincingly handled by young
Kiwi Greg Murphy and our own Brad Jones, shouting loudly that they will
be taking it to BMW every inch of the way. Phil Ward's eye- catching
Mercedes 190, the Mondeo and the curious Volvo 850 station wagon have
announced themselves as serious contenders too.

Qualifying times soon revealed that huge gains had been made by all
teams in the lead-up to 1995. Lap times tumbled by as much as four
seconds, with BMW showing a tiny advantage over Audi on the long fast
sections of Phillip Island. There was sizeable gap in times back to the
other marques and teams giving a clear indication that it was to be
battle of the two German factories.

Heat One was a scorcher. Brabham bolted from the line, but was
recaptured when he locked a front and flat-spotted the tyre. Morris
kept the BMW in front, despite Jones setting the fastest lap time.
A mechanical problem slowed him at the end, allowing Brad Jones a
desperate lunge, literally on the line. Morris by a hair! Murphy third.
Heat Two lost none of the excitement. Morris cemented his lead over
Jones, and a big touch between Brabham and Murphy put the latter out.
Brabham hung in for third with Tony Scott's Volvo 850 duplicating its
earlier result with fourth.

The Super Tourer circus then moved to the IndyCar event at Surfers
where an exhibition event was staged on the narrow, concrete walled
circuit. Here the tables were confidently turned to the advantage of
the Audis. The long straights were conveniently interrupted by savage
chicanes, allowing the Audis to gobble the BMWs under brakes and use
their superior 4WD agility through the beachside twists and kinks.

Racing continued in exciting fashion with notable improvements coming
from Charlie O'Brien in the BMW NZ 318i and newly recruited Jeff Allam,
who'd been drafted into Ross Palmer's Ford Mondeo outfit as new lead
driver.

Paul Murphy in the Audi took outright honours, based on his results over
the two races - second in the first and a runaway win in the second.
Morris recovered a little BMW pride for a second place in the latter
race, but the gauntlet was firmly thrown to BMW for round two at Oran
Park. There we will see the teams sporting new aerodynamic packages
ie rear wings and front air dams. Something, it is argued, may have
prevented Hansford's sudden loss of grip at Phillip Island.

Although BMW have taken early advantage of conditions at their favoured
Phillip Island, it is abundantly clear that the series will be a full
term tussle over the eight rounds. Short, tight circuits like Mallala
and Winton will make the Audis hard to beat, so Frank Gardner's boys
will have little opportunity to relax throughout the series.

Apart from the two German teams, Volvo, by way of Tony Scott's
consistency, has taken up third place in the manufacturers tally. Having
just one car, by the way, does make it hard to rack up points like
the leaders. Charlie O'Brien and Steven Ellery in BMW 318is have also
demonstrated ability and pace, and while Phil Ward's Nokia Mercedes 190
is the goods, it lacks reliability at this stage. Regardless of where
he finishes, Phil will always give his sponsors good coverage with his
distinctive driving style.

New on the scene, and largely untested is the Valvoline Alfa Romeo
155 of Steven Richards and the Opel Vectra of Graham Moore, but
their heritage and overseas record indicate that they should be up
there pretty quickly, if not "out of the box". Richards's Alfa made
a promising debut at Surfers, but a shunt into the tyres tamed him
somewhat. Another car of interest is the Hyundai Lantra of Steve
Hardman, which, despite showing glimpses of promise, has yet to
translate anything into results.

Upcoming Australian 2.0L Super Touring Championship Dates:

Apr  2  Oran Park NSW
May  7  Symmons Plains TAS
May 13  Calder Park VIC
Jun  4  Mallala SA
Jul 23  Lakeside QLD
Aug 13  Winton VIC
Aug 26  Eastern Creek NSW