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12 August 2005
SILVERSTONE BRITISH GT PREVIEW
 Round
13 and 14 of the 2005 British GT Championship gets
underway on the Silverstone Grand Prix track in England
this weekend.
Championship regular driver Allan Simonsen will
once again team up with Hector Lester in the UBC Ferrari
Racing Team F360 for the two hour enduro.
After wining the strong GT3 category at their last
outing at Castle Combe in late July the pair will
be a strong favourite for the top podium position
on Sunday.
Simonsen is no stranger to the Ferrari marque having
racing many variants including the Coopers Racing
F550 which he took to victory at the Bahrain GT Festival
last November with Aussie legend David Brabham.
"I love racing the Ferrari but its so different
to the other forms of racing I am doing elsewhere
in the world, particularly the Australian V8 Supercars
and Australian V8 Utes. I enjoy the different challenges
each category brings and I feel we will do well this
weekend." said Allan.
You can keep up to date with all the action at britishgt.com
6 HR LE MANS ENDURO PERFECT FOR BATHURST 1000
 Silverstone
also plays host to the 3rd round of the 2005 Le Mans
Endurance Series. After the first two round being
held at Spa and Monza, Allan Simonsen joins the circus
aboard the James Watts Automobile Porsche 911RS with
co-driver Paul Daniels.
"This is going to be a busy weekend for me! Doing
a six hour 1000km LMES race on Saturday and the 2
hour BGT event Sunday - I've got my hands full", remarked
Simonsen.
"It's an ideal situation really because I have two
V8 Supercar enduros coming up and there is no substitute
for time in a race car where there is a lot of traffic
and high speed differentials.
I am probably getting more car miles than any other
V8 Supercar driver – with very limited testing time
allowed in V8SC you need to keep your skills honed
in as many categories as possible. Between LMES, BGT
and Australian V8 Ute Racing that puts me in a great
position for the enduros and a full-time 2006 Supercar
drive.
more info at lmes.net
SIMONSEN JOINS V8 SUPERCARS FOR ENDURO RACES
 The
Australian V8 Supercar Championship gets down to the
real business end of the season with two famous enduros
– the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
Traditionally held 4 weeks prior to Bathurst, the
Sandown 500 is the first event where enduro drivers
come into the mix. Allan Simonsen has been recruited
by Aussie legend and ex-F1 driver Larry Perkins for
the two races. Simonsen will join the Australian 2004
Carrera Cup Champion Alex Davison in the Perkins-prepared
Autobahn Holden Commodore VZ V8 Supercar.
"We recently held a test day at Winton north of
Melbourne and all the regular Perkins drivers were
present including Steve Richards, Paul Dumbrell and
Alex Davison. I was pretty happy to be on the pace
immediately and got in about 40 laps without a drama",
said Allan.
"Enduro events are so different to sprint events
that you really need to just keep out of trouble and
with that approach the results should come. But as
everyone knows, Bathurst is just one of those places
that the strangest things can happen so I suppose
thats just the nature of the beast."
Allan will test again before the Sandown 500, September
9-11 and then once more before Bathurst, October 6-9.
Simonsen will join other international regulars
including John Cleland who will return to the mountain
for his 11th time driving once again for Brad Jone
Racing in a Ford BA Supercar.
"These two events are critical for me. Anyone who
is really serious about gaining a full-time V8 Supercar
drive needs a strong result here and thats my main
aim. From the public perspective you can be nowhere
all year and then win Bathurst - all is forgiven!
A top result at Bathurst means an instant future in
V8 Supercars"
Everything you want to know about V8 Supercars can
be found at v8supercar.com.au
COOPERS PALE ALE RACING FOR 2ND WIN AT MALLALA
 As
the 2005 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series heads back
once again to South Australia for the 5th round of
the Series, all eyes will be on the Coopers Pale Ale
Racing Team of Allan Simonsen, Jack Elsegood and Ian
McAlister.
Fresh from a three-race clean sweep at Hidden Valley
in the Northern Territory the team will be highly
focused on a positive result at Mallala.
Allan Simonsen is confident he can win further races
after taking pole and race one in Darwin six weeks
ago. Only a gearbox gremlin put him out of contention
for the weekend in race 2 but was strongly backed
up by his team mates with Jack Elsegood going on the
win race 2 and 3 and wrap up the round.
"Our car setup was just spot on in Darwin and I
have to say that its great to be part of such a positive
and exciting team. The guys in the workshop have once
again spent countless hours making sure the three-car
team is in top condition. The gearbox is the weak
link of the Ford XR8 Ute package but we've really
made sure that they are all perfect for Mallala.
 "These
cars are just so different to drive compared to anything
I am used to in the UK. They are a bit of a beast
with a lot of horsepower with not a lot of rubber
but they really turn on the action. In fact quite
a few spectators in Darwin said they came especially
to see the V8 Utes race not the V8 Supercars! They
are certainly crowd pleasers!" said Allan.
The 2005 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series supports
the Australian V8 Supercar Championship and HPDC V8
Supercar Championship throughout 2005.
Its so easy to find out all about V8 Ute Racing
- just visit v8utes.com.au
and enjoy!
You'll find everything about Coopers Racing at coopersracing.com.au
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