KEY POINTS:
Kiwi Colin Corkery returns for another season in the Australian V8 Ute Racing series. After finishing mid-table last year, Corkery is hoping the new tyre-and-brake package will make the utes more consistent over the race distance. The first round is this weekend in Adelaide as part of the Supercar V8 meeting.
BIG FIELD OFF ROAD
The New Off Road championships hit the dirt this weekend at the All Terrain Racing club's riverside farmland at Meremere. A big field of 15 class one cars has entered along with almost as many Super 1600s. Defending national class one champion is raring to go in his Evo-bodied Cougar Porsche, which now develops 240kW
HONDA VALVE FOCUS
Former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden is hoping Honda can improve on the top speed on its new pneumatic valve RC212V engine. The factory rider set the fastest time in testing with the standard spring-valve engine and the team is unsure which engine they'll use when racing begins in Qatar on March 9.
THIRD GENERATION HILL
Ex-F1 champion Damon Hill's son, Josh, is set to embark on a motor racing career this year. The 17-year-old, who has limited karting experience, will contest a part-season in the Ginetta Junior series, a one-make category for 1.4-litre sports cars open to teenagers. He will become the third generation Hill to race, following in the footsteps of his father, the 1996 Formula 1 world champion, and grandfather Graham, who won the 1962 and 1968 titles.
SUPER AGURI WORRY
Super Aguri have withdrawn from testing in Spain, prompting fears about the financial future of the team ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 16. Next week's test in Barcelona will be their last chance to try the cars before they are flown to Melbourne. Super Aguri had postponed the launch of their 2008 car last week in the hope of finding an investor.
IRL, CHAMP DEAL NEAR
Indy Racing League boss Tony George and Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven are meeting this weekend to try to resolve the issues in their series' proposed unification. The deal is close to completion and Kalkhoven expects it to be finalised soon. With only the Long Beach, Edmonton and Surfers Paradise rounds likely to switch to the IRL schedule, Champ Cars' remaining 11 venues would lose their dates.
