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Stuntman Denyer injured in monster crash
September 17, 2008 06:34pm

TELEVISION personality Grant Denyer is in hospital with spinal injuries after crash landing a monster truck.

Channel 7 said the former Sunrise weather man, who also races V8 Supercars, was practising a stunt ahead of this weekend's Monster Truck Championships at Dapto, near Wollongong in New South Wales, when the accident occurred.

Denyer had been practising for a demonstration jump over five wrecked cars during a media preview for the event at the Dapto showground when he landed heavily.

"An experienced monster truck driver, Grant was behind the wheel of a five-and-a-half tonne, two-and-a-half metre high monster truck vehicle when he landed heavily on the ground, resulting in a compressed fracture of a lower vertebrae," Seven said in a statement.

The 31-year-old, who has hosted It Takes Two and Australia's Got Talent and took first place in Dancing With The Stars, was rushed to Wollongong Hospital.

"Grant is comfortable and resting," Seven said.

"Doctors will keep Grant in hospital overnight.

"This will allow the swelling in his back to reduce so that a more clear picture will emerge tomorrow."

Denyer reportedly has full movement of his limbs, but was in considerable pain before receiving pain relief.

He was to have been the star attraction of the monster truck show.

It is not yet clear if today's accident will prevent him from competing in Australia's biggest motor race next month, the Bathurst 1000.

Sounds painful. Much like his TV gigs of late.

Ok, that was bad.

That boxy track around Homebush looks pretty average, it must be said. I've driven those roads a lot (to and from work and also when I was on my learners), and they really aren't that wide, so I struggle to see much racing going on (plenty of cars getting smashed up though).

2009 V8 Supercar calendar released
Release date: 29/09/2008

Today’s announcement that the Sydney 400 will be held in December has finalised the 2009 V8 Supercar calendar.

The inaugural race around the streets of the former Olympic precinct will be the Grand Finale of the 2009 series on the weekend of December 4-6.

This means the action-packed 2009 V8 Supercar Championship will be book-ended by street races, with the traditional season opener, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, taking place on March 19-22.

The following weekend will see the V8s take to another street race around Melbourne’s Albert Park for the non-championship Australian Formula One Grand Prix support races.

The V8 circus will then head across ‘The Ditch’ for its second race around the streets of Hamilton, New Zealand in April.

The series will then come back to Victoria at the country circuit of Winton in early May before heading south for Symmons Plains, Tasmania later that month.

The V8 show will then travel to Darwin in June, far-north Queensland for the inaugural Townsville street race in July, Melbourne’s Sandown in early August and back up to Queensland Raceway, Ipswich in mid-August.

The endurance races of Phillip Island, in September, and Bathurst, in its traditional timeslot in early October, will follow.

The final four rounds will be Surfers Paradise in late October, Bahrain in early November, while the Barbagallo round at Perth moves to a late November date, with the Sydney 400 closing the season.

2009 V8 Supercar Calendar:

Mar 19-22 Clipsal 500, SA
Mar 26-29 AGP, Vic
Apr 17-19 Hamilton 400 NZ
May 1-3 Winton Raceway, Vic
May 29-31 Tasmania Challenge Symmons Plains, Tas
Jun 19-21 SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, NT
Jul 10-12 Townsville 400, Qld
Jul 31-Aug 2 Sandown, Vic
Aug 21-23 Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, Qld
Sept 11-13 L&H 500 Phillip Island, Vic
Oct 8-11 Supercheap Auto Bathurst, NSW
Oct 22-25 Nikon Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Qld
Nov 5-7 Gulf Air Desert 400, Bahrain
Nov 20-22 Barbagallo, WA
Dec 4-6 Sydney 400, Homebush, NSW

Author:Allan Edwards
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright

Sydney 400 gives V8s horsepower boost
Release date: 29/09/2008

V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane's self confessed life's ambition - the Sydney 400 street race at the Olympic precinct - has been described as the biggest development in the modern era of the championship.

A five-year deal that has been capped at $30million is expected to gain the final signature by the New South Wales government in the next few days after the contract has been approved in principle.

V8 Supercars have underwritten the event it says will become the jewel-in-the-crown of the homegrown touring car series.

“This is the most significant and momentous occasion in the last 12 years of the modern championship,” Cochrane said.

The announcement made in the forecourt of the Sydney Olympic stadium today promises to lift the sport to the next level.

A small group of protesters demanding better public transport and hospitals for NSW chanted anti-event slogans during the announcement made jointly by premier Nathan Rees and the V8 boss.

The circuit, just under 4km in length, has divided councils in the area and businesses but the NSW government sees it as a chance to get back into the business of regularly hosting big events.

“Any sophisticated market is a tough market and we have done a lot of research to make sure that this will be success,” Cochrane said.

“It was one I believe was winnable. This is such a great entertainment and event precinct and I don't cope with the world no very well.”

“These guys (NSW government) want to put themselves back in the Events business.

Premier Rees said that his government had taken the decision to support the event because it would benefit the state's economic growth.

“We took the decision that this would benefit Sydney's broader economic growth,” Rees said.

Cochrane has been vigorously pursuing a Sydney street race for the last eight years and admitted there were concerns when the former premier Morris Iemma resigned a couple of weeks ago.

“We were shocked because we had a meeting with the premier three days before he resigned but all the hard work had been done before hand.

“This has been one of the most scrutinised events ever to get this far.

“But the new premier (Rees) stepped in and said this is too good a chance to pass up.

“I admire this bloke (Rees) he's prepared to get in and have a real crack.”

“Being the grand finale it bookends the year perfectly and we are going to work very hard to make this a key jewel-in-the-crown of our series.

Five-times touring car series champ and five-times Bathurst winner Mark Skaife said that the Sydney 400 event which will be the final round of the 2009 championship from December 4-6 is the biggest announcement the sport has made in its 12-year history.

NSW premier Rees said the announcement marked a new era of his government actively chasing big events for Sydney and for NSW.

“It will attract between $100-$110million into the state's economy and it will attract more than $20mllion worth of national and extensive international media coverage each year,” Mr Rees said.

“We expect an additional 15,000 people from overseas and interstate and Sydneysiders will be able to enjoy a great spectacle not far from the geographic heart of our great city.”

Author:Gordon Lomas
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright

Courtney in surprise V8 switch?
September 30, 2008

JIM Beam Racing was tightlipped Tuesday on a surprise report that V8 Supercar star James Courtney would be lining up for the team next year.
Courtney is to quit Stone Brothers Racing and was widely expected to slot in at Ford Performance Racing - the only other Ford outfit with factory backing.

But a report in Tuesday’s motorsport website mnews.com.au has suggested a shock switch by Courtney to Dick Johnson Racing.

The DJR Ford team, backed by Jim Beam, refused to comment on the report but agreed it had yet to settle on a driver lineup for 2009.

Team spokesman Garry Nash said their current racers, Will Davison and Steven Johnson, were both out of contract at the end of this season.

Nash said there would be no announcement on their drivers until after next week's Bathurst 1000 endurance race.

“There is that much water to go under the bridge before our two drivers are secured,” Nash said.

“We're not going to do it in dribs and drabs, we've obviously got two drivers driving with us until the end of the year but we are close to finalising our 2009 lineup.”

The report said Courtney had agreed at the last minute to drive for DJR next year.

“The 28-year-old Stone Brothers Racing driver turned the V8 Supercar driver market on its head late last week when his manager Alan Gow agreed a deal with DJR,” it said.

“He will race one of the team's two Triple Eight Racing Engineering-built cars, which will be powered by in-house DJR engines.”

Courtney apparently was preparing to sign a deal with Ford Performance Racing and Jim Morton, the principal of the Ford Rising Stars team.

The report said the news came as a complete shock to both Ford and FPR management.

Ford Performance Racing manager Tim Edwards declined to comment.

It is understood that Courtney and Gow began talks with several Ford teams as far back as last March with FPR emerging as the preferred option.

AAP

I wonder if Dick will boot his son out of the team.

Dick doesn't seem to have much say around the place these days

Heard that Will Davison will go to IRL for 2009. He apparently tested a car earlier this season. His younger brother races in the Indycar Light series. So Courtney may replace will Davison.