it’s our best oil yet... www.castroledge.com.au 9th NoVember 2011Volume 1 - issue 27

LAUNCHRUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

THE CASTROL EDGE

First super-X wiN For KawasaKi

castrol driVers Fight For champioNship Victory

ciao marco

the castrol edge rugby champioNship lauNchedFour of the world’s top 10 Rugby teams will assemble for The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship, set to take place between Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

The triumvirate that made up the Castrol EDGE Tri-Nations will be joined by powerhouse South American nation, Argentina.

In announcing the Championship this week, ARU CEO John O’Neill AM highlighted the strength of the four Southern Hemisphere nations.

“The Rugby Championship will be the best of the best and represents the latest stage in the evolution of the game in the southern hemisphere,” said Australian Rugby Union Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill AO. “The All Blacks are the No.1 side in the world, the Qantas Wallabies are No.2, the Springboks are No.4 and Argentina is No.7. “This will be an exciting, enthralling, intense Championship

of home and away matches between four heavyweight nations.”

General Manager – Castrol Lubricants, Brett Davis – welcomed the addition of Argentina to the three existing nations in one of the toughest international sporting contests in the world.

“The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is a fantastic innovation for Southern Hemisphere Rugby and Castrol – as

the castrol edge rugby champioNship lauNched

castrol edge rugby iNterNatioNal seasoN 2012 FiXtures:Castrol EDGE Rugby Internationals: Tuesday, June 5, 2012: Australia Vs Scotland Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle

Saturday, June 9, 2012: Australia Vs Wales Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Saturday, June 16, 2012: Australia Vs Wales Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

Saturday, June 23, 2012: Australia Vs Wales SFS, Sydney

The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship: Saturday, August 18, 2012: Australia Vs New Zealand ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Saturday, September 8, 2012: Australia Vs South Africa Paterson’s Stadium, Perth

Saturday, September 15, 2012: Australia Vs Argentina Skilled Park, Gold Coast

Castrol EDGE Bledisloe Cup Test: Saturday, October 20, 2012: Australia Vs New Zealand Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

performance partner of the Wallabies – we are incredibly excited by the prospect of this tournament,” said Davis.

“The Tri-Nations was an outstanding competition in 2011, but with the addition of the Pumas to become The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship, the display of human power, strength and performance will be even greater in 2012.”

The entire MotoGP paddock banded together to farewell Castrol-backed San Carlo Honda Team Gresini rider, Marco Simoncelli at Valencia.

Every bike that competed in the MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc World Championship races were on track at the one time for an honorary lap and ‘moment of noise’ in celebration of the 24-year-old’s life.

They were led by 1993 World Champion – Kevin Schwantz – who was a good friend of Simoncelli and wiped tears from his eyes as he rode the fallen star’s #58 machine.

Later that day, Honda Team Gresini’s Moto2 rider, Michele Pirro took an emotional victory, which saw floods of tears from team owner, Fausto Gresini after one of the toughest fortnights in World Championship motorcycling’s history.

Castrol Australia sends its regards to all at Honda Team Gresini.

Ciao Marco…

WATCH the tribute to Marco Simoncelli…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwxstosxqOw

ciao sic

V8 supercars set For tassie bashThe V8 Supercars Championship is back in action this weekend in Tasmania, with many of the Castrol-backed teams in huge battles to secure minor placings in the Championship over the next three rounds.

After his win on the Gold Coast, Mark Winterbottom is now in striking distance of the top three. At one stage earlier in the year dropping out of the 10, Winterbottom looks likely to come home with a wet sail.

There are currently two other Castrol drivers in the top 10 – FPR’s Will Davison in sixth and Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Rick Kelly in seventh.

Meantime, Greg Murphy – who has shown some top late season form aboard the Pepsi MAX Crew racer – sits 11th with a shot at making it into the top 10.

The Tasmanian round – at Symmons Plains just outside Launceston – is one of the real traditional circuits on the calendar, this being it’s 39th

Australian Touring Car Championship event. In fact, only Sandown has hosted more Championship events (42).

The event will be conducted totally on soft tyres – as the Armor All Gold Coast 600 was – and features a 120km race on Saturday with a longer 200km race on Sunday.

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wrc showdowN iN wales

The Castrol EDGE-backed Ford WRC team is preparing for it’s final battle of season 2011 and potentially the biggest in the team’s history.

Ford WRC lead driver, Mikko Hirvonen enters Wales Rally GB eight points behind seven times and reigning World Champion, Sebastien Loeb.

The Championship could well come down to the final PowerStage – where bonus points are awarded for those that finish in the top three.

There is five points between first and second on the rally and a further five points back to third.

Essentially, Hirvonen would have to win and have Loeb third or worse. He could not afford for Loeb to finish third and then score bonus points for

first or second in the PowerStage.

Ideally, Hirvonen would have to nail a PowerStage bonus point to make sure of the Title.

With Loeb’s sometime frosty relationship with Citroen team-mate, Sebastien Ogier and Hirvonen’s fellow Finn and Ford team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala showing some outstanding late season form, Wales Rally GB is really balanced on a knife’s edge and could be one of the most hotly contested rally’s in history.

Weather in rural Wales is always a talking point and with wintry cold, wet weather beginning to descend on the UK already – it could play its part.

If Loeb wins the World Championship – it will be his eighth successive World

Championship, no doubt Hirvonen would love to go down in history as the man that prevented that from happening.

NeFF at Full Force!Mike Neff enters the Auto Club NHRA Finals this weekend with a shot at taking out the Full Throttle NHRA Funny Car Series.

Currently 34 points behind the Series leader, Neff can walk away with the 2011 Championship in his grasp.

The other John Force Racing team driver, Robert Hight sits one place behind Neff, but 71 points from current leader, Matt Hagan. Conceivably, Hight could spring a surprise and take the Series win, but would need results to go his way.

The Boss – John Force is well down the Countdown order in ninth, but the wily veteran - who’s always got plenty to say - could have his own say in the outcome of the Funny Car Championship!

If Neff can pull off the Championship victory, it will be an amazing story. He stepped into the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang when Ashley Force Hood stood down when she became pregnant and continues to act as both Crew Chief and driver – a combination that has seemingly worked well for him during the 2011 season.

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race wiN For KawasaKi

Dean Ferris took the Castrol-backed Monster Energy Drink Kawasaki Team’s first win of the 2011 Super-X Season at Campbelltown in Sydney in the three-moto format.

Broken into three portions, Ferris rounded out the night with his maiden win of the 2011 season.

The Sydney Super-X event was the first to be conducted in dry conditions this season, with the weather having played havoc with organisers and riders alike.

Aside from his win, Ferris fell in the opening moto and then trying to put the disappointment behind him in the second was taken out on the opening turn. The final moto win bolstered him into the top 10 and a seventh placed overall finish.

“It’s great to get the race win but it’s really the overall that counts,” Ferris said. “I think I showed any doubters tonight that I can ride Supercross in both the mud and the dry.”

Billy Mackenzie in the Opens again had some poor luck come his way. Leading the opening moto, he fell off, dropping him back to seventh. In the second, he got the holeshot and was looking good until being passed late in the race.

Whilst hoping to come home with a solid second position and the points that go with that, he tangled with another rider on the final lap and was able to manage fifth placing.

The final moto he was left at the startline as his bike remained in neutral. Showing his fighting Scottish character, he got himself back into 12th placing.

16-year-old female racer, Meghan Rutledge showed her true mettle during the course of the Campbelltown evening in the Under-19s development category. A big crash in practice had the Castrol-backed Kawasaki team in fear she’d cracked her collarbone. When that was shown to be clear, she made the startline for her heat race and directly qualified for the main event.

She was looking good in her final until another rider landed on top of her late in the race. She was able to get back to her feet – to the delight of the crowd – however was taken to hospital with concussion and has vowed to be back in the saddle this weekend in Maitland!

Overall, the season thus far is yet to convert the team’s speed into results – something they are very keen to change this coming weekend.

THE

POWERBEHIND THE

PACKBEHIND THE

PACK!