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Stanaway wins ADAC Formula Master Championship

Tauranga's Richie Stanaway grabbed his first Euro title

A perfect weekend with pole position and three race wins in the penultimate round of the German ADAC Formula Masters Championship at the Nurburgring circuit has seen young Kiwi (Tauranga) driver, Richie Stanaway (18) win the seven-round German ADAC Championship with one round (three races to go).

Following the Nurburgring round his total of 315 points cannot be beaten, no matter what happens in the final round at the Oschersleben circuit in October. “What a fantastic way to win this championship," he explained."I must give huge thanks to my Ma-Con team for giving me a perfect car for this round, and the great job they have done all season. I was able to win 12 of the 18 races. Along with my parents (who were here for this round) I also have to thank all those people in New Zealand who have helped and supported me to win this championship."

Richie won each of the races comfortably, the first race from his team-mate and flat-mate, William Vermont (France) and Dominik Baumann (Austria), the second from Vermont and Patrick Schranner (Germany) and the third from Schranner and Vermont. Points: Stanaway 315, Schranner 239, Farmbacher (Germany) 171, Vermont 146, Wehrlein (France) 131, Tweraser (Austria) 117.

Hamilton wins Spa epic

Hamilton made the most of the chaos to win

Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix after an incident-packed race at Spa-Francorchamps. The McLaren Mercedes driver retook the lead in the World Championship with an almost error-free drive, leading from the first corner to the finish.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was second, with Renault's Robert Kubica third, and Ferrari's Felipe Massa fourth. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso crashed out, and Sebastian Vettel failed to score a point.

Force India's Adrian Sutil was fifth, with Nico Rosberg sixth for Mercedes. Rosberg's team-mate Michael Schumacher finished seventh after starting 21st, Kamui Kobayashi eighth for Sauber, Renault's Vitaly Petrov ninth and Force India's Tonio Liuzzi tenth after Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, who crossed the line ahead of Liuzzi, was handed a post-race 20 second penalty.

"I'm ecstatic, it was a great weekend," said Hamilton, whose driving was praised by his team principal Martin Whitmarsh. "A race like that can be a lottery, so I'm so happy and grateful to come out on top."

With the drivers having been clearly warned they would be punished if they used the run-off at the opening corner, La Source, to gain any kind of advantage on the first lap, the likelihood of collisions appeared to be increased.

What was not predicted was that pole-sitter Webber would make an appalling start, to such an extent that he reached the corner in sixth.

Fund raiser planned for van der Drift

van der Drift is on the mend but has huge medical bills

Efforts A fundraising event to assist Superleague Formula race winner Chris van der Drift with the medical bills from the Kiwi's horrific, 210G, Brands Hatch crash has been organised at Daytona Milton Keynes on 7th September.

Van der Drift sustained a broken ankle in two places, two broken ribs, a cracked shoulder blade, a dislocated shoulder and two broken fingers in the terrifying accident four weeks ago but has put the crash down as a racing incident and is keen to get back on track as soon as posisble,

"Because I have been left in this situation, I am now in the middle of organisng a two-hour enduro kart race and auction to help with the medical costs," said van der Drift. "There are heaps of people who have been so helpful, especially Mark Webber's trainer Roger Cleary.

"Roger has organised, through the Altitude Centre, for me to have a Hypoxic chamber installed in my home. It is something used by climbers to simulate thin air on top of mountains, but also helps the body heal. I am also going to a low temperature chamber, similar to one Mark used after breaking his leg [in a mountain bike crash in 2008].

Second original to join NZ F5000 series

Cook and his Lola in the good old days

A second category original - Reg Cook - is set to join New Zealand's world-leading MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series this season.

Cook, now 63, raced a Lola T300 to second place in the local Gold Star Championship in 1974 and will make his F5000 return this season in a Lola T400 recently acquired from Canada by fellow Aucklander Glenn Richards.

Defending MSC champion Ken Smith was the first 'original ' (defined as a driver who raced one of the V8-powered single-seater racing cars first time around) lured back to the contemporary MSC-backed Tasman Cup Revival series. And though several others - including former Tasman Series champion Graeme Lawrence and Gold Star winner David Oxton - have enjoyed brief outings in series cars Cook is so far the only other to contemplate a serious return.

The car he will drive is one of 14 Lola T400 models produced in 1974 and 1975. It was originally owned and raced by Canadian driver Eppie Wietzes and has only had one other owner, fellow Canadian Horst Kroll.

Kroll bought and re-bodied the T400 to contest the Can-Am sportscar series and it is in this state that the car was advertised for sale. Richards, whose Christchurch-based brother Tony races a Lola T332 in the MSC series, had been on the lookout for a car of his own to drive for a year or so and with encouragement from Ness Valley, Clevedon, neighbour Cook, and