Go Aussie Adam: Rising V8 Ute driver Adam Marjoram

Rising Australian motorsport star Adam Majoram recently caught up with Fiasco Sports to talk all things racing and V8 Utes.

V8 Ute driver Adam Marjoram racing on the Gold Coast. Source: Adam Marjoram

V8 Utes has a strong place in the heart of Australian motorsport and 20 year old Adam Marjoram is set to make his 2014 racing campaign stronger than ever.

While studying a double degree of Economics and Commerce and racing all over Australia, this year is set to be a challenging and exciting year for the Western Australian.

Marjoram was recently signed as part of V8 Supercar’s Erebus Motorsport Academy and Erebus Motorsport V8 Ute team, making his debut round at Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 look very strong.

The V8 Ute driver recently caught up with Fiasco Sports’ journalist Loren Hazelwood to talk about his exciting up-coming season.

Adam Marjoram confirms signing with Erebus Motorsport V8 Ute team. Source: Adam Marjoram

Loren: You had a great debut season in the V8 Ute series last year, how will this help your 2014 campaign?

Adam: Yeah, it was a great year learning all the tracks and handle the V8 Utes – they’re very different to any other form of race car! For 2014, I have signed with the Erebus V8 Ute team and the Erebus Academy. With the resources and access to all areas with Erebus, it will help me to develop as a driver on and off the track and provide me with a really competitive car. Hopefully we can push the top 5 consistently!

Loren: Now you just mentioned that Erebus Motorsport have signed you as a ute driver, will their experience in V8 Supercars be beneficial for your second season in V8 Utes?

Adam: For sure, Erebus are an extremely professional outfit and many of the things they have learned in V8 Supercars can be transferred to the V8 Ute team, whether it be technical or PR related.

Loren: You started out your racing career in sprint kart racing all over Australia, how has this helped in getting yourself to the level you are at today?

Adam: Karting is a great base for any young driver. It allows you to learn the fundamentals of racing and race craft. Transitioning into car racing is a hard process, however, the one thing you never lose is that race craft. Coming from Perth, you are very isolated; therefore you really have to travel abroad to race where the competition is. Because of this I was always learning new tracks; this really develops the adaptability of the driver so that when they are immersed into a new environment they can pick it up as quick as possible.

Loren: What has the V8 Ute experience been like?

Adam: It has been amazing! To only be in the car racing scene for two years and getting the chance to race at places like Bathurst, Surfers Paradise and in front of my home crowd at Barbagallo [Perth], has been amazing. I have learned so much about racing over the 2013 season…the tracks, the cars, the media. It has just been a dream come true for me! When I go to the track I am honestly like a kid in a candy shop, there is nowhere else I’d rather be!

Adam Marjoram walking away from his horrific crash. Source: Adam Marjoram

Loren: You unfortunately had a massive crash last year at the Gold Coast 500 and had to replace the car for the final round at Sydney, how did you take that challenge of overcoming a crash and coming to grips with a new car?

Adam: Yeah, that was definitely the biggest crash I had been in. You race knowing that accidents like that happen, but you just never expect it to happen to you. I felt pretty sore after the crash as you’d expect, but went straight into exams so I couldn’t see anyone about it! I have since seen a physio, and all is well now. But I was very lucky to get another V8 Ute for the Sydney 500. Unfortunately we were plagued with problems from chronic understeer to overheating engines. That dropped us three positions in the Championship and down to third in the Rookie of the Year Championship which was not ideal.

Loren: You’ve been busy juggling university studies and racing, do you have anything else planned for 2014?

Adam: Yeah, has been a busy, busy year! As part of the Erebus Academy I will be travelling to more V8 Supercar rounds outside of the V8 Ute calendar to learn and help the team. Otherwise, I am looking at getting back into a kart back here in Perth to keep my eye in a little more and keep up the training so that I am at my physical peak whenever I jump into a car! There also may be a couple of cool little things pop up during the year …you’ll have to keep posted.

Loren: The team here at Fiasco Sports will definitely be watching you this year! Is there anyone you would like to thank?

Adam: Thanks! Look everyone that has been instrumental in forging my Motorsport Career has been amazing, namely the support from Auto One, Valvoline, Supercharge Batteries, Nova, my team last year – Williams Race Tech – and and my new team, Erebus Motorsport.

Loren: Thank you very much Adam, catch you on the track!

Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/go-aussie-adam-rising-v8-ute-driver-adam-marjoram/#sthash.qNLeeJLp.dpuf

Working as hard as Steel: future F1 star Steel Guiliana

Fiasco Sports, Formula 1, Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Sprint Karting

Motorsport is a long and hard road, and no one knows the international track more than Australian Steel Guiliana, who is on the way to his Formula 1 dream.

Steel Guiliana leading the pack at Mt. Panorama, Bathurst. Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

For 22-year-old Steel Guiliana, life is a juggle between working hard and driving with pure dedication and skill to make it to the pinnacle of world motorsport, Formula 1.

Raised on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Guiliana immediately impressed those competing against him, from the beginning in go-karts and winning numerous titles in the rookie and junior ranks, even against current V8 Supercar drivers and current F1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo.

Guiliana pursued towards his dream at a very young age, at just 15 years old he lived in Austria to compete in the European Rotax Karting Championship, where Guiliana went on to finish second in the series.

Austria kickstarted Guiliana’s international racing career, then he moved to Italy where he won the Italian Karting Championship and was also given the opportunity to race in the Formula BMW category.

The rising star then raced in America, but later returned back home to Australia to compete in the Australian Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship, where Guiliana claimed seven race wins in his first season in the national class and was also awarded a $50,000 scholarship to race in the series for the following year.

Guiliana continued to pursue his dream to the Formula 1 grid, testing in GP3 at the end of 2012, showing the world he has what it takes.

The Central Coast driver decided in November 2013 to team up with 1980 Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones to travel to Abu Dhabi, to hopefully seal a deal for GP3 in the 2014 season.

Fiasco Sports motorsport reporter Loren Hazelwood recently caught up with Guiliana, asking about his future and delving into how hard he has worked to get where he is today.

Steel at Symmons Plains, Tasmania. Photo: Steel Guiliana’s official website

Loren: Racing is your passion and has always been in your blood, how did you first get involved with racing?

Steel: My Dad came from a racing background running Formula Ford earlier in his career, so he took me to a kart track when I was five years old and we went to Newcastle to see what it was like. I was instantly hooked, then Dad bought an old go-kart and started practicing when I was six. I started at Coffs Harbour and raced at Newcastle by the time I was seven.

Loren: You’ve raced all over the world and at some incredible circuits, what would be your favourite?

Steel: My favourite tracks would definitely be Monza and Singapore, mainly because of the atmosphere behind the venues, it makes it more exciting to drive around. Singapore is probably my favourite circuit to race at though, but Monza is awesome because of the venue.

Loren: All round, you have sacrificed a lot to go racing, what has kept your passion alive for the last 15 years?

Steel: Going fast. I love the speed and the adrenaline, and also the competition, I don’t like losing. I have a passion for fast cars and everything that goes on behind the scenes. It’s awesome to be honoured to drive a car that hundreds of people have prepared just for you.

Loren: Would you be able to describe a typical lap in an open wheel car?

Steel: It’s very challenging to start with, the harder you push under brakes the more stable the car is, you have to get rid of the fear of the speed and once you’ve done that you will be confident to go fast, and in saying that you have to be fit to handle the g-forces the car produces. You also can’t just plant your foot coming out of a corner, so there is a lot of different techniques that can be used. The hardest thing is to not make a mistake over 20-40 laps and hold concentration for that period of time, while other people are racing with you.

Loren: What is your plan for 2014?

Steel: To compete in the GP3 series in Europe.

Loren: Who is your racing idol and mentor?

Steel: That would be Alan Jones, and also Ayrton Senna. Ayrton was my first idol and when I started to learn a bit about what Alan did to get into Formula 1 and the hard route he had I started to look up to him and achieved world champion status from a difficult background.

Loren: What has the experience been like working alongside the likes of Alan Jones?

Steel: It’s ben great to get inside knowledge to how people work in Formula 1. It’s a very cut throat business and if you don’t know the right people it’s very difficult, so to be able to work next to Alan is a great pleasure for myself and it’s great having someone of his status to help support my racing. He’s been able to give me advice on fitness he used to do and it’s been incredible to talk to someone who raced in the 70s and 80s when the cars weren’t easy to drive.

Steel Guiliana and Alan Jones. Photo: Steel Guiliana

Loren: How big is the difference between racing in Australia against racing Internationally?

Steel: I think the level of competition is very similar, but the different is you may have the top two or three guys to take victory, which we saw in the Australian Formula 3 category this year, where as overseas there can be ten different drivers in a series that win races. The way the teams go about it is very different also, overseas you don’t get a lot of practice, where as over here you get a bit of time to try different things.

Loren: Where was your best ever race?

Steel: When i finished third in the championship round in England back in 2005, that was definitely a highlight to be able to be in the European championship as a privateer and run alongside factory teams on their home track and to end up on the podium was a big thing.

Loren: Anyone you would like to thank or any other comments?

Steel: Big thanks to my parents who have supported me since I was seven, my crew back home for their continued support, my manager Titus Day, my girlfriend for helping out with my media, Alan Jones and his manager Patrick Wedes, R-Tek Motorsport for preparing my Formula 3 car over the last three years and Peter Hawkes and Aaron Borg for mentoring me. The list could go on forever really, but these people have been crucial in helping me get to Formula 1.

Steel racing in Formula BMW. Photo: Steel Guiliana’s official website

Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/working-as-hard-as-steel-future-f1-star-steel-guiliana/#sthash.RrOFXTEf.dpuf

Shannons Supercar Showdown Season Three

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports, Film and TV, Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Sprint Karting, Todd Hazelwood Racing

The Shannons Supercar Showdown is back for series three this year, unveiling a new team and a new prize.

Season 3 with Ford Performance Racing. Source: FPR

Eight young rookies this year will battle it out in a series of challenges to claim the number one prize of winning the Shannons Supercar Showdown.

The series is back for it’s third season, this year under Ford Performance Racing and also with a brand new prize, a 2014 testing contract with Ford Performance Racing and a race at Homebush this year in a Dunlop Development Series car.

Professional V8 Supercar drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom will be the driver coaches this year, with brand new host motor racing reporter Briony Ingerson.

The rookies confirmed include two British drivers of Adrian Campfield and Dan Cammish, Formula Ford’s Macauley Jones, Chelsea Angelo and James Golding, Formula 3 stars Tim Macrow and Todd Hazelwood and current V8 Ute driver Craig Dontas.

This year’s rookies will split into teams of four, either belonging to Team Davison or Team Winterbottom.

They will compete in teams to earn points, testing their mental and psychical ability, race on simulators and compete in motorkhanas, Formula Ford, Sprint Karts and of course, V8 Supercars.

The team coach will then allocate a certain amount of points to the winner, with whoever having the most points earning themselves a place in the final four.

There is also a captain’s choice option, so if the contestant doesn’t earn many points, they may still have a place in the final four.

Unlike the two previous series, there are no eliminations this year.

The series will air over eight episodes on Australian channel 7mate Saturday evenings, online at: http://www.shannons.com.au/supercarshowdown/videos

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/shannons-supercar-showdown-season-three/#sthash.Dz8lrvjB.dpuf

Maxwell Impresses in Darwin Finishing Second at States

Sprint Karting, Thomas Maxwell

Thomas Maxwell leading the way in Darwin

15-YEAR-OLD Thomas Maxwell has achieved his career best result to date in sprint karting, finishing second at the Open State Titles in Junior National Light at his home circuit at Hidden Valley.

The Dino Kart driver impressed from day one, qualifying pole position in both sessions by nearly two-tenths to his Australian champion rival.

Maxwell backed up his speed and set the fastest lap both heats, winning comfortably in heat one.

Heat two saw Maxwell race hard with Bryce Fullwood, passing Fullwood with two-laps to go and taking his second win for the weekend.

Maxwell once again had a tight battle with Fullwood, making a spectacular finish in the pre-final crossing the line in second by one-tenth of a second.

With the racing being close throughout the whole weekend, Maxwell started second for the final. At the start Maxwell was pushed back to fifth, but fought back passing his opponents one-by-one.

The teenager then managed to regain second position, hunting down his rival and pulling away from the rest of the field.

As the laps went on, Maxwell started to catch the Australian champion by nearly one-tenth a lap.

After lap 9, the kart started to go off after making the wrong technical change to the kart, allowing the times to drop a tenth a lap, allowing Fullwood to maintain the margin.

Thomas Maxwell finished in second place in the final to Bryce Fullwood, with the gap back to third over two-seconds.

“I was extremely happy with our results over the weekend,” said Maxwell.

“Being able to break through for my maiden pole position and podium really shows that all our hard work over the last few weeks has really paid off.

“The Dino kart showed great pace throughout the whole weekend setting numerous fastest laps throughout the races and I look forward to the next title.”

Maxwell’s next race meeting is at Darwin, then will head to Melbourne in a few weeks time to back-up his great results and race at the City of Melbourne event.

Media by Loren Hazelwood

Motor sport media, marketing and content specialist

Sprint Karting

Go Aussie Adam: Rising V8 Ute driver Adam Marjoram

Working as hard as Steel: future F1 star Steel Guiliana

Shannons Supercar Showdown Season Three

Maxwell Impresses in Darwin Finishing Second at States