High Jackman 01
Geoffrey Harris14 Mar 2017
NEWS

MOTORSPORT: Hugh Jackman to play Enzo Ferrari?

Australian actor on pole position for lead role in movie about race team legend, miraculous wins in WRC and IndyCar and fisticuffs in NASCAR

Australian actor Hugh Jackman is being tipped to play Enzo Ferrari in a movie about the late founder of the world's most famous race team.

The third round of the World Rally Championship has produced its third different winner this season – Citroen and Northern Irishman Kris Meeke – but it almost got away from them 1km from the finish in Mexico.

Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais came from last in the IndyCar season opener in Florida to score a remarkable win for small Honda-powered team Dale Coyne Racing against the might of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport. Australia's Will Power qualified his Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet on pole position at the St Petersburg street circuit for the seventh time in eight years but copped an early drive-through penalty and ended up being black-flagged out of the race.

Penske's Brad Keselowski lost out in the last two laps of today's NASCAR Cup round at Las Vegas to Toyota's Martin Truex Junior, with 2012 champion Keselowski finishing fifth in his Ford Fusion but leading the series. Penske's other driver, Joey Logano, was fourth and was physically attacked by Toyota's 2015 champion Kyle Busch post-race.

The only man to have won world titles on four and two wheels, John Surtees, died at the weekend, aged 83. And an announcement is due soon on the final entry list for Easter's Bathurst 6 Hour, with expectations of a field of 70-72 cars.

But back to where we began ... Hugh Jackman is the latest Hollywood heavyweight to be linked with the oft-delayed film chronicling the life of Enzo Ferrari.

Robert DeNiro and Christian Bale were previously tipped to play the role of 'Il Commendatore' in the film to be directed by Michael Mann.

The movie has been long-delayed but production is now expected to start next year, three decades after Enzo Ferrari's death, with a release date in 2019.
Citroen comes through carpark to WRC victory
Kris Meeke survived a late drama in his Citroen C3 at Rally Mexico to score his fourth WRC victory, but Monte Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier leads the championship for M-Sport Ford from the victor in Sweden, Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala.

Meeke slid into a spectator carpark and punctured his left front tyre almost within sight of the finish near Leon in mountainous Mexico.

He had gone into the final stage more than 37 seconds ahead of Ogier after dominating the first gravel rally of the championship but lost more than 20 seconds as he weaved around parked cars and through a hedge in making his way back on to the course.

"I'm a lucky boy. After a jump, I took a bump. It's certainly one way to finish a rally, but we didn't need that," said Meeke, whose final margin over Ogier's Fiesta was 13.8 seconds.

"I was trying to find my way out of parked cars and trying to find a gap in the hedge. A lot of things went my way.

"I was in the hands of God. I finally made my way between the cars but had punctured the front left tyre."

A shocked Meeke, initially unsure whether he had won after having been seventh fastest on the 21.94km stage, had to be helped by co-driver Paul Nagle on to the roof of the Citroen to start celebrations.

Mexico WRC C 2017

They came after Citroen's disappointing start to its return to the WRC full-time, with Meeke crashing out in Monte Carlo and only 12th in Sweden after another mistake.

Meeke's gamble on hard-compound tyres on Saturday's nine stages despite the threat of rain was decisive in him establishing his big lead, which ultimately proved enough for him to add to his previous wins in Argentina in 2015 and Portugal and Finland last year.

He is now up to sixth in this year's championship, but 39 points behind leader Ogier. The Frenchman is eight points ahead of Finn Jari-Matti Latvala, who was only sixth in Mexico in his Yaris.

Hyundai's Belgian Thierry Neuville made the podium this time in his i20 Coupe after another four stage wins, adding to his 12 from the first two rounds in which he crashed out.

It was a distant third though, almost a minute behind Meeke despite his 'off' and more than 45 seconds behind Ogier, but he took the maximum five bonus points by winning the Power Stage ahead of Ogier, M-Sport Ford's Estonian Ott Tanak, Latvala and Hyundai's Spaniard Dani Sordo.

New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard wound up fifth overall in the third Hyundai.

"We had some problems," Paddon said. "With some luck we know we can be fighting higher up – and for the podium. It's been good to be back on gravel. It's just unfortunate we couldn't show a better performance."

Corsica is next [on April 6-9] and I'm hopeful we can get better results there."
World Rally Championship driver standings after three of 13 rounds
1. Sebastien Ogier (France, M-Sport Ford Fiesta) 66 points; 2. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland, Toyota Yaris) 58; 3. Ott Tanak (Estonia, M-Sport Ford Fiesta) 48; 4. Daniel Sordo (Spain, Hyundai i20 Coupe) 30; 5. Thierry Neuville (Belgium, Hyundai i20 Coupe) 28; 6. Kris Meeke (Great Britain, Citroen C3) 27. New Zealand's Hayden Paddon (Hyundai i20 Coupe) is ninth with 17 points.

WRC constructor standings – 1. M-Sport Ford 103 points; 2. Toyota 67; 3. Hyundai 65; 4. Citroen 55.
Bourdais boilover in IndyCar but black day for Power
Luck and strategy went Sebastien Bourdais' way in the 110-lap IndyCar season-opener on the streets of the Frenchman's adopted American home in St Petersburg, Florida.

Bourdais had hit the wall in a brake lock-up during qualifying and started last in the field of 21. He was soon up to 10th in the race, was pitted early by Dale Coyne and by one-third distance was in front and led 69 of the last 74 laps.

Bourdais was overcome at his success, his 36th in Champ Car/IndyCar and which came on the first outing in his return to Coyne after six years away.

"We put the band back together," he said of Coyne also re-hiring several of his old crew from the period of his greatest success as a four-time champion in Champ Car more than a decade ago, when he dominated that breakaway series in American open-wheeler racing with Newman-Haas.

"Can't do better than that," Coyne said of the victory at the start of a season expected to be dominated again by Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing in its return to Honda power, and Andretti Autosport – winner of last year's Indianapolis 500.

It was the fifth win for Coyne's team, the first of which came with the late Englishman Justin Wilson in 2009.

Penske's reigning IndyCar champion, another Frenchman, Simon Pagenaud, took second at St Pete, 10.35 seconds behind Bourdais, with New Zealander Scott Dixon third for Ganassi.

Honda powered four of the first five cars, with Pagenaud the exception, driving a car with a Chevrolet engine.

Will Power, another of Penske's four drivers, led from the 45th pole of his American career but was overtaken on lap five by Canadian James Hinchcliffe on a restart after a first-lap multi-car crash.

Pitting from second place on lap 14 with a vibration from a flat-spotted right front tyre, Power incurred a drive-through penalty for running over an air hose exiting his pit box.

That dropped Toowoomba's 2014 IndyCar champion back to 18th and, while he regained some places, he struck engine troubles 17 laps from the finish and, after several pit stops, he was eventually black-flagged and classified 19th with 99 laps completed.

"It was going to be a P3 or P4 kind of day, then we just ended up having some engine issues and that took us out of contention," Power said.

"It was a typical St Pete race for me for the last few years. That's not the way we wanted to start the season, but that's how it goes."

The next round is another street race at Long Beach in California on April 9.

IndyCar series standings after first of 17 races1. Sebastien Bourdais (France, Dale Coyne Racing, Dallara-Honda) 53 points; 2. Simon Pagenaud (France, Team Penske, Dallara-Chevrolet) 41, 3. Scott Dixon (New Zealand, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dallara-Honda) 35; 4. Ryan Hunter-Reay (US, Andretti Autosport, Dallara-Honda) 32; 5. Takuma Sato (Japan, Andretti Autosport, Dallara-Honda) 31. Will Power (Australia, Team Penske, Dallara-Chevrolet) is 18th with 13 points, including one for pole position at St Petersburg.

Bathurst 6hr boasts record field
An impressive 66 cars are entered for this Easter's 2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour. And although entries have officially closed, that number could yet swell.

The list is spread across seven classes, with the premier category A1 (Extreme Performance / Forced Induction) category the most numerous at 22 cars.

Several new cars will join the existing fight between Mitsubishi, Subaru and Mercedes-AMG, with two Ford Focus RSs and a BMW M4 joining the outright battle.

No fewer than 17 brands are represented by more than 30 different models, with BMW, Mitsubishi, Audi, Ford, Subaru, Mercedes-AMG, Holden, Renault, Alfa-Romeo, Mazda, Toyota, Kia, Honda, Nissan, Eunos, MINI and Hyundai all looking to start the race.

The bumper Bathurst grid represents a significant increase from the 50-car field that took the start in the first Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, held last year and won by the BMW 335i of Nathan Morcom and Chaz Mostert.

“Whilst we would be delighted to set a record grid for an endurance race at Mount Panorama, the massive growth of the field is the most pleasing aspect,” Event Director James O’Brien said.

“The reaction from Production Car competitors has been outstanding – they have quickly embraced this chance to compete for their own Bathurst victory.”

Across 75 500km, 1000km, six-hour, 12-hour or 24-hour races held at Mount Panorama since 1963, records indicate that 63 cars are the most to actually start.

That record grid was recorded three times: first in the 1969 Hardie Ferodo 500, then in the 1978 Hardie Ferodo 1000 and finally in the 1984 James Hardie 1000.

Larger fields have attempted to qualify or start the race – 70 cars attempting to qualify for the 1971 Hardie Ferodo 500, through only 61 of them made the actual race start. 67 cars attempted to compete in both 1970 and 1976, though both years saw 60 cars take the starter.

The 66 entries are match this year’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 12 Hour entry however only 60 actually made the start.

The 2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour commences at 11:30am on Easter Sunday, April 16.

Tickets and camping remain on sale and available at www.bathurst6hour.com.au

Share this article
Written byGeoffrey Harris
See all articles
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.

If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.