2012-02-02 16:27:41

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will field an exciting array of up & coming talent in Saturday’s opening trial match against the St. George-Illawarra Dragons at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.

Coach Des Hasler has named NRL experience in forwards Jake Foster, Marty Taupau, Tim Browne & at halfback Trent Cutler, who will combine with a host of names from the Club’s NSW Cup & Toyota Cup programs in the annual Mercury Challenge fixture.

Also named in the starting side are two graduates to the Bulldogs NRL squad in 2012 – former Toyota Cup captain Dale Finucane & fellow Junior Kangaroo Josh Jackson, who will line up at lock & second row respectively.

The 28-man squad features a number of players who have spent the summer months in full time training, including backs Cutler, Sam Ahofono, Ed Murphy, & Daniel Abou-Sleiman, & forwards Shane Pumipi, Ray Moujalli, Tupou Sopoaga, Jake Finn & Harlan Alaalatoa.

The main game kicks off at 6pm with the Toyota Cup fixture – which sees Andy Patmore’s 29-man squad taking on a Dragons side coached by former Bulldogs NSW Cup coach Justin Holbrook – kicks off at 4pm.

We look forward to seeing the boys on the field in the upcoming games. Above: Jake Foster in training

2012-01-16 16:29:23

The Bottle-O Racing’s 2012 Ford Falcon FG has been revealed!

The fresh-look Bottle-O car again features prominent Canadian Club branding, as well as continued support from Castrol, Autobarn & the Ford Motor Company.

In November last year, team owner Rod Nash announced that The Bottle-O will remain as his entry’s major sponsor until 2015, as well as a continued alliance with Ford Performance Racing.

The team is still to announce its replacement for retired former driver Paul Dumbrell, although it is expected that David Reynolds, who drove the #16 Kelly Racing Commodore last season, will join the squad.

Rumors of a meeting between Kelly Racing and David Reynolds’ management will take place next week in the hope of settling a long-running dispute over the former Australian Formula Ford driver’s 2012 plans.

The Bottle-O Racing Falcon will be seen for the first time at V8 Supercars’ official pre-season test day at Sandown Raceway on February 11.

2011-12-19 16:59:46 (Paul Dumbrell & Rod Nash with members of the team in Sydney)

After getting very close to a victory in Tasmania & again at Sandown the team headed to Sydney for the final event at Homebush. As it was the final race for PD, the team felt additional pressure to perform.

The track around the Olympic precinct is one of the toughest races of the calendar & this year proved no different.

The #55 Bottle-O FPR Falcon has had a tough second half of this year due to a steering arm issue & while the crew had new parts flown in for Sunday’s race, PD had to make do as best he could on Saturday. Paul qualified 19th & the race never really got going as the steering issue reared itself again.

While Mark Winterbottom fought through the field to claim fifth, Paul was taking a different line into some corners which caused more damage than what was tolerable.

While Saturday was a slight disappointment, Sunday turned the team’s mood around quickly. New parts meant the cars were quick & strong. Paul qualified 5th & with Will Davison on pole & Frosty third, the FPR cars were the ones to beat.

A massive storm hit the track just before the race & even though the track began to dry, the weather was a constant threat leaving teams debating tyre choice on the grid. PD was one of two cars to elect for slicks & this gave him the advantage the team needed.

Almost the entire field pitted on the formation lap for slicks leaving a very lonely grid, though it did give Paul a great shot to take advantage of the strategy.

His start was good & he was fighting the leaders early, even though the track was still damp. He was caught out a few times given he was the first driver on slicks but his pace was such that he quickly recovered each time.

The team strategy carried over into the safety car periods & PD soon found himself second behind Frosty. The two FPR cars were in charge at the front of the field & controlled the pace – Paul never more than a few tenths of a second behind car #5.

They continued to run 1-2 for the majority of the race until disaster struck a few laps from the finish. Paul missed his braking point after passing a backmarker in the closing laps & spun the car.

Although it was undamaged he was struck hard by Lee Holdsworth who was following not far behind. The impact put both their cars out of the race & ended the fairytale run just a few kilometres from the finish of his full-time career.

While Frosty went on to win, the entire team was heartbroken & almost inconsolable.

Sunday’s finish marked a historical season for The Bottle-O Racing Team enjoying their first pole, podium & race win, all with Paul Dumbrell at the wheel.

2011-11-29 17:03:52 (Paul Dumbrell getting ready to race.)

It’s been a busy few weeks for V8 Supercars, with back-to-back races in Symmons Plains & Sandown.

Paul Dumbrell was quick straight out of the box at Symmons Plains as he topped the times during two of the four practice sessions. In a very close qualifying session he took third on the grid & focused on a podium position early in the race until a brake issue dropped him down the field. (PD receiving his prize for obtaining pole position.)

While the team ended the day just outside the top 10, their pace was never more apparent than on Sunday morning when Paul claimed his second career pole with a blistering late lap to grab top spot by just 0.02s from Ford team-mate Mark Winterbottom.

The race started well & the team held the top two places for most of the opening segment before we came out behind the new leaders after our first stop. Despite losing the lead the top four cars, three of which were FPR prepared, ran nose-to-tail in a gripping battle which would last the majority of the race.

Paul eventually came home fourth right behind Winterbottom & Will Davison ensuring Ford claimed second, third & fourth to go with pole. By far the best effort for the team year in terms of results.

Just days later the team was back at Sandown the scene of their first ever win & it was here that Rod Nash Racing announced a an extension of contract with FPR & The Bottle-O for an additional three years.

The races at Sandown we were treated to typical Melbourne weather. Friday was 35 degrees, Saturday was cold & very wet & Sunday was almost ideal conditions. PD was quick again in practice, setting the fastest time of the day.

Paul managed seventh on a close grid & made a great start before the up & down nature of the very wet race began. A great pit call kept the team in the hunt, then a spin in the wet dropped Paul down the field before he recovered well to get back into the top 10.

In the chaos of the spray, where there was basically zero visibility in front or on either side for the drivers, Frosty spun PD which is never ideal for a team-mate to do, but was one of many similarly weather-induced moments for the field. He recovered a little by the finish but to even survive the conditions was a great effort.

Paul was brilliant in the early stages of the race & passed a number of cars. He then led for quite a while as the team attempted to use a different pit strategy to most other cars. There was a safety car period straight after his first stop & when action resumed Paul’s car took a minor hit from one of the HRT cars at turn one. The hit was small but did enough damage to the front-left of the car to put him out of the race.

The team is now looking forward to the final event of the year at Homebush which will be PD’s last ever race as a full-time driver.

It is hard to think he made his debut as a teenage school boy in 1999, but while the team will all miss him, we still have one final chance to share some success.

2011-11-24 16:44:51

On Saturday November 19, Autobarn Logan City held a Twilight Car Show featuring demo cars, live music & giveaways, as well as trophies for the best Hot Rod, six cylinder car, V8 and rotary. Manager Phil Forshaw said the event was a “huge success” and Logan City was able to donate almost $500 to Brave Hearts, as a result of all entry fees into the Car Show. Check out some of the special cars on display at Logan City’s Twilight Car Show, proudly supported by the new Castrol Edge, & join Autobarn Logan City’s Facebook page today to stay up-to-date with future events.

Check out Logan City on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/autObarn-Logan-City/357922790956?ref=ts

2011-11-24 15:23:15 What is Viper SmartStart? New to Australia & exclusive to Autobarn for its release, Viper SmartStart has arrived!

Are you tired of carrying around another clunky remote control on your keyring, or finding yourself out of range when you really need to warm up or cool down your car before getting in?

Now you can lock & unlock your car, even remote start it, just by pushing a button on your iPhone, Blackberry or Android Smartphone.

*Viper SmartStart app, Viper Alarm & subscription required.

The simple graphical interface gives you control over the following features of your installed Viper remote start or security/remote start system:

- Lock/Arm

- Unlock/Disarm

- Remote Car Starter

- Boot Release

- Panic or Car Finder

You can also control multiple vehicles & assign more than one user to control a vehicle. It\'s that easy with SmartStart!

*The plan subscriptions gives you different levels of features & also includes all the data sent from the unit to the consumers phone. The unit includes a pre-installed SIM card which sends data continuously to the phone. If you do not have a Viper Alarm installed, you can still utilize the Viper Smart Start to control simple functions like Lock/Unlock on your car or your existing alarm & even get an Alert. Viper Smart Start gives you the flexibility. SmartPark Remembers where you parked your car every time you lock your doors. Provides directions back to your car. Smart Alerts Customers receive a text message to their Smartphone if their alarm triggers. Standard Viper SmartStart features on the ‘Secure Plan’

- 2-Way confirmation of commands received at vehicle

- Smart Alerts sent via push notification or text messaging (SMS)

- Security alert messages (for security/RS or security systems only)

- Error messages if command not executed at vehicle (all Viper systems)

- Vehicle personalization – add a picture or change the name

- App pass code protection

- Password management

- Button confirmation sounds

SmartStart GPS By choosing one of the GPS plans you will be able to locate your car, share activity on Facebook & set safety notifications if your car is speeding or goes where it\'s not supposed to go. See all available features below.