Miedecke Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team that is competing in Australian GT. It has previously competed in
touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
between
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
and
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, and an earlier form of the team also competed in
open wheel racing
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
team in 1987, Andrew Miedecke had run his own team in
open wheel racing
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
. He finished fourth in the
1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 2 racing cars.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1976, pages 81 & 82
The title was contested over a four round series:
* Round 1, Cald ...
driving a
Rennmax BN7
The Rennmax name was applied to a series of open wheel racing cars and sports racing cars constructed by Rennmax Engineering in Sydney, Australia between 1962 and 1978.Tony Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, pages 402-403 Rennmax ...
with sponsorship from
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
based department store chain
Grace Bros.
Grace Bros was an Australian department store chain, founded in 1885. It was bought by Myer (later Coles Myer) in 1983. There were 25 stores across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory plus a few in Victoria, until they were r ...
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
and
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...
s with backing from the
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...
Tourist Bureau. He placed 3rd in 1982, winning Round 2 of the series at the Adelaide International Raceway, and would finish 3rd again in 1983, again winning Round 2 of the series at
Lakeside
Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria
* Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia
* Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria
* Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Quee ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. Miedecke had not actually planned to race the Ralt during 1983 but changed his mind after watching Round 1 of the series (Adelaide) on television and found himself wishing he was out there.
Miedecke had actually begun competing in the Ralt at the
1981 Australian Grand Prix
The 1981 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Pacific motor race held at Calder Park Raceway in Victoria, Australia on 8 November 1981.
It was the forty sixth Australian Grand Prix and the first to be restricted to Formula Pacific racing cars. I ...
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
where he qualified in 11th place before a steady run saw him finish 5th just one lap down on winner Roberto Moreno of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Miedecke also finished on the same lap as
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
World Champion Nelson Piquet who finished 2nd. He again qualified 11th for the
1982 Australian Grand Prix
The 1982 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Melbourne International Raceway, formerly Calder Raceway, in Victoria, Australia on 8 November 1982.Programme, National Panasonic Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne International Racew ...
at Calder and went on to finish 6th, one lap down on Frenchman Alain Prost. At the
1983 Australian Grand Prix
The 1983 Australian Grand Prix was a race for Australian Formula 1 cars held at Calder Park Raceway on 13 November 1983.
It was the forty eighth Australian Grand Prix and the fourth to be held at Calder. The race was also the sixth and final ro ...
at Calder, Miedecke again qualified the Ralt in 11th place, though he failed to finish the race after the rotor button in the distributor failed on lap 64.
Racing his Ralt Ford, Andrew Miedecke won the 1981 and 1982 Malaysian Grand Prix at the
Shah Alam Circuit
Shah Alam Circuit (حلبة شاه عالم) or Batu Tiga Speedway Circuit was a racing circuit in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. The circuit layout was designed by Dutchman John Hugenholtz.
History
The circuit was opened in 1968. The 1968 Ma ...
.
Touring Cars
Andrew Miedecke's first start in touring cars came at the
1986 James Hardie 1000
The 1986 James Hardie 1000 was an endurance motor race held on 5 October 1986 at the Mount Panorama Circuit, just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The race, which was the 27th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race, was ...
when he was to drive a
Mercedes-Benz 190E
The Mercedes-Benz W201 was the internal designation for the Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes 190 series sedans, a range of front-engine, rear drive, five passenger, four-door sedans manufactured over a single generation, from 1982 to 1993 as the company' ...
imported from
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
as part of Bob Jane's team. Partnered with German driver
Jörg van Ommen
Jörg Van Ommen (born 27 September 1962 in Moers, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former German racing driver. He drove for Mercedes-AMG in the DTM in 1995 and 1996, finishing in second place in 1995 in a Mercedes C-Class. He also is the nephew o ...
, they qualified the Class B car in 35th place but were out of the race after van Ommen was pushed into the outside fence at Murray's Corner at the end of the first lap. It was the first retirement of the race.
Miedecke Motorsport was formed in 1987 by Don Smith as Oxo Supercube Motorsport to compete in the
1987 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship was a motor racing competition which was open to Touring Cars complying with regulations as defined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and based on FIA Group A rules. The championship, whi ...
Andy Rouse
Andrew Rouse (born 2 December 1947) is a British racing driver, most notably in the British Saloon Car Championship. He won the BSCC in 1975, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Andy Rouse is one of the most successful drivers ever to appear in the BSCC. His ...
. With sponsorship from Oxo. Andrew Miedecke signed on to drive the second car. Mid-season, Smith sold his car to John Giddings who took over driving it at round six.
After a frustrating ATCC in which Miedecke was often among the leaders in the Sierra, the team upgraded to the newly homologated Ford Sierra RS500 for the endurance races including the Castrol 500 at Sandown in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
, the latter two races being rounds of the inauguralWorld Touring Car Championship.
The Castrol 500 was something of a disaster for the team. After Miedecke had set the fastest time in qualifying to grab provisional pole position (before the "Dulux Dozen" top 12 runoff for pole), Don Smith rolled the Sierra at the end of the main straight, putting the car out for the weekend. The team's second car driven by veterans John Giddings and Bruce Stewart failed to finish after their Sierra suffered differential failure on lap 82.
The team had a new car ready for the Bathurst 1000 and Miedecke was the fastest Australian Sierra after Hardies Heroes in 5th place (though he would start 4th after the third Eggenberger Motorsport was withdrawn). Miedecke was then among the early pace setters along with Andy Rouse driving Allan Moffat's leased Sierra, and the Ford Europe backed Eggenberger Motorsport Sierra of Steve Soper. The trio continually swapping the lead over the first 30 laps of the race. While the European Sierra's had the edge in straight line speed, the Oxo car, thanks to Miedecke's open wheel experience, handled better and was quicker across the top of the mountain. Despite his power disadvantage Miedecke was able to stay with Soper and Rouse on the straights thanks to drafting and even managed to outbrake Soper at the end of Mountain Straight to take the lead in a move which surprised the Englishman. Unfortunately for the team, veteran Smith was some 8 seconds a lap slower than Miedecke which translated to lost time to the other leaders. The car also suffered two flat batteries mid-race thanks to a faulty alternator which put them out of contention. Car #35 eventually finished in 17th place, covering 144 of the 161 laps.
Miedecke then qualified the Sierra an impressive 3rd a week later for the Bob Jane T-Marts 500 at Calder Park in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, and although the car was retired after just 58 of the 120 laps, Mad Andy would set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:45.03 for the 4.216 km (2.620 mi) circuit which combined the 2.280 km (1.417 mi) road course with the then new 1.801 km (1.119 mi)
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
style high-banked "Thunderdome" oval speedway. As of 2016 this lap record still stands.
With Don Smith retiring, Andrew Miedecke took ownership of the team in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
. A second customer car was entered for New Zealander
Andrew Bagnall
Andrew Bagnall is a motor racing driver born in Wellington, New Zealand on 14 February 1947.
Career
Bagnall raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship in the late 1980s, in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship in 1990, and in some ...
who was making the bold step up from the baby car class. Struggling for sponsorship (though OXO still remained it was in a reduced capacity), the cars proved fast but unreliable and while Miedecke often seemed the most likely to challenge the superiority shown by the Shell Sierras of Dick Johnson and Miedecke's former open wheel adversary John Bowe, bad luck brought about by a lack of money often robbed the team of good results. Miedecke scored his first pole position in touring car racing for Round 7 of the ATCC at Sandown, but his race lasted only a few hundred metres as clutch failure put him out before the first turn. In a show of appreciation for his efforts in trying to break the Shell team's monopoly in 1988, the crowd at Sandown applauded Miedecke as he walked back to the pits.
For the
1988 Tooheys 1000
The 1988 Tooheys 1000 was a 1000 km endurance motor race for Group A Touring Cars.Pierre Dieudonné, an ironic situation considering the Miedecke cars were running Rouse technology, with Rouse being one of the chief Sierra rivals of the Eggenberger team in Britain and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Unfortunately the 1988 Tooheys 1000 turned out to be a disaster for the team. Although both cars qualified in the top 10, Miedecke had crashed his car at the top of the mountain during Friday qualifying meaning an overnight rebuild for the
TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
crash repair team. Then during Saturday afternoon's final practice session Soper (who co-drove with Mad Andy) had a spin on Conrod straight when a tyre deflated, though the English ace was able to keep the car off the concrete walls. Their challenge ended early as the team found that the replacement turbo hoses they had used in the rebuild did not have the required aluminium heat shielding on the inside. Just 2 laps into the race the hose could not take the pressure and split causing a loss of boost (the hose had been used in the Tooheys Top 10 as well as Saturday's final practice). As the team did not have the resources for adequate spares all that could be done was to keep replacing the hose and suffering a loss of turbo boost. Although during the middle section of the race it was the fastest car on the track, the Sierra was eventually retired on lap 102 with a split bore. Belgian motoring journalist Dieudonné (Soper's usual co-driver in the Eggenberger team) was promoted to lead driver over Bagnall in car #8 and qualified the car in a credible 7th place. However a blown head gasket ended their race on lap 9.
Following Bathurst, Miedecke and Soper would go on to win the Promo Touring Car 500 at the
Pukekohe Park Raceway
Pukekohe Park is a horse racing, motor racing, and community events facility located in Pukekohe, New Zealand, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, in the Auckland Region of the North Island. The venue, owned by Counties Racing Club Inc. ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
In
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, Miedecke would gain much needed sponsorship from
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
and Kenwood. However having a car destroyed by fire in Round 3 of the ATCC at
Lakeside
Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria
* Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia
* Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria
* Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Quee ...
was a big setback, although Miedecke and Bagnall would later go on to win the Oran Park 300. Miedecke Motorsport also began servicing a second customer car for Kevin Waldock's
Playscape Racing
Playscape Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian touring car racing between 1989 and 1998.
History
At the 1988 Bathurst 1000, explosives entrepreneur Kevin Waldock's Blast Dynamics came on board as a sponsor of ...
in 1989. Waldock's explosives company Blast Dynamics had been Miedecke's main sponsor at Bathurst in 1988 and remained as a sponsor through 1989.
The
1989 Tooheys 1000
The 1989 Tooheys 1000 was the 30th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1989 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, Australia. The race was held for cars eligible under International Group A to ...
at Bathurst was again a disaster for the team. Both cars again qualified in the top 10 with Miedecke, partnered by
Charlie O'Brien
Charles Hugh O'Brien (born May 1, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Oakland Athletics (1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1987–90), New York Mets (1990–93), Atlanta Bra ...
, qualifying 6th as he had done in 1988. Andrew Bagnall, partnered by fellow Kiwi Graeme Crosby, would start tenth after failing to complete his Tooheys Top 10 runoff lap when he crashed the Sierra at Sulman Park. Miedecke actually got a good start in the Sierra and was 4th heading up Mountain Straight behind the Sierras of
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
, Dick Johnson and German Klaus Niedzwiedz in Allan Moffat's Eggenberger built car. However a complete gearbox failure going up the mountain ended his race before he had completed half a lap to be the races first retirement. It was the second time in four races at Bathurst (after 1986) that Miedecke's own car had failed to complete a lap of the race. Bagnall and Crosby had a steady run in their repaired car before retiring with head gasket failure on lap 97.
Bathurst would prove to be the final outing for the team as they did not enter the season ending Yokohama Cup Group A Support Race at the
1989 Australian Grand Prix
The 1989 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on 5 November 1989. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The race took place in wet conditions, with only 70 of the schedul ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
At the end of 1989, the team was disbanded with Miedecke moving to
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
's Mobil 1 Racing while some of the team's assets moved to Playscape Racing.
GT
In 2015, Andrew Miedecke purchased an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, which in collaboration with Ross Stone ran in the final two rounds of the
2015 Australian GT Championship
The 2015 Australian GT Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to FIA GT3 cars and similar approved vehicles. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as National Championship, with the Australia ...
GT Asia
The GT Asia Series was a sports car racing series based in Asia. The championship combines FIA GT3 specification cars as the elite class of the series with Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Cup and older GT3 machinery competing in the GTM class.
The s ...