Auto Action Premium Magazine | August 2026

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY.

In this issue

The latest edition of Auto Action Premium is here, led by Stephen Grove's blunt ambition to dominate Supercars, a two-part deep dive into artificial intelligence in motorsport and the story of the sport's unsung timekeepers.

From the F1 rules row and the Teams Racing Charter negotiations to Belgium, Hungary, Townsville, Perth and the Winton Festival of Speed, this issue is packed with news, analysis and racing from Australia and around the world.

Built to dominate
For the first time in its history, Grove Racing sits atop the Repco Supercars Championship. Executive Chairman Stephen Grove tells Andrew Clarke that winning was never really the point, and that the goal has always been to dominate.

The AI race
Artificial intelligence will not drive the racecar, but it is already shaping how the car is developed, run and raced. Elaine Schillinger investigates the invisible arms race being fought in data centres and on pitwalls, and asks whether the engineer is still motorsport's greatest weapon.

The signal and the noise
Dick Johnson Racing co-owner Dr Ryan Story has founded and invested in AI businesses, and few in the paddock can talk about the technology with more authority. He tells Andrew Clarke where it is delivering, where it is heading and why it will never make an average driver fast.

The timekeepers
Lorenzo Baer takes a nostalgic look at motorsport timekeeping, from stopwatches, notepads and the WAGs who kept the charts to the computers and transponders that measure every fraction of a second today.

These were the rules the manufacturers wanted
Formula 1's new regulations have delivered closer racing, but the drivers remain frustrated by energy management, power loss and cars that no longer reward commitment. FIA single-seater boss Nikolas Tombazis explains to Luis Vasconcelos how manufacturer demands shaped the rules and where the sport goes next.

No team orders, please
With the summer shutdown giving team bosses too much time to think, Luis Vasconcelos argues the case against team orders and hopes Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren hold off backing a single driver while the title is still up for grabs.

The Supercars debrief
The Teams Racing Charter negotiations will decide far more than how revenue is divided. Andrew Clarke looks at whether Supercars shrinks, holds the line at 14 rounds or builds the larger championship it will need before the next broadcast deal, and has a guess at the 2027 calendar.

Young Gun: Imogen Radburn is racing on her own terms
A promised F1 Academy seat evaporated a day before she was due to drive it. A year on, Imogen Radburn owns and runs her own Mustang Cup Australia team, staffed almost entirely by women.

Steven Johnson on why he still loves racing in TCM
Four-time champion Steven Johnson leads the 2026 Touring Car Masters standings and is loving every minute of it. Bruce Williams caught up with him at Townsville to talk about the big Mustang, looking after tyres and brakes, a difficult 2025 now behind him and why the old school category still fires him up.

The clean-sheet IndyCar
IndyCar has revealed the IR-28, the clean-sheet car that replaces the long-serving DW12 from 2028, with a twin-turbo V6 hybrid powertrain and a design built to race across ovals, road courses and superspeedways.

Targa Tasmania opens the door to GT4
Bruce Williams reports on Targa Tasmania opening this year's event to factory-built GT4 cars, part of a wider shift as more production cars are built for motorsport straight from the factory.

Perth Park takes shape
Western Australia's new Perth Park circuit is being built as the centrepiece of a permanent, year-round sporting and entertainment precinct rather than a track used for one weekend a year, with the street race on course to open the 2028 Supercars Championship.

Inside Line
Coverage and results from Australia and around the globe. Supercars from Perth, where Ford swept all three races, the Winton Festival of Speed's record-breaking weekend, GT4 Australia at Hidden Valley, Super2, and the Townsville support categories. Internationally, the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix, Marc Marquez equalling an Agostini record before the MotoGP break, the WEC in Sao Paulo, the WRC in Finland and Estonia, IMSA at Road America, IndyCar at Nashville and NASCAR's busy July.

Archives
A look back at Auto Action over the past five decades, this month returning to a weekend of controversy at Oran Park in 1976.

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