Official Publication of Queensland Raceways
The
QuaRterly issue 03 , October 2016
THE
Road Trip
magazine
TRADIE UTES
IPSWICH CLASSIC
888
DOMINATE AT
Queensland Raceway
LAKESIDE 300 and more..
FORMULA STUDENT
The
QuaRterly magazine
Issue 03, 2016
QUEENSLAND RACEWAY
PAGE 04 FORMULA STUDENT PAGE 06 SHANNONS NATIONALS REVIEW PAGE 08 IPSWICH CLASSIC REVIEW
NOVEMBER 4- FRIDAY NIGHT DRIFT 12- QRDC RD 7 20 - QRFX RACE SERIES 27 - STREET SPRINT 30 - MID-WEEK SPRINT
PAGE 10 RED BULL AT LAKESIDE PAGE 11 RALLYCROSS GETS A BOOST PAGE 12 THE ROAD TRIP PAGE 14 TRADIE UTES PAGE 15 MEET OUR DRIVERS
LAKESIDE PARK RACEWAY NOVEMBER 5 - OPEN SPRINT 9 - MID-WEEK SPRINT 26 - RALLYCROSS
PAGE 16 QUEENSLAND RACEWAYS WEBSITE PAGE 17 LORD OF THE LAKE REVIEW PAGE 18 LAKESIDE 300 REVIEW PAGE 20 SUPERCARS AT IPSWICH PAGE 22 AROUND THE CIRCUITS
26 - STREET SPRINT
full calendar at www.calendar.qldraceways.com.au
qldraceways.com.au
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FORMULA STUDENT magazine
Formula Student kicks off in Queensland
T
he next generation of motorsport mechanics and participants will be the most skilled yet if Greig Frankham has anything to do with it. Frankham is the founder of Formula Student in Australia it's a training organisation with the philosophy designed around the student, not the teacher. With student-centric classes,
we are different from other training institutions whose philosophy revolves around teacher-centric programs. The classes are based on learning while many others are based on teaching. With this student-centric philosophy as the centrepiece of learning at Formula Student, Frankham believes the student needs to have ownership in their progress and a clear understanding of not just how to do a task but why. On top of this, the learning needs to be relevant and useful. "I know I don't like making token items that mean nothing and end up in the bin at the end of the class so why would others be inspired by this out-dated and irrelevant method of learning" said Frankham. Photos: Lemons The method was introduced into Australia by Formula Student, a RTO based in Brisbane Queensland that wanted to bring this innovative and
exciting learning experience to Australian High School Students. From the original program in Wisconsin, the students, choose a brand new Formula First racer, built by Sugar Grove Custom Cars as their model. A Formula First racecar is a single seat, open wheel style racecar, utilising a VW engine, transmission and front beam suspension. Jim Woodsmall, the owner of SGCC, was gracious enough to help out this new program. The actual moulds used to build the body panels for his Mysterian M5 were brought to Green Bay, WI. Here, under the direction of a local fibreglass company, the teams of students learned how to lay up a fibreglass body. Yep, those same students who might look like they badly need a set of suspenders rolled up their shirtsleeves and learned how to lay in fiberglass mat and resin. Once the bodies were removed from the molds, the students were responsible for trimming and fitting the panels to the chassis. The chassis for these vehicles are also based on the original. Students received a 3D computer model of the main cock-
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s a base, a rt po rs to o m se u e w While UT the course ISN’T ABO ABOUT is motorsport. What it IS engineering pathways pit section of the chassis. This ensured proper placement of roll bars and bracing so the vehicles were safe. The students then used computer-modeling software to design the rest of their chassis. Students had to incorporate engineering and manufacturing techniques learned in class to construct their vehicles. Now that's a real world test! To closely match the original racecar, the students were also required to use VW spindles and brakes. This allowed the students also to include a steel wheel and tire assembly that mimicked the road racing tires used on the Formula First vehicles. To keep costs down, the students were limited to a 16 HP Briggs & Stratton v-twin engine. The same engine used on your typical larger ride-on mower. Transmissions were kept simple: a chain driven centrifugal clutch on the engine to a solid axle rear. With this drivetrain set-up, the typical speeds reached were kept under 50 MPH on the track. The last test for the students was the first annual Formula High School track day, held on April 27, qldraceways.com.au
2009 at the Blain's Farm and Fleet Motorplex. The Motorplex is located on the grounds of Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. If you haven't heard of Road America, it's the nations largest road track in the US. It's a world-class facility. The students were allowed on the Motorplex track, one at time, to see who could set the fastest lap time. Teams were required to have at least three different drivers. The average of the lowest times of three different drivers was used to calculate the "winner�. What did they win: the bragging rights for that year. The teams also had to repair any issues at the track on their own. No more teacher help. Time to stand on their own two feet. Overall the program was a great success. While we use motorsport as a base, the course ISN'T ABOUT motorsport. What it IS ABOUT is engineering pathways. It's about skills and knowledge development. It's about developing a familiarity with the engineering discourse, from the
language used, to the processes and methods. It's about students building an understanding of jobs cards and two-way communication. It's about developing an understanding of quality assurance and how this is achieved. It's about learning through project work. It's about being a member of a team. It's about communicating with others in an informative and accurate way. And they do this by building a full-size race car from scratch. Queensland Raceways has been supporting the Queensland Initiative and will work with Formula Student to develop race categories and use existing race categories that students can build cars for people to compete in. The whole initiative is really about the students and adding real vale to their future employers which will bolster the Queensland Motor Racing Industry. The QuaRterly magazine | 5
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SHANNONS NAT IN 2016 The fifth round of the Shannons Nationals presented by Penrite has wrapped up the final day of racing, after an action-packed three days of national series action at Queensland Raceway. Seven categories completed the round, which was great entertainment for all motor racing fans with Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Australian GT Trophy, Australian Production Cars, Australian 6 | The QuaRterly magazine
Formula 3, Australian Formula Ford, Kerrick Sports Sedans and Australian Sports Racer. Two big headlines from this year’s round of the Shannons Nationals came from the Australian Sports Racers series. With Mark Laucke suffering a big fire in his West car on friday in practice. He managed to get out of the car uninjured, but unfortunately wasn’t able to put out the flames before the devoured
the machine. The second incident occured during their race on Sunday, when Joshua Townsend sent Adam Cranston’s West car rolling into the gravel trap outside of turn one. The vision of the accident was frightening, but luckily Cranston was able to escape with just a hurt foot. He ended up missing the next round of Sports racers but will be in a new West car at their final round.
TIONALS Class B victory went to Grant and Iain Sherrin, despite their pitstop going horribly wrong. THE FIGHT IN THE NIGHT The Australian Production Cars Series brings an exciting 300km night time race to the Shannon Nationals at QR, and it always provides some awesome action. This year Beric Lynton and Tim Leahy have taken a convincing Fight in the Night win, with the pair leading the 300km race as part of Round 3 Australian Production Car Series. Leahy crossed the line first for the outright and Class A win, ahead of Daniel Gaunt and Mark Griffith in the Mitsubishi Evo X. Their second place came after an epic battle with for third placed Aaron Seton/Tony Alford and Paul Morris/Luke Searle who ended up fourth. qldraceways.com.au
The Class C victory went to the Falcon Fire BMW of Doug Westwood and Daniel Sugden, with the pair taking the class lead from from George Karadimas and Geoff Russell, after their Falcon endured a shattered front disc rotor. Class D came down to the wire with Barry Black taking over the class lead from the Pedders Racing Toyots 86 team of Grant Philips and Andrew Turpie. In Class E the Naylor Racing team of brothers Mitch and Leigh Naylor dominated to take the class victory, while in Class I Carey McMahon and Kyle Alford took the win.
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W
ith over 180 cars and eight categories running, the Ipswich Classic was a massive weekend in October for Queensland Raceway. With ever explosive categories like the Keema Excel Cup, Queensland Touring Car Championship and Trans Am, it was sure to be an exciting weekend. And some categories couldn’t resist joining in the biff and barge fun, with TA2, Group N, Classic Sports and Sedans, HQ Holdens and Production Sports all putting on an incredible show.
The Ipswi for B drivers, who were sharing cars with their A drivers in the one hour race on Sunday. Incidents marred the Trans Am, Excel Cup and TA2 races, early on the Saturday. In TA2, previous round winner Chad Cotton and Scott Textor came together heavily on the first lap, causing a clampdown and eventually a restart of the race. Due to the incidents, the Group N - Harvey Black Endurance Race started near dusk, the setting sun racing pack leader Bob Stewart to the line.
The endurance race, possibly proved a bit too long for a few of the historSaturday began with Classic Sports ic Group N competitors, with just Sedans qualifying, with Michael under half the field completing the Kulig, Geoff Taunton locking out 20 lap race. Andrew Hinz, in car 47 the front row. All eight categories went straight on into the tyre wall followed with qualifying and Proat turn three, and highlighted that duction Sports had an extra session overheating brakes were definitely a
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concern in the latter stages of the endurance race. As Hinz pulled the car out of the barrier to roll back around into the pits, flames were very visible from the back right. Hinz was able to pick up a bit of speed and put out the small fire, but his race was definitely over. The sun rose over the circuit on Sunday and signalled the final day of racing for the Ipswich Classic. Classic Sports Sedans, were again off the mark first to begin an action filled and championship deciding day of racing. After lunch Production Sports took off for the one hour race, which wasn an exciting affair. Grant Sparks led from the get go, and held onto the lead for the majority of the race. Only faltering on lap 26, of the 30 lap race to the advances of Jeff
ich Classic Hume. Sparks regained control and crossed the line in first position, followed by Wayne Hennig and Russell Schloss. The Ipswich Classic saw the final round of the QTCC and a tightly fought battle for top honours in the championship. Coming into the final round, Justin Anthony and Steve Hay were hot favourites with only a few points separating the pair. Anthony had the momentum, but Hay has the experience and it all came down to their last race on sunday. It was a suspenseful few moments before the final race of the season, but it all came to an unfortunate end on lap three when Anthony was forced to retire, handing Hay the championship. Interestingly, it was Hay’s first time leading the championship on points in 2016, but he was there
qldraceways.com.au
when it counted. Regular competitor and fan favourite Trans Am racer, Charlie O’Brien announced earlier in the year he would be leaving the series to pursue other opportunities, and as such the Ipswich Classic would be his final race in Trans Am. It turned out to be a shocker of a weekend for O’Brien who initially qualified fourth on the Sunday morning but who was then unable to get out for the first race, and eventually had to pull out of the rest of the weekend. O’Brien was able to walk away with the championship in the Trophy Class in his farewell to Australian Trans Am.
Trans Am and QTCC were able to finish their seasons on a high. The Ipswich Classic was a big weekend, start to finish, and while there may have be 180 cars entered on the Saturday morning there were a few less running on the Sunday afternoon. Some may be coming away from the weekend with a few headaches but it’s celebration and elation for others, overall it was a great couple of days of hard and fast racing. If you missed any of the racing from the Ipswich Classic, you can check it all out on https://livestream.com/qldraceways any time
The rest of the sunday ran cleanly without any major incident and
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RED BULL SHAKE DOWN NEW CHASSIS A
ustralian Supercars title contenders Red Bull Racing Australia and Jamie Whincup came out to Lakeside to shake down their new chassis in the break between the Queensland Raceways round and Sydney. Whincup’s new ‘Chassis 43’, or Alana, as he’s named it, took to the track for the first time at Lakeside Park, this was also Whincup’s first introduction to the circuit, as the Red Bull crew haven’t previously run here. “The shakedown was excellent,” said Whincup. “We rolled out and did a full systems check, and there was only some minor little electrical issues that we fixed very
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quickly. By the end of the day, Alana was running very smoothly.” Supercars regulations restricts team’s running for shakedown exercise so Whincup wasn’t able to put down a lap in anger around the historic track, but it doesn’t really matter when setting up the car. “I didn’t get to really bust out some laps in anger due to restrictions around the Lakeside Track, so we never did any setup changes or really went to 100 per cent. It was more doing a systems check and making sure I felt 100 percent in the car. We were able to tick all those boxes and finish the day very happy.” “We could have done it around the streets
of Banyo to be honest, but we can’t legally, so we needed a track. The Lakeside track is great, but when you are travelling around at snail’s pace the track really doesn’t come into play.”
THE LAKESIDE T R AC K I S G R E AT.
CATERGORY
RALLYCROSS GETS A BOOST T
he third round of the Queensland Rallycross Championship hit the dirt and tarmac at Lakeside Park on the 6th of August. The sun was shining on Saturday as the racing kicked off at 9:00am. Plenty of action went down on the Saturday with Robbie Bolger walking away with the round win. 2011 Australian Rallycross Champion and four time Victorian Rallycross Champion, Justin Dowell missed out this round as it proved that Bolger’s prowess was a bit too much. Dowell still finished in a very respectable second place. The field was the largest Lakeside Park has ever seen for a Rallycross event, showcasing just how popular this brand of motorsport is becoming. The steady growth of Rallycross in
Queensland is also evidenced by how hotly contested this event was, with high profile entries of two international motor racing champions, Michael Coyne and Marius Swart. Coyne is previously a two time national Irish Rallycross champion and his competitive outing at Lakeside that weekend showed how much this championship is growing. While Swart, a seasoned South African Rally contender was able to provide entertainment and increased competition for the talented field of contenders. Rallycross in Queensland is certainly seeing a resurgence and this growing popularity is an amazing opportunity for young competitors, such as 14-year-old Sean Bolger to boost their international racing ambitions.
Photos: 4020 Media & Courtesy of the Bolgers qldraceways.com.au
Sean Bolger, son of round winner Robbie Bolger was able to prove his skill against competitors more experienced and decorated than him. The young Bolger held his own on the Saturday. Sean has already made the prestigious leap to the global stage after competing in America’s Global Rallycross Li-
tes championship. Bolger’s ambitions are only bolstered by great results like these against seasoned competitors. Rallycross threw up some dirt around Lakeside again recently on the 3rd of September with the young Sean Bolger walking away with the class title for 4WD and for Junior competitors. The Junior title was contested also by Holly Espray and Emily Martin, Espray was able to beat out Martin for second but it was Martin’s first ever racing event. The Lakeside Rallycross track is a proving ground for young talent and with events like these, the facility offers the opportunity for ambitious young Australians to launch themselves into the global competitive scene and are able to use these events as learning opportunities to gain new and important racing skills. With the third round of the Queensland Rallycross Championship run and done, contenders look forward to the final round of Rallycross for the year at Lakeside Park The QuaRterly magazine | 11
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THE ROAD TRIP magazine
THE ULTIMATE DRAG RACING ADVENTURE!
I
magine spending the weekend with friends and family, traveling between some of the best drag racing facilities in South East Queensland to compete and enjoy the ride. Well, you don’t have to imagine for long – The Road Trip is hitting the highway on November 19th and 20th. On the Saturday competitors will start out at 9am at Willowbank Raceway. From then they will have 3 hours to set their fastest time on the track, testing their street machines against each other and gauging the competition for the weekend. After Willowbank, competitors will hit the road and head out to Warwick Dragway. The first day of action wraps up at 7pm, giving competitors from the time they arrive at the Dragway until then to lay down their quickest time.
All competitors will be running road registered cars, and after setting their best pass at each track will be jumping back in their cars to drive between the tracks. Competitors can switch between slicks and road tyres at the track, but you have to be able to get to and from each event in your entered car. The Road Trip is the ultimate drag racing journey, packed to the brim with high speed passes and good times. It’s just $360/per car and there are limited entry spots available for the weekend, so be quick to secure your spot today. It’d be an absolute shame to miss out on this awesome hi-octane adventure. Get your friends and family on board, pack the trailer and prep your car – it’s going to be wild.
To top off a drag racing filled day, there’s camping, drinks and a BBQ at the track on Saturday. On Sunday morning they can grab breakfast at the Warwick Dragway before rolling out to the last event of the weekend at Lakeside Park, north of Brisbane. There are trophies across multiple categories and prize money up for grabs, and it all comes down to the elimination rounds at Lakeside Park.
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Photos: Rick Millington
CATERGORY
ELIGABLE UTES The
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• • • • • • • • • •
HOLDEN COMMODORE -VU, VY II, VZ FORD AU, BA NISSAN NAVARA D22 NISSAN NAVARA D40 MAZDA B SERIES TOYOTA HILUX RZN14R TOYOTA HILUX GGN15R TOYOTA HILUX GGN15R MITSUBISHI TRITON MK MITSUBISHI TRITON ML
TRADIE UTES T
he Tradie Utes series inaugural season moved on to round two on the weekend of the 15th/16th at Queensland Raceways, Willowbank. The second round
Osborne, Clarke and Landsell fought hard on track for the lead and there were multiple changes before Clarke successfully crossed the line ahead of the pack.
The series, aimed at providing low cost racing opportunities for competitors did not disappoint, with old rivalries exposed on track and some great battles around the circuit.
Looking forward, the Tradie Utes field is growing ahead of their next round - as it seems to be the case with every round. This series is quick off the line, and it seems a lot of people are intrigued by the low budget, high adrenilan draw of Tradie Ute racing.
Peter Clarke walked away with the round win, closely followed by Danny Osborne and Jason Landsell. Meaning that Osborne goes into the third round with the points lead.
The series, aimed at providing low cost racing opportunities for competitors did not disappoint, with old rivalries exposed on track
There were some great battles between the two Fords and one Holden, an old point of contention that’s still alive and thriving in grassroots racing.
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Photos: Matthew Paul
MEET OUR DRIVERS CATERGORY
Racing
career
summary Races entered 127 Wins 37 Podiums 77 Pole positions 16 Fastest laps 38 Race win percentage 29.1% Podium percentage 60.6%
BRETT PARISH
Parrish has been racing Excel’s since 2011 and has achieved three championship titles in that time. He’s entered 127 races and has 37 wins to his name, along with 77 podiums and 17 pole positions.
Racing
career
summary
DANIEL NATOLI
Races entered 127 Wins 16 Podiums 38 Pole positions 5 Fastest laps 5 Race win percentage 12.6% Podium percentage 29.9%
Natoli has been racing since 2000, he has three championships across three different series in Australian Productuon Car Championship - Class C, Australian Touring Car Challenge - Super Touring class, and most recently Australian Sports Sedans Championship - Heavy Metal class. Natoli also has 16 wins and 38 podiums, with 127 races entered.
Racing
career
summary Races entered 68 Wins 17 Podiums 35 Pole positions 5 Fastest laps 15 Race win percentage 25% Podium percentage 51.5%
GEORGE KULIG Kulig has been racing in multiple series since 2011, mostly in Queensland Sports and Sedans. In 2016 he began racing in Queensland Trans Am, where he took 3 wins in 3 races. Over his career he has had 17 wins and 35 podiums with 68 races entered. qldraceways.com.au
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NEW QUEENSLAND RACEWAYS WEBSITE LAUNCHED T
he brand new Queensland Raceways website has just launched and there’s a whole load of awesome new stuff and easier to use features! There’s been a total overhaul of the site, qldraceways. com.au now better showcases the awesome track action at Lakeside Park and Queensland Raceway. The functionality of the site has vastly improved and it’s easier to find events, news and enter events. The website is a great way to check out our calendar for all upcoming races, drags, drifts and sprints. If you’re ever in need of getting your motorsport fill, the calendar is your best pal. Click on the ‘Calendar’ tab to see every drift, drag, sprint or racing event scheduled for the rest of the year, all you need to do now is get out here! Each type of motorsport has its own heading on the homepage and you can easily navigate to information pages from there. The tabs across the top will also take you straight to results from past events, so you can
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always get your facts straight. Entering into events has never been easier, just click on the entry system and find the event you’re interested in! You can also enter events straight from the information page – it’s that easy. All the details you need, from entry costs to the safety gear required is listed right on the information pages. It’s your one stop shop in getting ready to hit the track. Not only is it easier to find information about events but there’s better, bigger and brighter pictures everywhere you look! It’s still familiar and everything you love is still there, like the webcam, live timing and live streaming but it’s all just that little bit better. The new Qldraceways.com.au should be your go to for all things fast and fun at Lakeside Park and Queensland Raceway.
lord of the lake
C
lassic bikes and Lakeside have a long storied history, in short they’re a great combination. So every year when Lord of the Lake rolls around, it’s an exciting time for competitors and spectators alike. To see the sidecars roar along the front straight, with the swingers gearing themselves into their positions for the first corner is a sight well worth your entry fee. This year the Lord of the Lake field grew to more than 100 bikes, with 70 or so individual competitors, a steady improvement on 2015 and it showed on race day. There were brilliant battles between competitors and classes across all of the periods running. The sidecars saw a tussle between families in period five with mother Bronson Poucher and daughter, Scoobie Breen as the swingers on two entries fought for a class win. Scoobie and Doug Chivas’ consistency ended up giving them the edge, but it was to the wire in the last race with Ed and Bronson Poucher taking the win with just tenths between them and the number 12 of Chivas and Breen. But ultimately, across all periods and race groups, there was one question - who would be ‘Lord of the Lake’? The title is determined by who breaks the Lakeside Park lap record
in their class by the most significant amount of time. Whoever can achieve this is then dubbed the Lord of the Lake, and has set a new benchmark for their rivals the following year. This year’s Lord has been determined to be period five ultralightweight competitor, Jason Tester. Tester was quick for the whole weekend, he qualified in second position for the group, and with stagnant grids used across Saturday and Sunday, it meant he was clear to the first corner for the weekend. Tester was a contester in the first race for the win and lead several laps, but was ultimately beaten to the line by the 47 of Steve Gordon. He didn’t let that happen again. Tester regularly finished the last races 10 seconds ahead of his fellow competitors, he did let Gordon get close again in the last race but the margin was still five seconds. Tester earned the Lord of the Lake title with his dominant performances and resilience across the weekend. Now that we have a Lord of the Lake for 2016, the questions is, who can live up to it in 2017?
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Photos: Matthew Paul
LAKESIDE 300 300KM OF FAST PACED RACING
L
akeside Park played host to the Queensland Endurance Championship on the 6th and 7th of August, with the Lakeside 300. True to the name the race was scheduled as 300kms of the historic track, and on Sunday afternoon competitors took the checkered flag after 2 hours and 12 minutes of hard racing and the required 300kms. It was a glorious sunny, winter day in Queensland as cars completed their practice runs on Friday and Saturday. The grid was set on Saturday with 2 qualifying sessions for the main and co-drivers before a top ten shootout. A 1.00.3509 scored Nick Leontsinis and Ashley Dodd, pole position. Under 0.0500 covered the first two rows, setting up for an interesting race on Sunday. Leontsinis and Dodd were joined on the front row by Nathan Jess and Ryan Reynolds, followed closely by Jimmy
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and Benny Tran and Dion and Paul Jarvis. The weather held for Sunday and at 2:15pm, 16 cars lined up along the front
straight for the rolling start and for 2 hours of intense competition. Unfortunately, there was some attrition during the early stages of the race with the Jarvis
entries pulling into the pits and calling it a day – including fourth place qualifiers Dion and Paul. The 300km race was relatively incident free, apart from a clamp down at the midway point to repair the tyre wall after the number 11 car of Nathan Jess and Ryan Reynolds had a bit of an off. Prior to the incident Jess and Reynolds had been in contention for the win. The clamp down provided some the chance to dash in and complete their mandatory 5 minute pit stop and give drivers a much needed break. Nick Leontsinis and Ashley Dodd, in their shared BMW Z3M battled for the lead before with Jimmy and Benny Tran’s Honda Civic, lap after lap for a considerable portion of the race. The two duelling on their way up the front straight to have track position come the first corner. As the race wore on, the biggest challenge for the leaders was picking their way through lapped traffic. The backrunners did their best to give faster cars room and keep to their own game plan for the afternoon. After the number 11 car’s earlier off, Jess and Reynolds fought valiantly to regain the time they lost. Having to pull into the pits during the clampdown to work on the car and fix some cosmetic issues, the 11 car came back into the race several laps down.
The 11 Future Racer car was able to claw back some time, consistently knocking out 59 and 58 second laps and unlapped themselves several times before the final lap. The 11 car dragged the 110 car of Leontsinis and Dodd to the line, but unfortunately not for top honours. The 11 car was still a lap down, but their unbelievable pace had earned them second place. Leontsinis and Dodd, deservedly took the winner’s trophy after a consistent and incident free race, having lead the majority of the 2hours. During their last lap battle with the 11 car, the race winners dipped under the minute mark for the first and only time in the 2 hour race. Third place was the 818 car of Jimmy and Benny Tran, who finished two laps down on the leaders. The Lakeside 300 was the decider in the Queensland Endurance Championship and with his outright win at Lakeside and second at the earlier round at the Willowbank 300, Leontsinis clinched the title. Nick Leontsinis has 12 points over Nathan Jess and then there’s a 21 point gap between Jess and third placed Tony Ross. Ross and his co-driver Chapman came home fourth in Lakeside 300, which backed up his fifth place at the Willowbank 300.
qldraceways.com.au
The Inaugural Lakeside 300, set a high standard for others to follow, with high intensity racing action from lap 1 until lap 120. The historic Lakeside track was a great host for the endurance race and the challenging layout tested and tried competitors for every second of the 2 hour race time.
LAKESIDE 300 RESULTS 1ST N.LEONTSINIS/A.DODD 2ND N.JESS/R.REYNOLDS 3RD J.TRAN/B.TRAN 4TH T.ROSS/P.CHAPMAN 5TH G.MURPHY/P. SHACKLADY 6TH S.MCLENNAN/K. SAMWAY 7TH B.GIBLIN/R.CHASELING 8TH S.GREEN/L.KEARNS 9TH S.HAY/B.SMALLWOOD 10TH H.ESPRAY/R.ESPRAY 11TH M.NOTTAGE/D.LOIACONO 12TH G.WOODWARD/S. SIMPSON 13TH S.CANE/M.CASA 14TH W.CLIFT/D.CLIFT/A. HEFFERNAN
DNF A.JARVIS/B.CROFT DNF D.JARVIS/P.JARVIS
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We sort tohficslick around place.
TRIPLE 8 DOMINATE TRIPLE 8
AT QUEENSLAND RACEWAY
Q
ueensland Raceway, as always played an excellent host for the 16th and 17th race of the Australian Supercars Championships, the weather was beautiful and the racing was thrilling. The Ipswich Supersprint was undoubtedly dominated by the local Red Bull Racing Australia trio, with one pole position and two wins to the record breaking team. Even before the racing could get under way, Scott Pye was already making headlines. In practice Pye hit the tyre wall hard at turn 3. He walked away from the incident and was able to complete the weekend, but the car looked a mess. The DJR Penske team had a tough job repairing the Ford in time for qualifying
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Qualifying on Saturday saw Super Black’s New Zealand charger, Chris Pither take his first ever Supercars pole position, he wasn’t able to maintain this kind of pace in the race though - which ended up being an all Triple 8 show. Saturday was Shane Van Gisbergen’s turn to take to the top of the podium. He narrowly beat out team-mate Jamie Whincup in a close and intense battle throughout the latter stages of the 120km race. Whincup had been leading for the majority of the afternoon before Van Gisbergen dived down the side of him to take the lead and eventually the win. Whincup was then challenged by Lowndes but Craig locked up and locked in a third place.
It was another all Triple 8 podium, and the team couldn’t be happier with their achievements so far in 2016. While denying Whincup his 100th win, Van Gisbergen took to the top step for the first time at Queensland Raceway. “It’s great to be here – a one-two-three is fantastic. These cars are amazing. I was surprised they pitted as early as they did,” van Gisbergen said of his race winning strategy over his team mates. Sunday rolled on and Whincup edged closer to that 100th win mark, earning himself pole position for the 200km race. It wasn’t to be Whincup’s weekend though.
Y
photos. Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images AsiaPac
DOMINATE Luck didn’t roll Van Gisbergen’s way either, he tried a gamble on strategy after seeing that DJR Penske driver, Pye had gone off into the tyre wall. But Pye’s second off of the weekend wasn’t nearly as bad as his practice shunt. Van Gisbergen and the team anticipated a safety car but Pye was able rejoin the track and the call to pit was costly for the Red Bull driver. Craig Lowndes earnt himself another record as he took Mark Skaife’s ‘most successful Holden driver of all time’ title. In contrast to Saturday being Van Gisbergen’s first win at Queensland Raceway, on Sunday it was Lowndes’ 12th since 1999! “We sort of click around this place,” Lowndes said. “It’s not often you get a really nice, easy car to drive in a race like that. It was really important to get a good start and we did that.” Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom were just behind Triple 8 all weekend, with Frosty finishing fourth and fifth and Mostert fifth and third. The weekend was jam packed with action and Triple 8 took top honours in both races, but that elusive 100th win for Whincup wasn’t going to come at Queensland Raceway.
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AROUND THE CIRCUITS
O
ver the last three months, there has been a lot of activity happening at Queensland Raceways. Our All Aussie Fathers day was a huge success. The Annual Fathers day event is open to all Australian made cars and featured a show N Shine and cruising the circuit. A record number of spectators turned out to see more than a thousand cars cruising the course. The day had everything from FX Holden’s through to modern FPV and HSV made cars. The event Kids Zone with jumping castle and face painting made the day a true family day out. Rotary Revival is heading back to Queensland Race for the third instalment. It’s Scheduled for the 5th November with more prizes and more events. The Revival gathers round 100 rotaries from RX3’s through to RX7 & RX8’s. Track cruises, Burnouts, Hot Laps and Roll Racing will all feature in the program for Rotary Revival #3. Lakeside Park has been receiving makeover lately. Many of the building have been given a fresh coat of paint and some entrance signs a new shiny look. Working is ongoing with a replacement for the bridge with Engineers recently looking at the best way forward to replace the iconic pedestrian bridge. RACERS has secured a new 3-year extension on their Insurance making them the only Motorsport Sanctioning body with coverage until 2019. This gives event operates great security the can enter into multiple year years with the knowledge that there will not be insurance pressures that significantly alter their events in future years. Chrome Bar #2 was conducted on the October long weekend. All VIP spots booked out before the event with some fantastic chrome bars on display. The Chrome Bar event brought out some beautiful machinery from Chevy to old Holden’s and Fords. Chrome Bar is a favourite as the car quality is probably at its best each Bonanza which attract plenty of people along. Sprints at both Queensland Raceway and Lakeside have been increasing in popularity lately. A big part is the new slots system for clubs and driving groups that have been applied. Organizations can buy a slot or their own group at a slightly discounted price. This has helped many clubs who don’t get enough
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people to do a full sprint day on the circuit. Some clubs have embraced the concept running sprints every month inside the Lakeside at Ipswich sprint series. If you want info for your club to get a sprint slot for 2017 contact the Queensland Raceways office on 1800 RACEWAYS.
qldraceways.com.au
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