2014 Season Review
Wakefield Park Raceway INTRODUCTION Matthew Ronke Venue Manager Wakefield Park 2014 was a memorable season of motor racing at Wakefield Park, and not just because we celebrated our 20th anniversary. As has become tradition at the Goulburn circuit, Wakefield Park held a wide variety of events, from club level sprints right up to national series, but the focus was always on competitor enjoyment and – a word that is all too frequently forgotten in motor racing – fun. There were some cracker races throughout the season, along with some incredible stories including moments of elation and stunning recoveries from adversity. Amongst such a diverse backdrop, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a definitive answer as to who has been the best driver at Wakefield Park in 2014, or even which race was the best. But there were some drivers, races and cars that rose to prominence over the course of the year, and our event promoter Lachlan Mansell has picked five standouts of each. As always, Wakefield Park would not be able to operate without the efforts of a very dedicated group of staff, so I especially thank them for their work throughout the year. There have been a lot of busy days and some stressful times, but there have been many happy (and some quite humorous) moments as well! 2015 is shaping up to be another strong season at Wakefield Park and most of our popular race meetings and categories are back on the program, along with a couple of new ones.
Acknowledgements VENUE MANAGER:
Matthew Ronke
ADMINISTRATION MANAGER: Craig Stevenson OFFICE CO-ORDINATOR:
Robyn Ryan
EVENT PROMOTER:
Lachlan Mansell
MAINTENANCE/CARETAKER:
Sam Gill
ACCOMMODATION/CLEANING: Gail Lewis COMMENTATORS: Lachlan Mansell, Zak Caban, Terry Nightingale CLERK OF THE COURSE: Rob Wall, Jess Nicholson, Nick Goring, Daryl McHugh MEDICAL: Ambulance Service Australia GRID: Michelle Luke and team COMMUNICATIONS:
Lou Hallam
CHAPLAIN: Richard Cormick SCRUTINEERING: Lance Smith, Stuart Inwood and team
Have a safe and happy festive season and we look forward to seeing you in 2015.
FIRE, RESCUE and RECOVERY:
Cheers,
PHOTOS: John Smith, Alicia Jackson, Nathan Wong
Matthew
Southern Cross Team
CONTENTS
| Drivers of the Year........................................................................................................................................4 | Races of the Year...........................................................................................................................................6 | Cars of the Year.............................................................................................................................................8 | Lap Records...................................................................................................................................................10 | 2015 Calendar...............................................................................................................................................11
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2014 Seaon Review
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Wakefield Park Raceway
DRIVERS OF THE YEAR
s Dylan Thoma
Formula Vee is regarded as a breeding ground for some of the brightest young talent in Australian motorsport, but the tightly controlled nature of the category and importance of slipstreaming means race-craft is just as important as raw speed. And that’s what we saw in 2014, with Dylan Thomas, one of the more experienced drivers in the category, taking numerous FVee race wins en route to winning his first title. Thomas was also devastatingly quick in Production Touring Cars where he won a one-hour endurance
race at September’s CAMS NSW State round aboard his Mitsubishi Evo X, and he and Tim Brook were on target for a podium finish or even a win in the Valvoline Wakefield 300 before the Evo expired with mechanical problems. Thomas’ achievements off the track are also noteworthy; his CXC Global business has backed a number of drivers in various club-level motorsport categories, assisting them to contest many events at Wakefield Park.
r Justin Ruggie
The gamer-turned-racer made two appearances at Wakefield Park this year, and both of them were instrumental in him becoming just the fourth driver in Australian motorsport history to win two national titles in the one year. His first appearance was in the Skelta G-Force at March’s Valvoline Wakefield 300. Starting from the rear of the grid after problems in qualifying, Ruggier simply stormed through the field in the opening stint, setting the lap record before challenging Ric Shaw for the lead. He would go on to win his division alongside Mark Mackay and Ray
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Vandersee, scoring valuable points in his quest for the Australian Endurance Championship. Ruggier’s second visit was at the Shannons Nationals for the Kumho V8 Touring Car round. Coming into the weekend, he trailed Ryan Simpson in the standings but pole position and wins in the first two races rattled Simpson to the point where he made an uncharacteristic mistake in Race 3. Ruggier took the round win and critically, snatched the championship lead – it was an advantage he would not relinquish.
2014 Seaon Review
so o r o m A k n a r F
If you want to pick a sentimental favourite for the season, it’s hard to go past someone who finally triumphed in a championship they had been trying to win for 26 years… and that is exactly what Frank Amoroso achieved in 2014. Amoroso was on the grid when truck racing first started in Australia in 1988, and while legends of the category like Crick, Russell, Tulloch, Sieders and Middleton came and went, winning titles along the way, Amoroso kept racing but the championship eluded him… until this season.
He set up his title challenge with an overall victory in Round 1 of the series at Wakefield Park, and sealed the deal with second place overall when the big rigs returned to Wakefield for the fourth and final round of the year, withstanding massive pressure despite an unwanted setback in the lead-up to the meeting when his spare parts truck was stolen, and massive pressure from reigning champ Steven Zammit. It’s hard to imagine big, tough men crying over big, tough trucks, but there were plenty of tears of happiness shed when Amoroso crossed the line in the final race of the year.
nr J n e e r G r e t e P
Wakefield Park has been the birthplace of a number of affordable motorsport categories in recent times, and the Pulsar Challenge has been one of the most successful.
in his very first meeting in the car. For the rest of the season, he was always among the front-runners and ended up second in the standings, despite missing the opening round.
The abundance of cheap cars and spare parts has resulted in a number of drivers moving across from the previous widelyaccepted entry level category: HQ Holdens.
Green Jnr also continued to race his HQ Holden and was always near the pointy end in the CAMS state rounds, and in both the Pulsars and the HQs he could be relied upon to contend for race victories whenever it started raining. In particular, he dominated the wet Pulsar races.
Peter Green Jnr was one such driver to make the transition in 2014, and he adapted with distinction, winning all four races
Endree Saade
After some robust discussion in the Wakefield Park office, we decided to select a racing newcomer for the fifth and final spot on our “driver of the year” list, and while there were a few rookies who impressed, Endree Saade was a particular standout. Having previously competed in supersprints and club days, Saade stepped up to circuit racing in 2014 and was one of the main contenders in the Super TT class, where he won eight races throughout the season. Alongside Avo Sohgomonian, he
ran at the front of the Wakefield 300 B-Main until his BMW developed a power steering problem, and he also competed in Sports Sedans. As he amasses more racing experience, Andre Saade will no doubt become a force to be reckoned with in the future. Other notable rookies were Emily Duggan and Daniel Smith, who both impressed in the NSW Excel Series.
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Wakefield Park Raceway
RACES OF THE YEAR 300 d l e i f e k a W e n i Valvol
Just as you can’t write a review of the best V8 Supercar races of the year without including the Bathurst 1000, you can’t write a review of the best Wakefield Park races of the year without including the Valvoline Wakefield 300, which has grown from humble beginnings to now be regarded as the pinnacle of club-level endurance racing in Australia. In fact, the 2014 event was so popular, it had to be split into two; a “B-Main” for the slower cars followed by the main race for the outright contenders. The outcome was not one, but two fine motor races.
In the B-Main, a couple of late-race Safety Cars set up a grandstand finish in which the Adam Dodd/Terry Nightingale Mazda MX5 held out the Dave Thomas/ Gavin Holland Mitsubishi Evo in the run to the line. The main race also produced its share of drama and controversy, with a number of high-profile retirements and penalties. In the end, it was a Lotus 1-2-3, Andrew Macpherson/Brad Shiels beating home John Prefontaine/Robert Hackwood and Glenn Townsend/ Anthony Soole.
2 e c a R , 5 d R s r Sports Race
The Sports Racers, which competed on the Shannons Nationals program, were always going to put on a show at Wakefield Park, where they held their final round of the year. But few could predict the drama that would unfold between title contenders Adam Proctor and Roger I’Anson. I’Anson had entered the weekend with a one point advantage but Proctor grabbed a two-point bonus for qualifying on pole, which moved him one point ahead of I’Anson. The points lead changed again in Race 1, when I’Anson took victory ahead of Proctor; he reclaimed the ascendancy by two points. And then came Race 2. I’Anson led early and Proctor, knowing he had to beat I’Anson to keep his hopes alive,
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pushed too hard and spun at Turn 5. His car became lodged on top of the kerb and he lost several laps while it was recovered. It looked like his hopes were dashed and he admitted afterwards that he thought, then and there, that it was game over. But he was wrong. On lap 13 of the 16 lap race, the pendulum swung again when I’Anson’s car stopped on the main straight with an engine failure. Proctor may have finished the race in last position, but he still accumulated a valuable points haul compared to I’Anson’s nil score. It was a decisive swing in momentum which was enough for Proctor to claim the title. When it comes to rollercoaster rides, no 16 laps completed at Wakefield Park in 2014 were more up-anddown than this.
2014 Seaon Review
NSW Sports Sedans Rd 5, Race 3
It’s one of the great motorsport clichés – rain is the great equaliser. But in the words of George Orwell, often some cars and drivers are more equal than others. This was particularly apparent when heavy rain fell in the final Wakefield Park Sports Sedan race, severely disadvantaging the lightweight, high-horsepower rear-wheel drive cars that normally dominate proceedings in the dry.
Driving a Subaru WRX - essentially a barely-modified production car - Jim Hunter capitalised on the weather conditions. In the wet, the lack of grunt was no longer a disadvantage and the WRX’s all-wheel-drive grip allowed Hunter to gain superior low-speed traction out of Wakefield Park’s technical corners. He fully exploited the conditions to claim one of the biggest surprise race victories of the year.
MRA Rd 3, MX5 Cup Race 4
If races in completely wet conditions produced plenty of entertainment this season, there were also some races held in variable conditions. The most memorable of these was the final race of the weekend for the Mazda MX5 Cup during June’s All-British MRA race meeting.
The race started on a mostly dry track, but conditions deteriorated as the race progressed. Initially, Luke Otten led but he was soon overtaken by David Stone. Stuart McFadyen then had a turn in the lead, before Stone recaptured first place. In the very last corner, Chris White pulled off a brilliant move on both Stone and McFadyen to snatch the win.
NSW Formula Vee Rd 1, Race 2
Formula Vee produced plenty of memorable moments during 2014, especially for Wakefield Park commentator Zak Caban who always raised the excitement levels through the roof whenever the diminutive open-wheelers hit the track. Of all the Formula Vee races, the second race in the opening round was an absolute classic, with Tim
Brook, James Horne and Simon Pace all spending time in the lead before Dylan Thomas pounced in the closing stages, working his way back through the field from a poor start. In the end, the top three finishers were separated by less than half a second in one of the great Formula Vee race finishes of all time.
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Wakefield Park Raceway
CARS OF THE YEAR
ric ELMOFO Radical SR8 Elect
A piece of history was created at Wakefield Park in September, when Garth Walden raced the ELMOFO electric Radical SR8 in the Supersports category and won two of the weekend’s three races. It was the first time an electric car had beaten petrol cars on a level playing field, anywhere in the world. The electric Radical proved to be extremely fast but also deadly quiet, resulting in the eerie sensation of a car leading the race in almost complete silence with a swarm of noisy, petrol-powered vehicles in pursuit.
The driving characteristics also took some adaption, Walden commenting that the instant torque delivery from the electric motor could result in loss of traction out of the slower corners. The ELMOFO Radical was at its best in the shorter sprint races, its batteries having a range of no more than about 10 laps of the Wakefield Park circuit.
III V o v E i is b su it M g n ci a R e ls Pu
Time Attack events are all about ultimate performance over one flying lap. It doesn’t matter when you set the lap time and it doesn’t matter how many laps you do; as long as you can crank out that Hollywood number, you’re in with a shot at victory.
What was most impressive though, was the way the Pulse Racing Evo handled the Wakefield Park circuit during that lap. There were barely a twitch and not even a hint of understeer or oversteer.
Pulse Racing did this better than any other team in June’s NSW Time Attack, Paul McKinnon punching out a stunning 0:58.5 lap time.
Commentator Terry Nightingale summed it up best when he said “it handles like a slot car.”
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2014 Seaon Review
Targa Racing BMW M3
There are few cars that competed in such a diverse range of events as Brian Anderson’s BMW M3 in 2014. At various stages during the season, the M3 was seen competing in Modern Sports Cars (where it took a round victory), Production Touring and the Improved Production Nationals. But the car’s finest hour came at the Valvoline Wakefield 300.
Despite opposition from much faster vehicles, Anderson and co-driver Gerry Murphy found themselves in the lead within 40 laps of the chequered flag, only to be denied a certain podium finish when a tap from another competitor loosened their rear bumper, necessitating an unscheduled pit stop. Even with the setback, they still finished a mighty fourth.
Nissan Pulsar
One of the most popular cars to compete at Wakefield Park was also one of the most affordable. The humble Nissan Pulsar was the backbone of the fastest-growing category in NSW, and after a trial-and-error inauguration last year, grids for the 2014 series were regularly in the mid to high teens, highlighted by a 25-car entry for the season-ending two-hour enduro. The Pulsars were not without their mechanical glitches but
the abundance of affordable spare parts and complete cars ensured competitors who suffered problems were never off the track for long, and the racing was of a high quality. With increasing demand for categories where competitors just want to have fun without financial stress or pressure, categories like the V.E.K. Tools Pulsar Challenge will surely thrive in the coming years.
Deckspeed Racing Mazda MX5
When the Mazda MX5 first went on sale in 1989, it scooped pretty much every motoring award on the planet, and for good reason – it reset the benchmark for affordable, reliable sports cars. Those attributes that made the MX5 such a roaring success as a road car translated to the race-track as well, and they have become synonymous with clublevel motorsport to the point where rarely a week
goes by at Wakefield Park without multiple MX5s taking to the track. The most successful MX5 at Wakefield Park in 2014 was the NC (latest model) car campaigned by Daniel Deckers, which won the MX5 Cup and finished fifth outright (with Luke Otten) in the Wakefield 300.
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Wakefield Park Raceway
LAP RECORDS Category
Date
Driver
Car
Cap
Time
Outright
6/03/2010
Ben Crighton
Dallara F307
2000
0:54.5633
Formula 3
6/03/2010
Ben Crighton
Dallara F307
2000
0:54.5633
Supersports
22/07/2012
Alex Kenny
Juno
2000
0:56.9265
Formula Race Cars
28/04/2012
Nathan Gotch
Dallara F304
2000
0:57.7042
Sports Sedans
26/04/2009
Darren Hossack
Audi A4
6000
0:57.7492
Radical Cup
4/03/2011
Tim Berryman
Radical SR3
1500
0:58.3194
Carrera Cup
5/04/2008
Aaron Caratti
Porsche 911 GT3
3600
0:58.9927
V8 Supercars
6/04/2008
Steve Owen
Holden VZ Commodore
5000
0:59.0351
Production Sports
12/08/2012
Tim Mackie
Lotus Elise
2000
0:59.5667
V8 Touring Cars
3/04/2011
Terry Wyhoon
Ford BA Falcon
5000
1:00.3279
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge
3/04/2011
Roger Lago
Porsche 911 GT3
3600
1:00.7828
Formula Ford
12/08/2008
David Whitmore
Spectrum 011
1600
1:00.8973
Australian GT
5/03/2006
Greg Crick
Dodge Viper GTS
8000
1:01.5344
Australian Endurance Championship
2/03/2014
Justin Ruggier
Skelta G-Force
2000t
1:02.4926
Improved Production
12/08/2012
David Loftus
Toyota Starlet
2000t
1:04.7700
MX5 Cup
24/08/2014
Matilda Mravicic
Mazda MX5
1840t
1:04.8112
Production Cars
20/00/2014
Aaron Seton
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2000t
1:04.8226
Aussie Racing Cars
5/04/2008
Ben McCashney
Ford Falcon
1300
1:05.6777
Mini Challenge
6/04/2008
Paul Fiore
Mini Cooper S
1598t
1:05.9316
Commodore Cup
3/04/2011
Geoff Emery
Holden VS Commodore
4200
1:06.6504
Group A/C
1/04/2007
Craig Markland
Nissan Skyline GTS
1990t
1:07.0363
Formula Vee
28/10/2012
Daniel Reynolds
Sabre 02
1600
1:07.2102
Saloon Cars
3/04/2011
Shawn Jamieson
Holden VT Commodore
3800
1:08.1801
BMW E30s
24/08/2014
Sean Bell
BMW E30 325i
2500
1:09.6143
V8 Utes
28/05/2006
Kerry Wade
Ford BF Falcon XR8
5400
1:09.6544
Group N
20/02/2000
Ross Donnelley
Ford Mustang
5000
1:11.6300
Pulsar Challenge
29/11/2014
Bruce Heinrich
Nissan Pulsar
2000
1:13.9353
HQ Holdens
03/11/2012
Garry Pilkington
HQ Holden
3300
1:15.5598
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2014 Seaon Review
2015 CALENDAR
January 25 MRA Round 1
February 14-15 Formula Vee 50th Anniversary Race Meeting 28 Valvoline Wakefield 300 March 1
Valvoline Wakefield 300
April 11-12 26
CAMS NSW State Championships MRA Round 2
May 2-3
Festival of Sporting Cars
June 13-14 20-21 28
NSW Time Attack CAMS NSW State Championships MRA Round 3 All British
July 25-26
Wakefield Park 6 Hour Regularity Relay
August 8-9 22-23
AASA NSW State Championships CAMS NSW State Championships
September 6 MRA Round 26-27 Australasian Superbike Championship October 17-18 Shannons Australian Motor Racing Nationals November 21-22 AASA ACT Championships/Super Trucks
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