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Mallalanats - Competitors

Mallalanats - Subscribers

May 16, 2011

The second round of the 2011 Shannons Nationals provided the strong Mallala crowd with some outstanding action on a day where the series favourites made things look very difficult. In the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup, a strong challenge by Jeff Bobik (Creative Colour 997) on day one for the second round of the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy ended in race two after the Victorian made contact with reigning champion Roger Lago (Falocn Property Group 997) in what was a great battle for the lead. The pair had made contact a number of times in the leadup to Lago's eventual turn seven off on the penultimate lap, officials deciding in the end that it was too much, penalising Bobik 28 seconds, which dropped him from first to ninth, handing surprised local Keith Wong (ULX 110 Blend Oils 997 GT3 RS) the victory. In the final race Bobik started off pole to take the win, but with a trio of second placed finishes to his name, Roger Lago took the round victory. “It’s nice to have the outright win, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s not for me to judge,” said Lago after the Bobik penalty saw him inherit the round win. “I’ll take the points, [and] go to Eastern Creek and see what happens. I’m looking forward to Eastern Creek. We did well there last year, it’s a good track so we’ll go there and try to bag some points for the series.” Meanwhile, Terry Knight took victory in the 996 Cup Class after finishing third outright and first of the 996 Cup Class competitors in all three races. John Goodacre finished second in the 996 Cup Class ahead of Indiran Padayachee. "I’m really happy with the win under the circumstances for the Action Racing team,” said Knight after Saturday’s race one accident saw teammate Matt Kingsley sustaining round-ending damage to his Porsche GT3 Cup (Type 996) car. “The car didn’t miss a beat; it was competitive all weekend and didn’t let the 997s get away. “Like Wakefield Park, there are some big stops and with those big stops you get to use the ABS. You tend to catch up to the 997s under brakes and they have better drive out of the corners. It’s one of those tracks where the 996 is well suited." Chris Smerdon (BA Falcon) started off pole for the second race of the Kumho Tyres V8 Touring Car series, but quickly came under attack from 'team-mate' Terry Wyhoon (Lubrimaxx BA Falcon) after the Victorian separated the two South Australians off the line, clipping Michael Bartsch (avalier Homes Barossa AU Falcon) on the way through. This started a Falcon freight train before Scott Loadsman (Beautiful Tiles VY Commodore) started to mount an assault on the leading Falcons, taking Bartsch first, then diving deep under brakes inside Smerdon at the notorious turn five, turning the local driver around in the process. "Fortunately it spun me a full 360 degrees and the car didn't stall," Smerdon admitted later. Smerdon mounted a recovery after dropping back to fifth behind Bartsch and Justin Garioch, but despite grabbing third for a short while (in part as a result of Justin Garioch spinning at the final corner with a deflating tyre), he dropped back behind Bartsch again by flag-fall. Wyhoon was pleased with the win, but not 100% happy with the car. "We're still working on it," Terry admitted as the team went to work on chassis adjustments. "It's still new to us and I wasn't happy with the way the car sat, so we'll make some changes for the last race. I was on the absolute limit in that race and I wasn't getting away." Sadly for the popular former NASCAR star, the adjustments didn't go according to plan in the final race, but nor did much else, Wyhoon stalling on the line as the field was given the start for the final 14-lapper. "That's never happened before to me in my life," he admitted later. As the field working their way past the stranded Falcon, Loadsman pounced and led into turn one, but it wasn't long before Smerdon was through to the lead. Wyhoon ultimately re-fired the car, but was a good 400 metres behind as he crossed the line, his early run through the pack was a highlight. Nathan Garioch was looking good too, holding down fifth for the bulk of the race behind the ever-improving Mark Shepherd (Warby Lodge BA Falcon), before a broken steering rack brought him into the pits, frustratingly for the Valley Longwall International backed team, just a handful of laps after brother Justin who was suffering fuel pickup problems. "I could feel it getting worse he admitted, and the dash (MoTeC display) was giving me some interesting messages like low battery, low fuel pressure and things like that, so I thought it was safer to pit," Justin confirmed. Up front Smerdon was coming under increased pressure from Loadsman, but he ultimately prevailed, crossing the line over a second clear of the Commodore pilot. "I wasn't sure how the tyre wear would go after all the dramas on track," Chris admitted, "but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they held their pace in the end and actually gave me a little extra to get away from Scott towards the end." Loadsman was second for the race and for the round, and takes a single point lead into the third round of the championship scheduled for Eastern Creek in July (15-17). Third overall was a fitting reward for the efforts of Michael Bartsch in the AU Falcon, taking top honours for the older model cars, the local driver admitting that he was more than happy with the result, but was still looking for more.. "I thought about having a go at Loadsman in the closing laps, but in the end felt it was safer to stay where I was and grab the points, this is just the momentum we need heading to Sydney in July." In the end Terry Wyhoon recovered for sixth, but well back from Jim Pollicina (Poll Performance VY Commodore) and team-mate Mark Shepherd, the Victorian admitting that his troubles weren't just concentrated on a disappointing start. "I made what in the end were some pretty dramatic suspension changes, and they didn't work, I had no more pace. Perhaps I should have been happy with the race two result, but as a driver I felt there was more to gain from the car, so we went looking. We've learnt a lot, but we've lost some valuable points. That's okay, it's only round two, there's still three more to go," he grinned. The Kerrick Sports Sedan Series in the end saw a surprise result in the final after such complete domination early in the weekend by former champion Tony Ricciardello (B&M Ricciardello Motors Alfa Romeo GTV/Chev). Ricciardello started the day strongly with victory in the opening race over Scott Butler (Menai Blinds/Steves Towing Camaro/Chev), but it was a close fought affair, Butler coming across the line just seven tenths behind the Alfa, with Bob McLoughlin (Marinellis Mechanical & Perf. VS Commodore) further back in third. For race two, which was designated as the coveted annual Clem Smith Cup, Butler again applied maximum pressure to push Ricciardello all the way, however the big yellow Camaro dropped back in the closing stages of the 15-lapper to conserve fuel. "There was less than a litre of fuel in the tank at the end," Scott smiled afterwards, "we haven't run that far before. I could hear it starting to miss just a little, so I backed off at the end and hoped I could make it to the flag." Behind them Dean Camm (Fivestar Fencing & Gates Corvette/Chev) and Anthony Macready (Bohler Uddeholm Nissan 300ZX/Chev) had been waging a terrific battle, before Macready dropped out three laps from home leaving Camm free to run to the line with McLaughlin fourth. "I'm rapt," Ricciardello admitted on accepting his third Clem Smith Cup. "I didn't expect to be under this much pressure, but we're really losing out on a lack of time with the new Michelin rubber. This is my first time on the tyre which behaves significantly differently to the Dunlops we've been using for years." Tony's comments must have been ringing in his ears as Butler pushed him as hard as he could through the opening laps of the final race, the Camaro pilot ultimately prevailing three laps from home to take the win ahead of an equally happy Jeff Barnes (Barnes High Performance Pontiac Trans-Am), with Ricciardello holding on for third. "What a great result," Butler beamed afterwards. "That's such a great reward for the team and all our efforts in the off-season, I can't thank them enough. We've had a good year on the new tyre now and we seem to have found a better setup with the car. I'm sure Tony won't be down for long though, but to come away with a good haul of points and be so close to the pace of the Alfa was the perfect way to start the season." The Australian Swift Racing Series put on what could only be described as a respectable debut during their maiden event. Clearly disappointed not to have filled all 15 seats (there were 15 completed race cars at the event), the teams entered gave the Nationals regulars a taste of what can be expected from the nimble little Swifts, their 'attitude' heading into Mallala's tricky turn one at times sideways drew plenty of attention from the pits. In the end the round victory was taken by experienced New Zealand Swift campaigner Rex McCutcheon (Peter Davies Suzuki), over rising local star Jesse Dixon (Ice Break Queensland), with Morgan Haber (Haber Excavations) third. Frustratingly for Allan Jarvis and his father - V8 Ute campaigner Rob - the pair spent the bulk of race two on the sidelines after an errant overtaking move saw seven cars all fighting over the same real estate at turn three on the opening lap, with the two Jarvis cars forced into immediate retirement. Both were repaired for the final race, which was won by McCutcheon, with an impressive drive by Haber netting him second, from Jesse Dixon in third. “I am just so happy with my result this weekend," McCutcheon beamed afterwards. "I really didn’t expect the win, but for it to happen in the first round of the series, and to have my sponsors there as well, it was great.” In the South Australian HQ Holden support class, Neil Corey clean swept all but the last of the four races, with former Saloon Car champion Bruce Heinrich claiming the final eight lapper. In Formula Vees, reigning SA champion Robert Surman (Stinger) took two wins, with one apiece for Bo Jensen (Scorpion Mk 2) and Nicholas Pavan (Sabre). The Shannons Nationals now prepares for round three of the championship at Winton Motor Raceway on the June 24-26 weekend, where the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series will be joined by the Radical Australia Cup, the Swift Racing Series, Commodore Cup, Saloon Cars and the debut event for the new ProSports class.

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