Qld Raceway State Championships - August 10 & 11

[DAVID PATERSON]

Well I shall be there in my Torana Historic Touring Car, I'm expecting full fields of Sports Sedans and Improved Production Touring cars as well, so come on out for a good day's racing and say G'day.

[Crash Test]

Media Bulletin – 23 July 2002
August 10/11 State Championship Meeting- Queensland Raceway

After a winter holiday of over two months, a big field of cars from ten classes is set to line up at Queensland Raceway on the 10th and 11th of August, at the fourth round of the 2002 State Championship.

There will be over 30 events throughout the weekend, with about 150 competitors taking part, resulting in non-stop action for the fans.

There will truly be something for everybody, with the action coming thick and fast, including the best of open wheelers in Racing Cars, Formula Vee, and Superkarts.

For the lovers of tin tops, there will be the big banger Sports Sedans, Saloon Cars, and the variety of Improved Production and Historic Touring Cars, as well as one make madness from the Geminis and HQ Holdens, as well as the prestige of the Sports Cars.

So far this season at State level motor racing has been extremely close, with 11 races being decided by less than one tenth of a second between first and second place.

Included in that tally are two race finishes which were remarkably decided by less than one hundredth of a second; both races occurring at Round 3 on May 25/26 in the HQ Holdens and Improved Productions.

At a circuit that generally favours bigger, high horsepower cars, Matt McGrath has been well and truly over performing so far this season in his giant killing Austin Cooper S.

To date, he has a sensational four podium places to his credit, but more amazingly, he has captured pole position at his two most recent outings.

He currently lies third in the State Championship Pointscore, and will be looking to knock Bruce Dummett and Matt Jackson off the top spots, both will be driving Holden Toranas.

The Sports Sedan class has proven to be the most wide-open category this season, with five different drivers standing on the top step of the podium since February.

Even though he jointly leads the M.R. Automotive Championship, and is currently second in the CAMS State Championship, Morayfield’s Chris Donnelly has yet to break through for a victory in his 6-litre V8 Falcon.

Despite copious amounts of power from his Phil Laird prepared engine, Donnelly has been working hard at solving wheel spin problems exiting the slower corners, and doing work on the front suspension to cure a ‘roll oversteer’ problem.

Co-leader in the M.R. Automotive Championship, Colin Smith from Kurwongbah, will also be out for a good showing in his Chevrolet powered Rover, while Clayfield’s Geoff Gillespie hopes to retain the lead in the State Championship in his turbocharged Fiat 131.

Other competitors worth keeping an eye on include the ever-consistent Scott Hunter from Lismore in his Toyota Corolla, and Ashgrove’s Shane Bradford, who has made significant gains in recent times in his Mazda 323, which has a 13B Rotary engine under the bonnet.

Darwin’s Bob McLoughlin will also be a starter in his tough Chev powered Commodore, after taking out three wins last time out.

So far this year, the Improved Production class has been a Mazda RX7 benefit, with Toowoomba’s Adam Uebergang taking out the first eight races of the season.

However, all of that changed when a first corner crash at the last round knocked him down the order for the weekend.

Last year’s Improved Production Club Champion, Chermside West’s David Wood capitalised on other people’s incident’s to take his first win for the season at round three, and he will be looking for more of that good form in his Graphic Skills Mazda RX3.

In the Racing Car class, Troy Chaplin from Robertson is looking good to take victory in his Ralt RT34; the only other two competitors to win a race this, Ash Lowe and Bevan Carrick, are not expected to make an entry.

He will nevertheless come under pressure from a hungry pack of Formula Fords, however a fresh engine and new tyre combination should put him in good stead.

Clayfield’s Scott Nicholas is looking to continue his fantastic run in the Ford versus Holden Saloon Car class.

Nicholas’s record so far this season has been incredible; out of 16 races, he has picked up 12 wins, and four second places.

Nicholas’s Super Service Centre teammate, Kris Walton, however will be looking to turn around some recent bad luck, and add to his victory telly.

In the Formula Vee class, Trent Usher has dominated by taking eight race victories so far this season, however, he trails Shane Hart by 13 points in the State Championship series, due to the fact that three out of Hart’s four wins have come during the Championship events.

The Formula Vees constantly prove to be the closest out of the ten championship classes, with the ‘Vees responsible for six of the 13 closest finishes so far this season.

In the Sports Car class, Steve Cooper from Belmont will take the challenge right up to the championship leading clubmans, and Sports 1300’s.

Cooper has shown great promise so far this season in his Porsche 930, but he will have to be on the lookout for a swarm of Mazda MX5s, who have threatened all season long.

The HQ Holdens and the Geminis will also be making an appearance on the program.

The HQs have been the busiest class this season, racking up an impressive 22 starts coming into this round of the State Championship.

Queensland Raceway is fully catered and licensed- you will be able to park your car next to the fence, with commentary available over local FM radio as well as the PA system.

Fast Facts

Practice Starts- 8:30am Saturday August 10,
Racing Starts- 1pm on Saturday, and 8:30am Sunday August 11.
Admission costs Weekend- $15
Admission costs Saturday- $10
Admission costs Sunday- $10, Children 12 & under Free.
Students/Seniors- $5
Pit Entry- Free all weekend

Competing Classes- Sports Sedans, Geminis, HQ Holdens, Sports Cars, Formula Vees, Saloon Cars, Racing Cars, Historic Touring Cars, Improved Production and Superkarts.

Location- Queensland Raceway is at the end of Champions Way, Willowbank, adjacent to the Willowbank Drag Strip, and off the Cunningham Highway (just south of the Amberley RAAF Base).

Queensland Raceway Contact Details
Tel- 07 5461 9100
Fax- 07 5461 9111
Postal- PO Box 100 Amberley QLD 4306
Email- admin@queensland-raceway.org.au

Internet sites-

www.queenslandraceway.com.au - Homepage of Queensland Raceway

www.qrda.asn.au - Accelerate- for more stories and information on State level competition in Queensland.

Other Upcoming Events-
27-28th July – Shannons Historic Classic Car and Racing Festival
3-4th August – Australian Superbike Championship
14-15th September – VIP Petfoods QLD 500
2-3rd November – Improved Production Nationals
24-24th November – MG Car Club State Championship Meeting

Closest finishes for 2002:

0.0045sec HQ Holdens May 25
Gary Marks beat Trevor Edyvean
0.0058sec Improved Production May 26
Stephen Thompson beat Justin Keys
0.0280sec Formula Vee April 14
Shane Hart beat Trent Usher
0.0305sec Geminis February 17
Darren Suhle beat Ron Lange
0.0444sec Sports Cars May 26
Tony Quinn over John Campbell
0.0472sec HQ Holdens June 23
Ben Simpson beat Gary Marks

Race Winners so far in season 2002:
Saloon Cars:
Scott Nicholas- 12, Troy Norris- 12, Kris Walton- 12.
Geminis:
Benn Wilson- 5, Darren Suhle- 2, Kandice Walker- 1, Ron Lange- 1.
Improved Production:
Adam Uebergang- 8, Stephen Thompson- 3, David Wood- 1.
Formula Vee:
Trent Usher- 8, Shane Hart- 4, Russell White- 1.
Sports Sedans:
Geoff Gillespie- 5, Bob McLoughlin- 3, Trent Young- 2, Charlie Senese- 1, Wayne Parmenter- 1.
HQ Holdens:
Dave Blunt- 11, Ben Simpson- 6, Gary Marks- 4, Craig Yates- 2.
Historic Touring Cars:
Matt Jackson- 7, Bruce Dummett- 6, Gary Jackson- 1, John English- 1.
Racing Cars:
Troy Chaplin- 7, Ash Lowe- 6, Bevan Carrick- 3.
Sports Cars:
Colin Berneville-Claye- 4, Tony Quinn- 4, Kevin Johnston- 2, Stephen Morcombe- 2.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I received the entry list last night and there's a big field of Improved Production Touring cars, 30 in fact, with real variety, V8 Toranas and Commodores, an XF Falcon, heaps of rotaries and a wide cross section of small cars, Escorts, Datsuns, Corollas, Suzuki GTi's and a Honda Civic.

Also there over a dozen Sports Sedans with a good cross section of V8s, rotaries and 2-litre cars.

After the 25th annual Qld Historic meeting just 2 weeks ago, it is no surprise that there are just 10 entires for the Historic Touring Cars, 5 XU-1 Toranas, 4 Mini Cooper S's and a Mk II Cortina GT should still make for some interesting racing.