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R5,
AUG 14, 2005, Oran Park, NSW
RACE
REVIEW: NO STOPPING
MONTE
- It seems nothing
can stop Westpoint’s Tim Monte from winning in the Aussie Racing
Cars, and he proved it at Round 4 of the 2005 WPS Aussie Racing Cars
Series at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway this weekend. The final race
was run in near-dark conditions and came down to a battle between Australec’s
Jeff Davy, who won Race 1 and 3, and Monte who won Race 2. Only two
points separated the pair so victory in the race also meant victory
in the round.
The lead swapped between the two numerous times throughout the race
with Speedy Wheels’ William Yarwood, WPS’ Brad Lowe, and
Torquay Hotel’s Jeff Batty keeping the pressure on the front pair.
- The final lap would
decide the race with Davy leading as they headed into, it but Monte
had eyes for the top spot. “I seemed to have more grip in the
last race (than Davy) and pulled off a good move under the bridge to
take the lead and win,” Monte said. Unfortunately for Davy, a
last turn spin saw him end up in the wall and out of the results, dropping
back to 19th overall. Yarwood took second place with Lowe in third.
- “I got a
good start and had a close dice getting past Batty and Lowe. On the
last lap I caught the front two after they clashed and got past Davy
as he was in a slide on the last corner,” Yarwood said. Batty
had his best meeting yet, moving up from qualifying eighth and placing
fourth in Race 4 to take second overall. “I am ecstatic with this
result for only my third meeting. The fading light in Race 4 didn’t
bother me too much, it was actually quite fun.”
- Fastest qualifier,
VIP Petfood’s Paul Kemal broke an axle on the start-line of Race
4 throwing away any chance of a top result. GRM’s Nick Simmons
recovered well after qualifying second and being involved in an accident
in Race 3 to finish ninth in the final.
Grove Fruit Juice’s Phill Foster, who had his best qualifying
to date, fifth, was plagued with mechanical problem for most of the
meeting (broken cam, broken axle).
- Monte was top in
the final standings while Batty finished second and Yarwood scored a
much needed third place. Brad Ward continues to lead the series points
ahead of Pennzoil’s Sheridan Phillips and Tim Monte, who is now
just 13 points off Ward. Four’n Twenty’s Nugget Campbell
was victorious in the Masters Cup with Aussiefast’s Simon Arthur
taking second after a big spin in Race 3. Formaz Parts Plus’ Mark
Duckworth ended up third while series leader Speedy Wheel’s Shane
Wolki holds on to his lead with fifth place.
Round 6 of the WPS Aussie Racing Cars Series head to Melbourne’s
Sandown Raceway on 9-11 September.
RACE PREVIEW
- AUSSIE
RACING CARS SET FOR ORAN PARK SHOWDOWN
The
stakes are high at Round 5 of the WPS Aussie Racing Car Series at Sydney’s
Oran Park Raceway this weekend with the series points closing up at
the top. Series
leader, Yokohama’s Brad Ward will not only have to fight with
series contenders, Pennzoil’s Sheridan Phillips, Yokohama’s
James Ward and Westpoint’s Tim Monte, but also a host of other
drivers capable and desperate for round wins.
- “It is going
to be tough this weekend because the pressure is on all of us to gain
points and not make mistakes,” Brad Ward said. Sheridan Phillips
and Tim Monte are coming off strong performances at Queensland and want
to continue the form and place pressure on Ward. “I just have
to push as hard as I can to get results. The points will look after
themselves,” Phillips said.
- Tim Monte will
be trying to continue his three round winning streak and break into
the top three in the series. “I want to keep this winning streak
going and will continue to work hard in physical training and car preparation.
I have a difficult task to catch the series leaders but I will be giving
it my best shot,” Monte said.
- Round contenders
also include last year’s winner James Ward, GRM’s Nick Simmons,
VIP’s Paul Kemal, WPS’ Brad Lowe and Austrlaec’s Jeff
Davy. “There
are just so many drivers capable of winning,” Series Coordinator
Phil Ward said. “It
is truly the most competitive series in Australia.”
- YOKOHAMA
RACING TEAM TO TAKE A GRIP OF ORAN PARK
Yokohama Racing Team’s Brad and James Ward are looking
to cement their top three series positions at Round 5 of the WPS Aussie
Racing Car Series at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway this weekend.
After firming up their series positions, Brad 1st, James 3rd, at Queensland
Raceway the two are now looking to extend their points advantage. Oran
Park has been a happy hunting ground for the two in the past with James
taking the round victory last year while Brad finished fourth.
- “It is time
to put the throttle down again and really attack for race wins,”
Brad said. “The series points are the most important to me at
the moment and the best way to keep my lead is to win races, I’ll
be giving it my best shot.”
- James, who is yet
to win a round this year is looking for his first at Oran Park. “I
won here last year and I think that I have a pretty good car set-up
and knowledge of the track,” he said. “It is pretty tight
in the top five of the series points so it is important to get strong
results, especially in the latter part of the series.”
- The racing will
be close at Oran Park and the Yokohama Racing Team are sure to feature
in the results. Practice and Qualifying is on Friday, Race 1 & 2
are on Saturday, while Race 3 & 4 are on Sunday.
- WORKS TEAM
PENNZOIL READY TO POUNCE AT ORAN PARK
Sheridan
Phillips is perfectly positioned to stake his claim on the series points
lead at Round 5 of the WPS Aussie Racing Car Series at Sydney’s
Oran Park Raceway this weekend. Phillips
bounced back from mechanical failure at Eastern Creek to finish second
at Queensland Raceway two weeks ago, closing the gap on series leader
brad ward to just five points.
- “It
was great to win my first two races at Queensland and if I can have
a similar performance at Oran Park it will put me in a really strong
position for the series points lead,” Phillips said.
- Team-mate
Alastair McGregor had his best qualifying and round result at Queensland
and looks forward to continuing that run at Oran Park. “Each round
we are getting faster and better at setting the car up and it is showing
in the results,” McGregor said.
- Works Team
Pennzoil is proving to be one of the prominent teams in the series,
not just because of their vivid yellow paint schemes but because of
their vivid results.
- YARWOOD
AND WOLKI LOOKING FOR A SPEEDY TURN-AROUND
After
a meeting they could easily forget Speedy Wheels Racing’s William
Yarwood and Shane Wolki are looking to turn it all around at Round 5
of the WPS Aussie Racing Car Series at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway
this weekend. Yarwood dropped from third to fifth in the series points
after a combination of mechanical issues and on-track incidents but
is confident that he can put it behind him at Oran Park. “The
upside is that I am still fifth in the series points and in with a real
chance of improving on that at Oran Park. Queensland was just one of
those rounds where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,”
Yarwood said. “I
am confident that all the issues have been sorted out and if I can qualify
well I will be in with as much chance as anyone of winning. I am more
than aware that I need to get some top results to make up for lost ground,”
he said.
- Shane Wolki
leads the Masters Cup despite engine and brake problems at Queensland
Raceway contributing to his worst meeting of the series. “We
had our fair share at Queensland but that is history and I am looking
to get back up front at Oran Park,” Wolki said.
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