ROUND 2 - APRIL 9 - WAKEFIELD PARK - REPORT
Written by Riccardo Benvenuti.
Leading up to this event, Sydney endured one of the biggest rain events in recent history. The hope was that it would ease off before race day, however it was to no avail. Rain was the order of the day and the drivers received little reprieve. A strong field of 18 cars came out to qualify. Alex Kenny was the rain master setting a time that was 4 second faster than his nearest competitor Peter White. Second row consisted of Mark Brame and John-Paul Drake. Row three was occupied by Mark Laucke and Stephen Champion.
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In Race 1, Kenny made the best start and was 2 car lengths ahead by the time the field arrived at turn 2. White was in 2nd place followed by Brame, Lauke and Barlow. The unfortunate John-Paul Drake was an early retiree, only completing one lap. The race quickly settled down, the leading cars had spread out and most of the dicing happened mid field. Jonathan Canavan and Sue Hughes battled hard, as did Paul Royal and Simon Copping.
At turn 2, Champion and McLatchey had a small coming together resulting in the former to have a spin. He was able to recover, but lost plenty of positions. Shiels was the big mover, starting 11th and eventually overtaking Barlow for 5th spot. At the end Kenny won comfortably by a margin of 5 seconds from White and Brame.
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White made the best start in the second race, his lead lasted momentarily as Kenny went past before the cars could reach turn 3. A safety car was called not long after the start. At the restart, Kenny took control of the race. The leaders spread out and the race quickly stabilised. Barlow, who normally races at the pointy end was struggling at the back.
Roberts and Canavan squabbled for positions as did Lauke and Zig Fuhrmeister . The track was still very wet from a previous downpour, and Kenny seemed to relish the slippery conditions. He won comfortably by a large 19 second margin. White and Brame followed next. Roberts finished 4th and Canavan was 5th.
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Race 3 was the last race of the day and was run in quite dark conditions. Kenny continued his good form making the best start from White and Roberts. Probably the best start went to Barlow, from the rear of the grid he found himself in 7th position during the first lap. Kenny pulled away from the pack, however this time White was able to hang on. Matching the leader in pace. Brame was also showing great speed, harassing Roberts for 3rd. During lap 3, Kenny retired, White capitalised and claimed the lead. Brame went past Roberts and starting hunting White down. The leader had the speed down the straight, while Brame was faster in the technical sections of the track. It was riveting battle to the end. The final result in the trophy race was White 1st, just ahead of Brame 2nd and Roberts 3rd. Canavan arrived in 4th just ahead of Shiels. Fuhrmeister was 6th from a recovering Barlow and Copping. McLatchey and Champion round off the top ten.