Beautiful weather conditions and close contests in all categories were enjoyed by everyone who attended Round 1 of the CAMS NSW Motor Racing Championships at Wakefield Park on the weekend.
Driving his Mitsubishi Evo X, Michael King took outright honours in the NSW Production Touring Car Championship, winning Races 2 and 3. King was third behind fellow Evo driver Jimmy Vernon and Tony Virag (HSV GTS) in Race 1, but Vernon retired from Race 2 with a clutch problem and Virag was penalised for jumping the start, handing King the win. He led all the way in Race 3, pulling clear of Virag and Matt Holt in their HSVs.
Geoff Kite won Class B in his Commodore SS, Jake White (BMW 130i) was the highest-placed Class C car, and Harrison Gray drove his Toyota 86 to the overall win in Class D, fending off attacks from Zac Loscialpo and Ollie Shannon.
Driving his spectacular V8 Camaro, Birol Cetin won all three Sports Sedan races; the first two victories came easily, but Cetin had to work hard in Race 3 – he fell to sixth with an early spin, and was able to recover. Cetin’s nearest rival, Steve Lacey (Camaro), was eliminated from Race 1 due to contact with another car, but fought back to second in Races 2 and 3, with Anthony Macready (Nissan 300ZX) completing the podium.
The three HQ Holden races produced plenty of entertainment and excitement; reigning champion Brett Osborn won the opening race, but was upstaged by Chris Molle in Races 2 and 3. Glenn Deering resisted pressure from Dave Proglio to finish third, while a collision between Mark Baxter and Ian McLean in Race 2 eliminated both cars from the weekend, and necessitated a lengthy Safety Car intervention while the track was cleared.
Racing veteran Brad Tilley won all four Historic Touring Car races in his Mustang, but Chris Thomas kept him honest in Race 4, with a great run in his Holden Torana XU-1. Bathurst driver Michael Anderson was also a front-runner, finishing second in the first three races, while Adam Walton (Mustang) and Bill Attard (Mazda RX2) battled within the top five.
Goulburn driver Michael Rose spun out of Race 1 in his Rose’s Café Mustang, but bounced back to finish ninth in Races 2 and 3, and seventh in Race 4.
For the first time in 12 years, Stephen Butcher achieved a clean-sweep of race wins in Formula Vee. Butcher was at the head of a six-car freight train in all three races, but resisted pressure from his team-mate Dylan Thomas, along with Craig Sparke, Simon Pace, Aaron Lee and Garry Ogden, to take a trio of victories.
Superkarts staged four races on Sunday; Tony Moit was victorious in the 250cc International Twin Cylinder Class with Laurie Fooks winning the 250cc National Class after early leader John Pellicano retired with problems.
Aaron Cogger narrowly held out Mark Robin for honours in the 125cc Gearbox class, while Mark Vickers was victorious in the 125cc Non-Gearbox Class.
Wakefield Park’s next major race meeting will be Round 2 of the Australian Superbike Championship, 23-24 March.
