Touring Car Challenge Round 2 Results

Round 2 Report: SAILLARD BAGS ATCC CALDER PARK ROUND VICTORY

Impressive newcomer Darren Saillard added another podium to his name after winning round two of the Australian Touring Car Challenge in his #25 Hayters Sawmill and Timber Products supported EL Ford Falcon V8 Supercar at Calder Park Raceway (Melbourne, VIC) over the weekend (March 24-25).

Scoring the victory ahead of dual race winner John Vergotis (AU Ford Falcon V8 Supercar) and Daniel Natoli (Ford Mondeo Super Tourer), Saillard’s consistent run of results put him on the top step of the podium despite being haunted by gearbox dramas all weekend.

After a rained-out qualifying session was moved to Sunday morning, John Vergotis topped the time sheets in an AU Ford Falcon V8 Supercar ahead of Formosa, Saillard (who was fastest in practice on Saturday morning), George Miedecke and Bruce Oaklands rounding out the top five. Highest qualifier for Future Tourers was Amind Chahda, Daniel Natoli for Super Tourers, and David Gardner for Group A.

The 5-lap race one was won comfortably by Vergotis who continued his pace from qualifying. Saillard held down second until a mistake drifted him wide and allowed Formosa to steal second. Fourth was Miedecke in his first drive in V8 Giants class driving the AU Falcon V8 Supercar owned by Garry Willmington, fifth was Phillip Groeneveld with the rest of the top 10 placings were filled by Andrew Gillespie, Oaklands, Dale, Natoli and Gardner. The only race casualty was Chahda who suffered gearbox problems and retired early on.

Race two’s handicap start saw Stephen Southgate’s VS Holden Commodore Future Tourer lead away followed by Natoli who grabbed the lead soon after. Remaining there for the first 5 laps, Dale eventually passed Natoli on lap six and was never challenged to a comprehensive win. During the 10-lap race, Saillard got through to second after starting from the rear while early pacesetter Natoli finished third. Next across the finish line were Miedecke, Groeneveld, Gillespie, Formosa, Southgate, Gardner and Oaklands in 10th. Due to breaking the 2 second mark, Dale was given a 30 second penalty and finished in seventh.

Formosa and Oaklands were both up to fourth and fifth places respectively until spins on lap nine sent them down the order to seventh and 10 th respectively. Chahda did not start the race, unable to fix previous mechanical problems, while race one winner Vergotis finished well down the order.

The final 12-lap race was lead by Southgate on the start before Dale charged past on the second lap and stayed out front the whole distance home. Vergotis got through to second ahead of Saillard, Formosa and Groeneveld rounding out the top five. Natoli who held down second place from laps one to nine crossed the line in sixth, followed by Gillespie, Southgate and Gardner who was the last of the finishers.

Despite getting on to the starting grid, Chahda retired after seven laps and Oaklands returned to the pits on lap 11 after being sidelined by contact from Miedecke – the latter was stripped of all points from the meeting as a result. Another driver to come under the wrap of the race officials was race three winner Dale, who was once again given a 30 second penalty for breaking the 2 second mark and was credited with eighth place.

Class wins were claimed by Saillard and Vergotis (V8 Supercars), Natoli (Super Tourers), Groeneveld (Future Tourers), Dale (V8 Giants) and Gardner (Group A).

Round three of the ATCC, part of the Australian Motor Racing Series, will be held at Winton Motor Raceway ( Benalla, Victoria) on the weekend of April 28-29.

Round 2 Preview: ATCC REVVED UP FOR CALDER PARK BATTLE

The Australian Touring Car Challenge (ATCC) will be the category to watch at round two of the Australian Motor Racing Series as it heads to Calder Park Raceway (Melbourne, VIC) this weekend (March 24-25).

Despite the fast 2.28km circuit suiting the higher horsepower cars, the diverse range of classes will make for exciting racing with plenty of variety found on the podium already this season.

In only its first year of competition, V8 Giants put on an impressive opening round at Wakefield Park Raceway last month as frontrunner Brad Lowe took the class by storm with a clean sweep of race wins. Lowe will not join the grid at Calder, instead the #2 AU Falcon will be piloted by Garry Willmington, who is expected to be challenged by fellow Ford steerers in the V8 Giants Shelton Loughrey (EL Falcon V8 Supercar) and Sam Dale in the Ford Mustang.

Making his debut at the Victorian track is ATCC category newcomer Darren Saillard who is looking to improve on his strong front-running form. Running the #25 Abels Smash Repairs supported EL Falcon V8 Supercar, Saillard sits second overall on the ATCC pointscore and first in the V8 Supercar class despite limited pre-season testing.

Darren Formosa will also confidently line up his VX Commodore V8 Supercar after having previous testing time at the track, and after a promising run at the season opener, will be the one to watch among fellow V8 Supercar competitors John Vergotis (AU Falcon) and Bruce Oaklands (VS Commodore).

In Super Tourers, the BMW 120i of Luke Searle and Peter Kelly will be the strongest class contenders with Searle looking to bounce back after a tough opening round of mechanical gremlins while Kelly will be out to retain overall Super Tourer honours. Daniel Natoli will also be looking to improve on his result from the previous round after the electrical gremlins have been eradicated from his Ford Mondeo.

Three time ATCC Champion (Future Tourer Class) and local driver Andrew Gillespie will make his return to the ATCC in his Ford Falcon XR8. Amin Chahda (GT BA Ford Falcon) is also guaranteed to be a strong Future Tourer competitor as will be Philip Groeneveld (VS Commodore) who took outright ATCC round honours at last year’s Calder Park event, also winning the inaugural Peter Brock Memorial Trophy in the process.

This weekend’s event will see open practice held on Friday, followed by official practice and qualifying on Saturday, and then on Sunday three races are to be run consisting of a 6-lap scratch race, followed by two handicap races over a distance of 10 and 12 laps respectively.

Latest ATCC Point Standings (after one completed rounds):

1 Brad Lowe – 260 points

2 Darren Saillard - 210

3 Peter Kelly - 200

4 Amin Chahda - 197

5 John Vergotis - 189

Keep up-to-date with all the latest Australian Touring Car Challenge news and information by visiting the official website: www.touringcarchallenge.com or the Calder Park Raceway website: www.motorsport.com.au

© AMRS 2005