Touring Car Challenge Round 3 Results

Round 3 Report: Chahda Charges to Victory Lane at Winton Motor Raceway

In what was only the fourth occasion that a Future Tourer driver has scored an overall round victory in the history of the Australian Touring Car Challenge (ATCC), Amin Chahda, driving his GT BA Ford Falcon, took out proceedings at Winton Motor Raceway during the running of the third round last weekend (April 28 – 29).

It was a case of deja-vu as at the corresponding round last year it was fellow Future Tourer competitor Ray Sidebottom (VX Holden Commodore) that claimed the round honours at Winton Motor Raceway, and this year it was Chahda who took all before him by finishing seventh in race one, second and fifth in race two and three and being the highest placed Future Tourer in two out of the three races gave him enough points to claim a maiden round victory ahead of V8 Supercar rivals John Vergotis (AU Ford Falcon) and Darren Saillard (EL Ford Falcon).

The son of the 1987 Bathurst 1000 winner Peter McLeod, Ryan, made his first appearance of the year and the second ever in the ATCC. Driving a VY Holden Commodore V8 Supercar powered by a newly built Les Small engine McLeod topped the time sheets in qualifying on Saturday afternoon with a best lap of 1:27.9522 ahead of Vergotis (1:28.4221) and Saillard (1:28.5775) who completed the top three, and they were followed by Chahda and rookie ATCC driver Shane Hunt in his AU Falcon V8 Supercar in fifth. Ford Mustang V8 Giant entrant Sam Dale (sixth), Daniel Natoli (eighth) and David Gardner (Group A) were the best of their respective classes, V8 Giants – Super Tourers and Group A, in the qualifying session.

Drivers to come to grief in qualifying were Brett Hobson who suffered engine failure in the Matthew Hunt owned VS Holden Commodore V8 Supercar, AU Falcon V8 Supercar racer Peter Vicary (gearbox), whilst Neil Byers (Nissan Primera Super Tourer) succumbed to clutch failure in practice. After dominating practice on Saturday morning Darren Formosa (VX Holden Commodore V8 Supercar) had an off track excursion on the opening laps of qualifying and that caused extensive damage to the undercarriage of the ex Imrie Motorsport car.

McLeod was able to carry his qualifying pace in the opening race (5-laps scratch race format) and crossed the line first under wet weather conditions where the use of wet weather tyres came into play. However, McLeod’s joy was short-lived when race officials handed him a 15 second penalty for jumping the start, and that put him back to fifth place. With a Speedway background, where sideways is the norm, Darren Saillard led the field for the majority of the race, right up until the final corners when he had an off which allowed both McLeod then Vergotis through and pushed Saillard back to third. With McLeod penalised, Vergotis was handed the win ahead of Saillard and Dale, with Natoli fourth, McLeod, a rear of grid starting Formosa, Chahda, Gardner, Andrew Gillespie (XR8 AU Falcon Future Tourer), and in tenth was Philip Groeneveld (VS Holden Commodore Future Tourer).

For the start of the second race (7-laps handicapped format) the entire field had switched to slick tyres as leading up to the race the rain had abated, and the circuit had dried. Many teams wondered if they had it all wrong as the rain started to come down as the cars entered the circuit, but the rain was not heavy enough to warrant wet tyres. As the race got underway, Dale was out at the end of the first lap as his Mustangs differential broke on the startline, but it was Groeneveld that showed his rivals a clean pair of heels, after getting by early pace setter James Henderson (EL Ford Falcon V8 Supercar), and he ended up defeating fellow Future Tourer rival Chahda and Natoli in second and third respectively. Gillespie placed in fourth followed by Vergotis, Saillard (who had suffered two spins), Formosa, Richard Huer (V8 Mitsubishi Magna Future Tourer), Stephen Southgate (VS Holden Commodore Future Tourer) and Hunt in tenth place. Throughout the race a number of drivers were caught out running slick tyres on a dampened circuit, and it resulted in outright round contender McLeod failing to finish after coming off the circuit on the sixth lap and failing to finish.

Henderson held a considerable lead over the field for the opening four laps of the third and final race (9-laps handicapped format) up until Chahda arrived on the scene and took control of the race lead. The lead of Chahda lasted up until lap seven when eventual race winner McLeod blasted by and from there he was never headed taking the victory ahead of Saillard and Vergotis. Formosa finished in fourth place, with Chahda, Henderson, Groeneveld, Gillespie, Natoli and Huer making up the top ten finishers in the field. The only non-finisher from the third race was Hunt who retired on lap three due to mechanical dramas.

Class winners for the round were Vergotis (V8 Supercars), Natoli (Super Tourers), Chahda (Future Tourers), Gardner (Group A), and Huer (V8 Giants).

The fourth round of the ATCC is to be held at Queensland Raceway ( Ipswich, QLD) on June 16 – 17.

All the action from this round of the Touring Car Challenge will screen on SBS Speedweek May 27 at 12 noon. Check your local guides for details.

For further information about the ATCC and its drivers visit their official website: www.touringcarchallenge.com

Round 3 Preview: AUSTRALIAN TOURING CAR CHALLENGE ON A WINNER FOR WINTON ROUND THREE

The Australian Touring Car Challenge is ready to stage the most gripping racing to date as the field is joined by a number of high-calibre newcomers at Round Three of the Australian Motor Racing Series held at Winton Motor Raceway (Victoria) this weekend (April 28-29).

Outright series leader and V8 Supercar class standout Darren Saillard head s a close field of competitors in the four contesting subcategories, he’s expected to be challenge d by 21-year-old Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Brett Hobson , and other newcomers Shane Hunt and James Henderson who all have the potential to upset the established order.

Running the Matthew Hunt owned VS Commodore in the V8 Supercar class, and supported by United Oils, Hobson will no doubt be the one to keep an eye on as he puts the pressure on the rest of field. While other contenders John Vergotis (AU Falcon) , Darren Formosa (VX Commodore) and Bruce Oaklands (VS Commodore) will take on the challenge, and newcomer , and former HQ Holden driver , Shane Hunt from Queensland will make his first appearance in the category campaigning an AU Falcon.

Driving the Ford Mustang in V8 Giants, Sam Dale will be looking to make amends after losing the round win through a penalty at Round Two , while fellow V8 Giants steerer Shelton Loughrey will undoubtedly throw down the toughest challenge in his EL Falcon.

The top Future Tourer favourites include three-time season class winner Andrew Gillespie in the AU Falcon XR8, while close on his heels will be the standout performers of Amin Chahda (GT BA Ford Falcon) and Round Two class victor Philip Groeneveld (VS Commodore) . A lso rejoining the Future Tourer ranks will be Mark Telfer in his VX Commodore after a short hiatus from the category he ’s back for more , and doing double-duty at Winton, also running in the Super TT category.

In prime position in the Super Tourer field is Mumbo Racing’s Daniel Natoli who will look to continue his form after claiming a class win at Round Two. While David Gardner in the VK Commodore will again line up to represent the Group A class.

A feast for spectators with its many outstanding vantage points, the 3km Victorian circuit is renowned for it’s ever-changing weather conditions and has also produced racing upsets in the past, considering last year’s corresponding event was won by a Future Tourer.

Round Three of the Australian Touring Car Challenge gets underway with qualifying and on Saturday April 28, while the three races for the category will feature on Sunday.

Latest ATCC Point Standings (after two completed rounds):

1 Darren Saillard - 436

2 John Vergotis - 403

3 Philip Groeneveld - 381

4 Daren Formosa - 378

5 David Gardner - 319

Keep up-to-date with all the latest ATCC news and information by visiting the official website: www.touringcarchallenge.com or the Winton Motor Raceway website: www.wintonmotorraceway.com.au

Outright Round Results				Class Round Results
1st:	Amin Chahda			1st V8 Giant:	Richard Huer
2nd:	John Vergotis			1st Supercar:	John Vergotis
3rd:	Darren Saillard			1st Super Tourer:	Daniel Natoli
				1st Future Tourer:	Amin Chahda
				1st Group A:	David Gardner

© AMRS 2005