Media Release: Eventful Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Friday At The Bend
Words: Dan McCarthy. Pictures: Geoff Colson
It was a busy first day for the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park with over an hour of practice for all five categories, while the TA2 Muscle Car Series also completed qualifying.
Although it remained dry all day, conditions were incredibly windy with big gusts of winds playing havoc in the afternoon.
TA2 Muscle Car Series
Qualifying 1 for the regular drivers saw young Tom Hayman prevail, but not by much.
Hayman set a 1m 54.74s time, just 0.16s faster than TA2 Muscle Car Series leader Josh Haynes.
Haynes went out for a second crack late in the session to try and improve but could not do so, he will start from second position. Third fastest was Brad Gartner who was just 0.59s from pole.
Tyler Cheney pipped his father and title contender Graham Cheney to fourth by less than 0.5s.
Nicholas Bates, Des Collier, Joshua Thomas, Mark Crutcher and Hayden Jackson rounded out the top 10.
In the qualifying session for the guest drivers, it was Super2 driver Jarrod Hughes who was fastest, his margin a minuscule 0.036s.
Hughes, who has made a few cameo appearances in TA2 in the past beat Tim Brook who won the two-driver format last year in Darwin.
Third went the way of Jordan Cox, he was 0.08s faster than Elliot Barbour and Supercars Championship co-driver Todd Hazelwood. The top five drivers were split by just 0.4s and promises to be a thrilling co-driver race tomorrow.
Sam Bates was a second clear of Zach Bates, Chase Hoy, Nick lange and Hugh McAlister who rounded out the top 10.
Australian Drivers Championship
It was very tight on Friday in the Australian Drivers Championship. Just 0.059s separated the top two at the end of practice day.
Championship leader Damon Sterling edged out former series winner Dean Crooke, the two stamping their authority to the rest of the field as the drivers to beat.
Making a cameo appearance is Super2 driver and Bathurst 1000 Wildcard Brad Vaughan, the South Australian ended the day third fastest.
Brenton Davey was fourth, 0.536s off the fastest time and only 0.005s slower than Vaughan, Lucas Stasi rounded out the top five.
The next four drivers were separated by 0.4s, Luke Klaver, Niko French, Hamish Leighton and Hayden Crossland.
French’s day ended early, coming to a halt exiting Turn 14 and caused a red flag mid-session.
Josh Gardiner rounded out the top 10, in a competitive field of Hyper Racer X1 open-wheel machines.
Very few drivers improved on their pb times in the final session due to the strong winds.
Legend Cars Australia
At the end of a busy practice day for Legends Cars Australia, Lachlan Ward was the fastest driver, his time was set in the fourth and final 15-minute practice session, a 2m 15.3s.
The Chev Coupe driver was 0.230s of a second clear of Riley Skinner who set the fastest time in session 3, a lap he could not better in practice 4. Nevertheless, it was still good enough for second.
Robert Hogan was third fastest, just 0.03s back and ended the day in fourth position, notably setting the fastest time of all in session 2.
Ryan Pring from the ACT was fourth fastest ahead of Aiden Williams who was still within half a second of the time set by Ward.
Five cars were within half a second and seven within one second, this highlights how tight things are going to be at the head of the field this weekend in Legend Cars Australia.
Shane Tate, Dylan Thomas, Ben Goodridge, Lincoln Pope and Bruce Duckworth rounded out the top 10. In total 27 cars are entered to compete this weekend.
Formula RX8
On the opening day in Formula RX8, joint championship leader Brock Paine was the fastest driver by quite some margin.
However, from second back things are close, with the next four cars within 0.7s.
Paine was fastest in all but the final session and ended the day on top of the timesheets by 2.3s.
The second fastest driver was Geoff Connell who set the fastest in practice 4. Brad Harris rounded out the top three, 0.17s off the time of Connell.
Jackson Shaw, Thomas Derwent and Justin Lewis rounded out the top six.
Ayrton Filippi, Bill Harris, local driver Ivan Vantagianto and Terry Lewis were separated by just 0.6s and showed how tight things will be towards the tail of the top 10.
Australian Super TT
Despite running into mechanical issues early in the day, Blake Tracey topped the timesheets in Australian Super TT, just breaking under the two-minute barrier.
His fastest time came in the very first session, setting a 1m 59.868s time. However midway through session 2 his BMW E36 suffered an alternator failure and caused a small fire. The New South Welshman got out of the car okay, but did not take to the track for the rest of the day.
Second fastest was Nissan S13 driver Cory Gillett, with Victorian Brent Edwards rounding out the top three behind the wheel of his Ford Falcon XR6.
Ryan Bell was fastest in the over-two litre treaded tyre class, with Michael Ricketts the best in under 2-litre.
All of the action can be livestreamed on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series YouTube channel from 9.55am ACST.
From 12.30pm AECT the event will be broadcast on SBS, Fox Sports, Kayo and in New Zealand Sky.
On track action starts at 9.40am ACST, tickets cost under $22 for a general admission pass, with kids under 16 allowed in for free.
Round 4 Event Information: www.hi-tecoilssuperseries.au/round-4-the-bend-aug-30-sep1