PCAA: Malalla race notes

SHANNONS AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION CAR CHAMPIONSHIP:

Shannons Australian Production Car Championship: After driving through the field to win race two, Holden Commodore driver Derek Hocking repeated the effort in the final part of the second round of the Shannons Australian Production Car Championship at Mallala Motorsport Park today April 17.

Mechanical ailments suffered by three cars earlier in the day, made for a depleted starting grid where Hocking alongside fellow Holden driver Scott Anderson, 50 seconds behind the little Class C cars, took until two laps from the end to gain the lead and win the race.

In similar fashion to earlier, Class B's Colin Osborne, also the president of the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) finished in second place. Osborne's Toyota Celica was clear of the Proton Satria of Class C's Daniel Natoli who almost pulled off a surprise win as he led for 15 of the 17 laps and was third.

Natoli and Leigh Mertens (Satria) intensely fought for the lead into the first corner before Natoli skipped away. Mertens (ultimately eighth) was passed by Darren Best's Ford Focus which pressed on to fourth.

Allan Shepherd and Osborne's team mate Trevor Keene duelled for several laps with the former's Honda Integra winning out as they finished fifth and sixth respectively. Anderson snuck past Mertens as they finished the event while Lauren Gray continued to amass valuable points with a Class C fourth and ninth overall in her Toyota Echo Sportivo.

POINTS

Outright: Hocking 115, Osborne 87, Keene 72, Shepherd 58, Michael Craig 44, Natoli 44, Russell 38.

Class A: Hocking 165, Anderson 110, Russell 107, Phillips 70, Craig 69, Houlder 58.

Class B: Osborne 186, Keene 147, Shepherd 113.

Class C: Natoli 162, Mertens 141, Gray 130, Shane Baker 63, Best 50, Rudolf 20.

-www.pcaa.com.au