MGF Trophy Race Series 2002 review

The 2002 Kumho Tyres MGF Trophy Race Series finishes with a Championship win for Cartwright.

The year-long Kumho Tyres MGF Trophy Race Series, featuring a fleet of identical mid-engined MGF Trophy racecars, has come to a thrilling end at Melbourne's Sandown International Motor Raceway, with Queenslander Jamie Cartwright taking the championship after steering his Gold Coast MG/XPower MGF to not only another race win but yet another round victory.

"It's very satisfying to win the championship knowing that as with any series, I was not only quick enough but also consistently quick, and by making sure I took every opportunity available without risking a DNF", said a jubilant Cartwright. "The series has improved my racecraft enormously and has given all 20 drivers in the field a chance to develop their driving skills. Paul Pickett and MoPro Australia have done a great job in preparing the cars and dealing with the logistics that a show of this size requires."

In the final showdown at Sandown, Ben Morley and Adam Bressington kept Cartwright honest throughout the 10-lap journey by sharing the lead at various stages. Morley eventually finished in 2nd place and Bressington 3rd, although Bressington beat Morley by two points in the championship placings.

During the 2002 race series Cartwright finished consistently on the podium with wins at Oran Park in NSW plus Winton and Sandown in Victoria, and second places at Barbagallo Raceway in WA, Phillip Island in Victoria and the Queensland Raceway. While these were highlights, the low point of the year for Cartwright was Round Two at Canberra's street circuit where he launched his car into a wall at over 130kmh during qualifying. The impact was so great that it moved the 4.5 tonne concrete wall 40 cm causing it to crack in half, leaving Cartwright to watch the weekend's races from his hospital bed.

Although Cartwright has taken the championship, the series provided its fair share of winners with seven drivers all scoring race wins and six different drivers netting pole positions during the first six rounds of the series.

The 2002 Kumho Tyres MGF Trophy Race Series has been judged a great success with all eight rounds televised nationally on the 10 Network in support of the AVESCO V8 Supercar race programme, and was aired throughout Asia and Europe on satellite TV.

The race series is unique in that it offers drivers a straightforward 'turn up and drive' package. All the MG cars are identical and are even ballasted to a standard driver weight. Apart from normal racing requirements, such as a roll cage, racing harness, fire extinguisher, modified exhaust and the removal of trim, the racing MGF Trophys are identical to the 1.8 litre VVC road-going versions. <pre> 2002 KUMHO TYRES MGF TROPHY RACE SERIES PLACINGS AFTER 8 ROUNDS

Place   Driver                  Points
1st     Jamie Cartwright        567
2nd     Adam Bressington        502
3rd     Ben Morley              500
4th     Chris Oxley             468
5th     Mark Williamson         462
6th     Ian Kegg                452
7th     Yanis Derums            351
8th     Doug Gilford            317
9th     Richard Buttrose        294
10th    Bruce Thomlinson        272
11th    Brett Dunstone          258
12th    Clive Henderson         248
13th    Gary Vastag             206
14th    Robert Rowe             198
15th    Andrew Fisher           192
16th    David Griffin           186
17th    Nandi Kiss              154
18th    Ash Samadi              111
19th    Wensley Carroll          89

-www.moproaustralia.com.au