AUS Utes: Series Bathurst Saturday report

Sieders Racing takes V8 Ute Bathurst Double

Sieder's Racing Teammates David Sieders and Ben Dunn claimed Race 1 and Race 2 respectively in what was a memorable day on the mount for Round 6 of the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All at Bathurst, Saturday, 9th October 2010.

Race 1 kicked off with current Series leader Grant Johnson on pole alongside Rookie leader David Sieders. Johnson grabbed the advantage off the line taking the lead on the first lap until Sieders pulled his Nulon Oil backed Ford BF alongside down Conrod Straight wrestling the lead coming into the Chase.

"It's great to get another win. Every time I've raced here in a production car I've won so I was expecting a good result," said Sieders.

The Western Sydney driver not only held out Johnson but also Roylance Racing's Ryal Harris who finished third, Jesus Racing's Andrew Fisher in fourth and current V8 Ute champion Jack Elsegood in fifth.

Brisbane's Peter Burnitt was the only major race casualty when he lost the CNW Electrical Ford into Skyline, hitting the wall on both sides.

Ice Break Racing's Gary MacDonald had a coming together with SAGE Automation's Gary Baxter on lap five into Turn 2 with Baxter displaying his stunt driving skills holding the Ute in a massive slide. Although he claimed sixth place MacDonald was penalised $2,000 suspended until Sydney Telstra 500 for the incident.

Baxter fell back to eighth just behind MacDonald's teammate Chris Pither while Bathurst veteran Charlie O'Brien did well to finish in ninth ahead of Sydneysider, Ben Dunn who rounded out the top ten.

Following the race, Sieders rolled out number 11 in the grid ballot draw to determine the number of cars to be reversed for Race 2. Go Channel 88 driver Gary Carson was the lucky winner to start on Pole for the race. It was Carson's first time on Pole with Storage King/Red Ass Mexican Food driver Ben Dunn alongside him.

Turn 1 off the start saw an incident triggered by Adelaide driver Noel Edge, which effectively eliminated Charlie Kovacs and Paul Morris.

A safety car was deployed halfway through the lap after Edge was involved in another incident with Madashell Motorsports Steve McFadden at Turn 4. The hit caused McFadden to hit into the concrete barrier which turned him around into incoming traffic.

"I've never experienced anything like that. I didn't know what happened. All I could see was flames, so I was keen to get out," explained McFadden.

Wake Up Racing's Warren Millet and iseek driver Jason Gomersall were all victims of the incident.

The restart set up a two lap sprint to the finish with Sydney driver Ben Dunn looking strong for the win.

Dunn held out Baxter before MacDonald overtook the second placed Commodore just before the Chase on the re-start. Harris was also toughing it out, taking Baxter and almost MacDonald on the run to the line. The Queensland young gun was rewarded with the fastest lap of the race.

When the chequered flag fell, Dunn claimed his victory by only four tenths of a second after a very defensive final two corners taking his first win since Wakefield Park in 2007 and delivering his daughter a great fifth birthday present.

"There's no better place to win than Bathurst. I had a lot of quick guy's right behind me and I had to put it all on the line and it worked," explained Dunn.

It was a six way battle for fifth position with Ice Break Racing's Chris Pither leading home Carson, Fisher, Jack Elsegood, Sieders and O'Brien.

Rob Jarvis failed to start the race after spending time in the medical centre for de-hydration.

The combined results of qualifying, Race 1 and Race 2 will determine the grid for the final race with Sieders to start on pole from series leader Grant Johnson.

The drivers will hit the track at 7:25am tomorrow morning (Sunday, 10th October) to decide the winner of Round 6 of the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Amor All.

The Race will be televised LIVE on Network Seven and across the globe to 39 different countries.

-source: aus v8 utes