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AUS Utes: Series Surfers Paradise fast facts

Ten Fast Facts about the V8 Ute's at the Gold Coast Armor All 600 About the Track: The Gold Coast circuit has been cut down from 4.47km and is now 2.96km in length. Turning left where the second chicane used to be, the new layout rejoins at the ...

Ten Fast Facts about the V8 Ute's at the Gold Coast Armor All 600

About the Track:
The Gold Coast circuit has been cut down from 4.47km and is now 2.96km in length.
Turning left where the second chicane used to be, the new layout rejoins at the old Beach Chicane and then follows the same path as the old circuit. Each race at this year's event will be over 102 laps, making a race distance each day of 304.368-kilometres.
Circuit direction: Anti-clockwise
Average speed: yet to be established
Top Speed: yet to be established

1) The V8 Utes have raced at the Gold Coast six times including; 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. This is the first time in three years that the V8 Ute's have participated on the Gold Coast.

2) Local driver Ryal Harris owned the lap record of the 4.47km track set in 2007 in his Holden VE in a time of 2:14.55. As the length of the track has changed, a lap record on this particular circuit is yet to be established.

3) Current V8 Ute champion Jack "The Hustler" Elsegood is the most successful driver on the Gold Coast circuit having been on podium 3 times: 1st 2002, 2nd 2005 and 3rd in 2007.

4) Shooters Superclub driver, Ryal Harris had an incident with 2008 champion Layton Crambrook on the first chicane Race 2 in 2007, which took him out for the weekend. The local Gold Coast driver is looking for vengeance this year.

5) iseek Racing's Robert Jarvis will celebrate his 200th Race, Race 1 Saturday, 23rd October.

6) Race 1 and Race 2 will be televised live on Network Seven. Race 1 at 11am on Saturday, 23rd October and Race 2 at 11am on Sunday, 24th October. This is the V8 Utes 11th and 12th live race for 2010.

7) More than a quarter of the V8 Ute field (10 drivers) is Queensland based. Gold Coast Drivers include Ryal Harris, Rohan Barry, Chris Pither and Charlie O'Brien. Brisbane drivers: Jason Gomersall, Peter Burnitt, Brad Patton, Greg Willis, Steve McFadden and Brendon Tucker.

8) 21 out of the 32 V8 Ute drivers have raced on the Gold Coast before including: Jack Elsegood, Gary Baxter, Peter Burnitt, Andrew Fisher, Brendon Tucker, Brad Patton, Robert Jarvis, Craig Dontas, Ben Kavich, Nandi Kiss, Kim Jane, Gary MacDonald, Chris Pither, Steve Hodges, Greg Willis, Grant Johnson, George Elliot, Ryal Harris, Charlie Kovacs, Warren Millet and Ben Dunn.

9) New drivers to the V8 Ute field for Round 7 of the Series include V8 Supercar Fujitsu driver, Tim Blanchard, who will be stepping into a V8 Ute for the first time driving Scott Jennings Samboy Racing Holden VE.

Brendon Tucker will return to the field since Round 1 in the Ten Years of Legends Race at Clipsal. Tucker will be driving Scott Jennings Racing's Holden VE under Ute #10.

Son of a Legend, James Brock will step back into the Series after a 5 year absence apart from a stint in the V8 Utes Legends Race earlier in the year. Brock brings a wealth of V8 Ute experience with him, having raced in the Series from 2001 – 2005.

10) Round 7 of the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series – prot0ected by Armor All is the second last round of the Series and with only 298 points up for grabs (149 each round) the Series title is really heating up. There is only 98 points separating first place and third. 2007 Gold Coast Round winner, Grant Johnson leads the points tally followed by Coopers Clear Racing's Jack Elsegood and Jesus Racing's Andrew Fisher in third.

Please find below top three Rookie Standings

8 Nulon Oil       David Sieders   612

7 Rockstar Energy Drink Jeremy Gray 460
26 NRW Holdings Rhys McNally 405

Quirky history facts:
The V8 Utes were forced to race under street lights in 2003 after the event program was running lat. All the street lights were turned on as the race was covered for television, the race started as a massive thunderstorm with lightning rolled in.

In 2002 TV Host Grant Denyer scored his first V8 Ute Gold Coast win, however was excluded along with another five drivers who all shortcut the turn 1 chicane handing victory to Damien White.

In 2005 Marcus Zukanovic aqua planed on the main straight hitting the wall and setting up a chain reaction eliminating another three Utes - the race was red flagged and Zukanovic came-back in 2006 to claim the Championship title.

International driver Alan Simonsen took a V8 Ute Round win in 2005 on the Gold Coast for the Coopers Ford team, which was a three car team with V8 Ute Patron Ian McCalister and Jack Elsegood.

-source: aus v8 utes

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