Sandown race Two Report

CENTURY BATTERIES AUSTRALIAN GT PRODUCTION CAR CHAMPIONSHIP SANDOWN RACE TWO 27th JUNE 1999

VIPER TAKES ACTION PACKED GTP CRASH-FEST

Dodge Viper driver Garry Waldon took victory in a carnage filled final race at round four of the Century Batteries Australian GT Production Car Championship at Sandown today.

Meguiar’s Class A combatants Wayne Park (Ferrari F355 Challenge), John Teulan (Nissan Skyline GT-R Turbo 4WD) and Domenic Beninca were all eliminated in major accidents.

Park’s Ferrari blew a clutch on the start-line, leaving Teulan with no-where to go as the field tried to find a way around the stationary Ferrari.

Both cars were extensively damaged - forcing race officials to red flag the event.

Waldon made a strong get-away at the restart as the Porsche 911 RSCS duo of Jim Richards and Domenic Beninca made contact.

Beninca’s left rear tyre began rubbing on the car’s damaged panel- work, eventually blowing as he turned in coming off the back straight.

The Porsche spun off at in-excess of 220km/h, bouncing high into the air after slamming into the fence and coming to rest in the sandtrap.

All three drivers (Park, Teulan and Beninca) will now face a race against time to repair their cars in time for the next round of the Championship at Queensland Raceway on July 11.

The other Dodge Viper GTS of Ray Lintott was also delayed after he spun off at the end of the straight, collecting the Ford Mustang Saleen of Craig Dean.

Waldon however, was delighted to be back in the winner’s circle at his first event for the year.

"There seemed to be carnage happening everywhere, and I am just glad I didn’t get caught up in it," Waldon said.

"The brakes were starting to fade at the finish but all the fighting going on behind me enabled me to gain a bit of an advantage.

"I’m thrilled to take a win at our first meeting for the year and hope we can keep it up."

Peter Fitzgerald and Jim Richards took second and third aboard their Porsche 911 RSCS’s after Richards was tapped into a spin after passing the Class C Ford Falcon XR8 of Ryan McLeod.

Other class victories included Geoff Full (Class B - Subaru Impreza WRX), Peter Phelan (Class C - Holden Commodore VT SS), and Ric Shaw (Class S - Toyota MR2 Bathurst).

GTP LIGHTS

Class D of the Century Batteries Australian GT Production Car Championship is getting closer with Melinda Price’s Holden Vectra GL 2.2 finishing right on the tail of Phil Kirkham’s dominant Mazda 626.

Nathan Thomas again took the Class E victory aboard his Suzuki Swift GTi, downing the Proton M21 Coupe of Kosi Kalaitzidis.

RESULTS RACE TWO 15 LAPS 1. Garry Waldon, Dodge Viper GTS (A) 23:51.136 2. Peter Fitzgerald, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 23:52.840 3. Jim Richards, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 23:56.143 4. Geoff Morgan, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 24:03.401 5. Perry Spiridis, Maserati Ghibli (A) 24:05.455 Class B Geoff Full, Subaru Impreza WRX 24:53.985 Class C Peter Phelan, Holden Commodore VT SS - 1 lap Class D Phil Kirkham, Mazda 626 - 1 lap Class E Nathan Thomas, Suzuki Swift GTi - 1 lap Class S Ric Shaw, Toyota MR2 Bathurst - 1 lap

POINTS OUTRIGHT: Richards 96.5, Beninca 72, Fitzgerald 61, Aitken 38, Park 36, Cartwright 34, Morgan 34,

CLASS A: Richards 92.5, CLASS B: Full 112.5, CLASS C: Phelan 88, CLASS D: P. Kirkham 60, CLASS E: Kalaitzidis 70, CLASS S: Shaw 104

Paul Ryan paulryan@camtech.net.au