UTE: Adelaide: Qualifying and practice report

Bowe Steers Ferrari To Pole As Production Categories Open Their 2002 Championships

John Bowe opened his account for the 2002 Australian Nations Cup Championship today by driving his $750,000 Ferrari Michelotto coupe to pole position for round one on the Adelaide Parklands circuit.

Bowe earned the first championship point of the season with a lap of 1 minute 26.62 seconds that pipped defending champion Jim Richards, in a Porsche GT3 Cup, in the last minutes of a qualifying session.

Geoff Morgan came third in a Chrysler Viper, securing a spot just 0.1 seconds ahead of Porsche driver Peter Fitzgerald for the first of two races tomorrow.

Melbourne's Dean Cook, driving a Porsche GT3, was the fastest driver in the new Group Two division of the Nations Cup.

The exotic Nations Cup cars were the fastest of four production-based PROCAR categories opening their 2002 championships today.

In the Australian GT Performance Championship, 1999 GTP champion Geoff Full marked his return to production racing with the first pole position in Australia for Mitsubishi's latest Evo VII all-wheel-drive sedan.

And again, it was a last-minute lap that displaced the provisional pole winner and defending champion, Brett Peters (Subaru) missing out by 0.1 sec.

V8 BRute Muster newcomer Warren Luff was in stunning form to take pole position by 0.81 sec. ahead of a strong field of Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore contenders.

Luff had never driven his Commodore until this morning but managed to beat BRute regulars such as Mick Donaher and Damien White (Falcons). Another BRute recruit, touring car legend Alan Grice, lifted himself to fifth in qualifying after finishing only 24th in a morning practice session.

Nathan Pilkington, in a Mitsubishi FTO coupe, topped practice for the Australian GT Production Car Championship, which will have its qualifying session tomorrow morning.

All four PROCAR categories will race tomorrow and on Sunday.

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