FORMULA VEE ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND
NEWS
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Round 2: Wet and Wild surprises
Event: FVAQ Round 2 | 29-30 May 2010
Location: Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick | CAMS State Championship
Author: Tim Hamilton | FVAQ Media
30 May 2010 | Press Release
Images by: Shifting Focus | Ian Welsh | www.shiftingfocus.com.au
Image Gallery: Shifting Focus | http://shiftingfocus.zenfolio.com/p230174840
Tim Hamilton. RennSport Technologies Jacer F2K8 1600cc.
Round 2 of the 2010 Queensland Formula Vee Championship took place over the weekend of 29-30 May at Morgan Park.
18 entries continued, however there were a few changes from the first round. In the 1600cc class; defending Champion Shane Hart has elected to focus on the National Series and withdrawn from the QLD series; Craig Hughes and Andrew Moran returned, having repaired their collision-damaged cars. The 1200cc class sees defending champion Kent Cross return after missing Round 1 (meeting contacts in Malaysia for Formula BMW Asia drive); Bob Roberts moves up from Historics with a one-off Pulsar Ascari purchased from WA; and (after running in the premier 1600cc class at Round 1) Mike Russell steps back to the Historic class, which was a smaller group with many competing at the Mt Cootha Classic (hill climb).
SATURDAY
QUALIFYING
Qualifying set the tone for what would be a weekend of surprises and supremely odd occurrences. Continuous heavy rain set-in before sunrise and never relented, the wet track providing a horsepower equaliser with grip levels resembling an ice-skating ring. Unfazed and seeming enjoying the situation, Tim Hamilton (RennSport Technologies Jacer) drifted to pole position 6 seconds clear of the field, further highlighted with the next nine cars spread by only 3 seconds. 1600cc title contenders Mike Smith, Paul Kellaway and John Doidge struggled down in 5th-7th, as Bruce Acheson took 2nd ahead of rookie Ben Beasley, both somewhat surprised! Mike Russell, in a Historic class car, put in a giant-killing drive for 4th.
RACE 1
The rain stopped as the cars lined up on the grid for Race One, but the soaked track still demanded caution and absolute focus. Hamilton repeated his qualifying performance by lapping up to 6 seconds per lap faster than anyone, which built a winning margin of 51 seconds after the 10 laps. Acheson maintained 2nd by strategically placing his car and forcing Kellaway to attempt passing, unsuccessfully, on the wetter portions of track. Doidge waited until the last lap to pass Beasley for 4th, while Smith recovered to 6th after an early spin. Kent Cross took the 1200cc class victory in 7th, as Russell gradually fell down the order to 8th and last of the cars not to be lapped by Hamilton.
RACE 2
The rain stopped in the afternoon and for Race Two the track was drying rapidly. A still-wet grid made many power-slide the start, inspiring a cautious approach until the grip level was readable, Acheson benefiting as he maintained 2nd initially. Hamilton again mastered the slippery conditions to clear out for a 17 second victory. Kellaway and Smith were the only two movers, gradually slipping past to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively, ahead of Acheson, Doidge and Beasley.
SUNDAY
RACE 3
Sunday morning brought a sunny sky and dry track, seemingly perfect until the preceding category dumped a continuous oil trail on the racing line! It caught a few out on the opening lap, benefiting Acheson again as he held 2nd behind Hamilton. With everyone driving off the traditional racing line to avoid the oil, overtaking moves required passing on the oil… and a big pair of, um, gonads! Kellaway then Smith pushed past Acheson on lap 2, then turned their efforts to fighting each other over 2nd. The squabbling behind left Hamilton to drive away to a 10 second victory. The 1200cc class was hard fought with Cross and Luke Battaglia battling for the win, and Mike Russell, Graeme Clarke and Brady Nicholls trading places intensely. Bob Roberts charged from rear-of-grid to be running 9th, only to hit the pit-wall on the final lap, bending the H-beam.
RACE 4
Race Four returned to normality with a dry, clean track. From the front row start, Kellaway instantly suffered ignition problems and dropped to 5th and never recovered, leaving Hamilton and Smith alone at the front. Smith kept within striking distance until lap 4 when Hamilton upped the pace, extending the gap to 8 seconds by race end for an unchallenged win. Doidge completed the podium, with rookie Beasley narrowly holding off the ignition-restricted Kellaway. 1200cc class win went to Cross (6th outright), as Battaglia dropped out on the last lap when an ignition wire broke! There was a ‘rookies’ battle for 7th-10th with Craig Hughes narrowly ahead of Ted Sibley, Clinton Leibinger and Brady Nicholls, the group spread by just 0.8sec at the end!
SUMMARY
Scoring maximum points (109), Tim Hamilton took the round win ahead of Mike Smith (76) and Paul Kellaway (75), extending his championship lead over the close pair to 57 points.
Kent Cross claimed the 1200cc class win with an almost perfect pointscore (108). Brady Nicholls (75) was second for the round and moves into the title lead, 20 points ahead of Battaglia and the quickly catching Cross.
Graeme Clarke (109) took the Historic Group V class win as the sole runner.
Bruce Acheson adapted well to the wet, qualifying and racing to 2nd
Graeme Clarke leads Ted Sibley
Event: FVAQ Round 2 | 29-30 May 2010
Location: Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick | CAMS State Championship
Author: Tim Hamilton | FVAQ Media
30 May 2010 | Press Release
Images by: Shifting Focus | Ian Welsh | www.shiftingfocus.com.au
Image Gallery: Shifting Focus | http://shiftingfocus.zenfolio.com/p230174840
Tim Hamilton. RennSport Technologies Jacer F2K8 1600cc.
Round 2 of the 2010 Queensland Formula Vee Championship took place over the weekend of 29-30 May at Morgan Park.
18 entries continued, however there were a few changes from the first round. In the 1600cc class; defending Champion Shane Hart has elected to focus on the National Series and withdrawn from the QLD series; Craig Hughes and Andrew Moran returned, having repaired their collision-damaged cars. The 1200cc class sees defending champion Kent Cross return after missing Round 1 (meeting contacts in Malaysia for Formula BMW Asia drive); Bob Roberts moves up from Historics with a one-off Pulsar Ascari purchased from WA; and (after running in the premier 1600cc class at Round 1) Mike Russell steps back to the Historic class, which was a smaller group with many competing at the Mt Cootha Classic (hill climb).
SATURDAY
QUALIFYING
Qualifying set the tone for what would be a weekend of surprises and supremely odd occurrences. Continuous heavy rain set-in before sunrise and never relented, the wet track providing a horsepower equaliser with grip levels resembling an ice-skating ring. Unfazed and seeming enjoying the situation, Tim Hamilton (RennSport Technologies Jacer) drifted to pole position 6 seconds clear of the field, further highlighted with the next nine cars spread by only 3 seconds. 1600cc title contenders Mike Smith, Paul Kellaway and John Doidge struggled down in 5th-7th, as Bruce Acheson took 2nd ahead of rookie Ben Beasley, both somewhat surprised! Mike Russell, in a Historic class car, put in a giant-killing drive for 4th.
RACE 1
The rain stopped as the cars lined up on the grid for Race One, but the soaked track still demanded caution and absolute focus. Hamilton repeated his qualifying performance by lapping up to 6 seconds per lap faster than anyone, which built a winning margin of 51 seconds after the 10 laps. Acheson maintained 2nd by strategically placing his car and forcing Kellaway to attempt passing, unsuccessfully, on the wetter portions of track. Doidge waited until the last lap to pass Beasley for 4th, while Smith recovered to 6th after an early spin. Kent Cross took the 1200cc class victory in 7th, as Russell gradually fell down the order to 8th and last of the cars not to be lapped by Hamilton.
RACE 2
The rain stopped in the afternoon and for Race Two the track was drying rapidly. A still-wet grid made many power-slide the start, inspiring a cautious approach until the grip level was readable, Acheson benefiting as he maintained 2nd initially. Hamilton again mastered the slippery conditions to clear out for a 17 second victory. Kellaway and Smith were the only two movers, gradually slipping past to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively, ahead of Acheson, Doidge and Beasley.
SUNDAY
RACE 3
Sunday morning brought a sunny sky and dry track, seemingly perfect until the preceding category dumped a continuous oil trail on the racing line! It caught a few out on the opening lap, benefiting Acheson again as he held 2nd behind Hamilton. With everyone driving off the traditional racing line to avoid the oil, overtaking moves required passing on the oil… and a big pair of, um, gonads! Kellaway then Smith pushed past Acheson on lap 2, then turned their efforts to fighting each other over 2nd. The squabbling behind left Hamilton to drive away to a 10 second victory. The 1200cc class was hard fought with Cross and Luke Battaglia battling for the win, and Mike Russell, Graeme Clarke and Brady Nicholls trading places intensely. Bob Roberts charged from rear-of-grid to be running 9th, only to hit the pit-wall on the final lap, bending the H-beam.
RACE 4
Race Four returned to normality with a dry, clean track. From the front row start, Kellaway instantly suffered ignition problems and dropped to 5th and never recovered, leaving Hamilton and Smith alone at the front. Smith kept within striking distance until lap 4 when Hamilton upped the pace, extending the gap to 8 seconds by race end for an unchallenged win. Doidge completed the podium, with rookie Beasley narrowly holding off the ignition-restricted Kellaway. 1200cc class win went to Cross (6th outright), as Battaglia dropped out on the last lap when an ignition wire broke! There was a ‘rookies’ battle for 7th-10th with Craig Hughes narrowly ahead of Ted Sibley, Clinton Leibinger and Brady Nicholls, the group spread by just 0.8sec at the end!
SUMMARY
Scoring maximum points (109), Tim Hamilton took the round win ahead of Mike Smith (76) and Paul Kellaway (75), extending his championship lead over the close pair to 57 points.
Kent Cross claimed the 1200cc class win with an almost perfect pointscore (108). Brady Nicholls (75) was second for the round and moves into the title lead, 20 points ahead of Battaglia and the quickly catching Cross.
Graeme Clarke (109) took the Historic Group V class win as the sole runner.
Bruce Acheson adapted well to the wet, qualifying and racing to 2nd
Graeme Clarke leads Ted Sibley
