The day has finally arrived and the boys are super keen to get the 2014 campaign underway. We have a few experienced drivers mixed in with a healthy field of rookies. Lets bring it on !!!
Qually:
David Lord didn't take too long before he showed his practice form by posting the first hot lap of 1:25.878 with last year's V8 Champion Iain Salteri not too far behind. The rookies are doing really well in the session with Duran Nikora current in P4. in typical style its Tim Hamilton who pinches pole in the dying seconds to record a 1:25.824.
Race #1:
Absolute carnage for the start of the season as nerves kicking in saw us with at least 4 to 5 drivers all spinning before T1. While David Lord and Iain Salteri got the jump at the start its pole sitter Tim Hamilton left to fight his way back to the front with Duran Nikora and Justin Wilson 5 seconds off the lead. Lap 4 and Salteri spins letting Hamilton through into P2.Rob Cooper and Nikora having a good battle for p5. Second last lap Jamie Hemi spins losing a couple of valuable positions. A tough battle was brewing between Greg Gavalas, Michael Nicholas, Matt Pisani and Troy Czislowski for P7. In the end it was Lord too good out front to take the win 5 sec's ahead of Hamilton and Salteri 3rd.
Race #2: (Reverse Grid)
The reverse grid got away and half way through the first lap Iain Salteri went from P13 to P1 but then he had a major crash which forced him to an early unscheduled pit stop. Czislowski Gavalas and Nicholas already battling for P6 while Rob Cooper was firmly in the Top 5. Half race distance and Hamilton has a commanding lead with a 4 sec gap to Lord & Justin Wilson a further 3 sec's behind. Salteri is now carving his way back through the field who is now in P4.Greg Gavalas is one of the first to pit & rejoins in P10. Could this be a good move to jump the field? Nikora & Czislowski are still in a tight battle for 6th. Michael Nicholas was in P7 before he caught the wrong side of the kerb which threw him into the wall. Lord is currently in the lead and decided not to pit but will it pay off? He is only 3 seconds ahead of a charging Hamilton. Cooper another one to hold out in P6. Lord's tyres have just gone off the cliff and it wasn't enough to hold off Hamilton who too the win in Race 2.
Race #3:
Another nervous start with an incident in T3 involving numerous amount of drivers. The 3 Amigo's though have kept their noses clean out front. Lord, Hamilton and Salteri all with 1.5 sec’s of each other. There are some great tussles mid pack but after the 1st run of pit stops the front of the field remains the same. That is until they catch the back of Justin Wilson who is yet to pit. Wilson moves off the race line only for Lord to follow straight into the back of him losing his front panel. With no front down force the leader is forced to make an unscheduled pit stop. Hopefully the new set of tyres will hold out the 12 laps that remain. Salteri resumes the lead in front of Hamilton by 12 sec's. Nikora and Gavalas doing well in 4th and 5th respectfully. Friends Nicholas and Pisani are within a second of each other in P6 & P7.Lord comes out of the turn before the back straight but fortunately Hamilton gave him a tap which pointed Lord in the right direction to keep going. Not much time lost but Hamilton now moves into P2.Thw winner of this battle will win the round and there is only 1 sec in it with 4 laps remaining. Nicholas makes a move on Czislowski but over shoots the turn and plants it straight into the wall. The checkered flag falls and its Salteri for the race win. Hamilton takes 2nd and the round win and Lord limps it home in 3rd.
Special Mention goes out to the 2014 rookies Duran Nikoa,Matt Pisani,Michael Nicholas, Ben Weeks, Kevin Maartensz,Clint Vardy, Greg Gavalas & Lucas Scholes who drove one handed. They all drove a great race and showed lots of potential. We look forward to see how they progress thoughout the season.
Race Results:
Place | Drivers | Race 1 | Race2 | Race 3 |
1st | Tim Hamilton | 2 | 1 | 2 |
2nd | David Lord | 1 | 2 | 3 |
3rd | Iain Salteri | 3 | 3 | 1 |
4th | Duran Nikora | 5 | 5 | 4 |
5th | Justin Wilson | 4 | 4 | 9 |
6th | Troy Czislowski | 7 | 7 | 7 |
7th | Matt Pisani | 8 | 10 | 5 |
8th | Greg Gavalas | 14 | 8 | 6 |
9th | Michael Nicholas | 10 | 13 | 8 |
10th | Rob Cooper | 6 | 6 | DNS |
11th | Kevin Maartensz | 12 | 9 | 10 |
12th | Ben Weeks | 11 | 12 | 11 |
13th | Jamie Hemi | 9 | 11 | 14 |
14th | Clint Vardy | 13 | 14 | 12 |
15th | Lucas Scholes | 15 | 15 | 13 |
Drivers Table:
2014 V8 League | |||||||||||||||||||
Drivers | Race 1 | Race 1(a) | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Race 7 | Race 8 | Race 9 | Race 10 | Race 11 | Race 12 | Race 13 | Race 14 | Race 15 | Total Points | Current Place | |
Tim Hamilton | 20 | 20 | 1st | ||||||||||||||||
David Lord | 17 | 17 | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||
Iain Salteri | 15 | 15 | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||
Duran Nikora | 13 | 13 | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
Justin Wilson | 12 | 12 | 5th | ||||||||||||||||
Troy Czislowski | 11 | 11 | 6th | ||||||||||||||||
Matt Pisani | 10 | 10 | 7th | ||||||||||||||||
Greg Gavalas | 9 | 9 | 8th | ||||||||||||||||
Michael Nicholas | 8 | 8 | 9th | ||||||||||||||||
Rob Cooper | 7 | 7 | 10th | ||||||||||||||||
Kevin Maartensz | 6 | 6 | 11th | ||||||||||||||||
Ben Weeks | 5 | 5 | 12th | ||||||||||||||||
Jamie Hemi | 4 | 4 | 13th | ||||||||||||||||
Clint Vardy | 3 | 3 | 14th | ||||||||||||||||
Lucas Scholes | 2 | 2 | 15th |
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