The Independent Race Series team would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Have a great time, and if you're on the roads, please be careful and look out for each other.

See you all in 2010!

The 2009 Independent Race Series Presentation Night was held on Saturday 12 December. The event was well attended, and spirits were high as the Kangaroo Kid put on an impressive display on his various quad bikes - his successful jump over three cars a fitting finale, and mirroring the leaps and bounds the Independent Race Series has achieved over the past 18 months. From the many acceptance speeches throughout the night, the overwhelming sentiment was that 2009 proved how much fun racing can be, and that 2010 should be even better.

For a rundown of the championships presented on the night, check out our results page by clicking here.

Notable other awards presented on the night were:

• Best Presented - Rod Gurney
• Encouragement Award - James Flanagan
• Encouragement Award - Keiran Macklyn
• Rookie of the Year - Carly Black
• Sportsman of the Year - Hans Riehs

The big prizes, presented by Super Hoist Plus, went to overall Series Champion and Runner Up. The points for this were allocated based on position in Class in each race during the year, as well as the number of cars in class defeated in each race. The points rewarded consistency, superiority within class, and encouraging extra competitors to join your class.

The top prize went to John Willmington. John receives a YSJ-3000 two-post hoist from Super Hoist Plus.

Runner up went to Neil Byers. Neil receives a Resto Roller car rotisserie from Super Hoist Plus.

Super Hoist Plus also awarded a set of vehicle stands to each of the Encouragement Award recipients.

For those who were unable to attend the presentation night, below is a condensed video of the presentation proceedings:



Also, check out the pre-dinner entertainment - the awesome Kangaroo Kid, jumping his quad bike over three cars!



Round 1 of the 2010 Independent Race Series will be held at Sydney's Oran Park in just on a month's time. Mark 15-16 January down in your calendar, get your entries in, and start getting your cars ready to give Oran Park a fitting send off!

2009 is not quite finished yet, but the iRace season is over, and preparations for the 2010 season are already underway. A quick look at some numbers from the 2009 season as we look ahead to next year:

• 4
  awesome circuits visited in 2009


• 26
  tyres presented by Kumho


• 85
  races held in the 2009 season


• 152
  cars raced during 2009


• 1,444
  photos uploaded to the iRace galleries


• 1,679
  laps hosted by iRace in 2009


• 4,020
  points scored in the Super Hoist Plus trophy


• 18,075
  laps completed by our competitors in 2009


• 339,197
  pages viewed on iRace.net.au during 2009


• 3,011,662
  total hits on iRace.net.au in 2009

Already 2010 is looking even stronger! Don't miss it!

Joe McGinnes, Touring Car Challenge competitor, and member of the iRace family has invented a fantastic new product. It's a new type of trailer coupling, and it looks set to be a huge success.

Joe had the opportunity to showcase the product during the iRace TV coverage on Speedweek last weekend, and it proved to be a massive hit. The McHitch.com.au website received a load of hits, and Joe received a huge amount of interest via email.

Head over to www.mchitch.com.au to find out all about Joe's fantastic invention. Check out the Speedweek coverage here.



And get involved in the Independent Race Series in 2010 to have the opportunity to give your sponsors this kind of exposure!

Round 1 for 2010 will be held at Oran Park 15-16 Jan. Don't miss out!

Kumho Tyres, and John Mills' F Sport have been fantastic supporters of the Independent Race Series throughout 2009. At each round Kumho has awarded a full set of road tyres to a randomly selected volunteer official, and a pair of race tyres to a winner within the Production Racing Cars.

For our final round of 2009, the winners were as follows:

Official - Lance Smith, Chief Scrutineer
Lance wins a set of road tyres

Production Racing Cars - Geoff Kite, Most Improved Driver Over the Season
Geoff wins a pair of race tyres

The Independent Race Series would like to extend sincere thanks on behalf of all competitors and officials to John Mills and Kumho. See you in 2010!

We're having a Christmas Party to celebrate the end of the 2009 Independent Race Series, and will be combining this with a presentation night.

The event is scheduled for Saturday 12 December, and it will be held at the Marulan Driver Training Centre.

As part of the event, Garry and Nat Willmington will be hosting a track day during the day (9.00am till 4.00pm) and all iRace competitors will receive a 20% discount on the normal track fee, the cost is $80 for drivers $50 for passengers, so bring your family and your road car if you like and have a day of fun.

Afternoon entertainment starts at 4.00pm and includes a Quad Bike Stunt Show from our own "Kangaroo Kid" Matt Coulter.

Dinner starts at 6.00pm and costs $29 per head, and includes 2 course dinner, tea and coffee (cappucinos, soft drinks available from the Cafe, BYOG)

To respond to this invitation, please fill out the short form on our website available by clicking here.

The final round of racing for the 2009 Independent Race Series was held at Oran Park on the weekend, with a number of suprise results, and plenty of action-packed racing.

Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports saw a packed field of open-wheelers in a great boost for the category. The racing was top notch, with Chris Farrell setting the early pace in his Swift Formula Atlantic. Farrell took pole, and the opening race. Sam Dale made a good start in the second race, and led the early laps until a safety car intervened. Farrell took the lead at the restart, while Dale suffered brake failure and contacted the wall at the final corner. Hard-charging Robert Choon went on to finish second, with his father David Choon in third. In the final race it was looking like Chris Farrell would win at a canter, until a lap from the end and his car caught fire. Farrell managed to get out unscathed, and the fire was extinguished, allowing Robert Choon through to take the race, and the round win. Farrell ended up second overall, with David Choon in third. Andrew Wlodek took the honour for top Formula 2, after strong runs all weekend. Vince Evans took the Formula R honours in his debut in the category. Robert Choon was top Formula 3 and Michele Guyer took a well earned win in the Formula 4000 group. Rick Otten had a solid performance to finish top LeMans Sports car.

Formula Tasman Outright:
1. Robert Choon
2. Chris Farrell
3. David Choon

LeMans Sports:
1. Rick Otten

In Muscle Division Terry Denovan and Greg Boyle went into the round as the men to beat. Denovan's Commodore and Boyle's Silvia looked to be evenly matched in qualifying, with Denovan narrowly taking pole. The round result proved the unpredictability of the handicap format though as neither man managed to take the top spot. Boyle dominated Race 1, after he upped his pace from qualifying. Denovan was the top Improved Production/Sports Sedan and second outright. Third place went to Adam Tipping, who was also the leading HDT Cup car. In the first of the handicap races (race two), Adam Tipping took the win. Boyle overcame a 2 lap handicap to come through in second, with Troy Harrison in third. In Race Three, another handicap affair, Boyle this time managed to carve through the field and take the win, second was Adam Tipping, and third went to Michael Duff in his howling HSV Maloo Ute. In the final race, Boyle was unable to compete. Steven Cook took the win, with Adam Tipping in second and Todd Betland third after strong drives all weekend. Category winners were: Classic Muscle Car - Ryan Strode; IP/SS - Steven Berry; V8 Ute - Michael Duff. In the HDT Cup Feature Race, Adam Tipping dominated to take the win from Darren Gillis and Jon Worrell.

Muscle Division Outright:
1. Adam Tipping
2. Greg Boyle
3. Todd Betland

HDT Cup:
OUTRIGHT:
1. Adam Tipping
2. Darren Gillis
3. Jon Worrell

Class A Classic - Adam Tipping
Class A Modern - Jon Worrell
Class B Classic - Troy Harrison

In the Touring Car Challenge, Darren Saillard (BA Falcon Supercar) set the pace in qualifying. Saillard also took the honours in the opening scratch race, ahead of Barry Jameson (Jaguar V8 Giant) and Ben Eggleston (Commodore Supercar). In the first of the handicap races (race two) Darren Saillard took the win again, this time ahead of Steve Ingwersen (Commodore Supercar) and Joe McGinnes (XY GT Falcon). In the third race, Jameson took the win, ahead of Ingwersen and Saillard. Saillard was unable to make the start of the final race, leaving Jameson to take the win ahead of Ingwersen and Eggleston. Category winners for the weekend were: Touring Car - Steve Ingwersen; Muscle Car - Norm Stokes; V8 Giant - Mark Telfer; Group A - Matt Veal.

Touring Car Challenge Outright:
1. Steve Ingwersen
2. Darren Saillard
3. Barry Jameson

In the RocketSports, a small but quality field provided some exciting racing with the winner of Race One only taking the lead on the final lap. Graham Smith took race one. Race Two was taken by Adam Dodd. Graham Smith took the win again in race three, and was again victorious in race four. Graham Smith took the round win.

The Production Racing Cars put on some fantastic racing. Since the last round, Anthony Soole had upgraded his Lotus Exige to add a supercharger, with a significant power increase, to take the fight to Frank Donniaux in his WRX. In the opening race, Donniaux used the 4WD to get a better launch and take the lead, but Soole managed to take the lead when Donniaux spun nearing the finish. Daniel Flanagan was close behind, and first Class A. Class B went to the returning Bryan Fitzpatrick and C to John Willmington. In the second race, the results were very similar to the first, despite a reverse grid start - in fact, Donniuax managed to get from the rear of the grid to first place by the second corner! The third race saw the same class winners. The finale was a dramatic affair, with Geoff Kite taking the outright win (and Class A), Richard Mork in second and Anthony Soole in third.

Production Racing Cars Class Winners:
Class X - Anthony Soole
Class A - Daniel Flanagan
Class B - Bryan Fitzpatrick
Class C - John Willmington

The event culminated in the iRace One Hour Enduro. In hot conditions, the key was always going to be consistency and tyre and car conservation. It seems nobody told this to Steve Ingwersen though, as he set a cracking pace right from the start, leading all but the first lap of the race to take a dominant win. Finishing in second, Anthony Soole had read the script, and used a combination of relentless pace, with economy to beat the Eggleston/Lewis V8 Supercar home, the latter requiring an extra pitstop, which relinquished second place to Soole.

iRace Enduro:
1. Steve Ingwersen
2. Anthony Soole
3. Ben Eggleston/Daniel Lewis

Touring Car - Steve Ingwersen
Production Racing Car - Anthony Soole
Muscle Division - S. Berry/G. Boyle

The Independent Race Series returns to Oran Park for the first even in the 2010 season. The series will compete on the GP circuit 15-16 January. The series will also host a combination Family/Christmas/2009 Presentation day at Marulan Driver Training Centre on 12 December. Details on the day will be released soon, as will the 2010 calendar, and a brand new iRace website. So even though the racing for 2009 has finished, stay tuned to www.irace.net.au for all the new developments!

The Independent Race Series will host its final race meeting for 2009 this weekend, at the popular Oran Park South Circuit. The series has enjoyed strong growth throughout 2009, and solid entry lists for the 2009 finale set a solid foundation for 2010.

The largest field for this weekends event will be Muscle Division, incorporating the exciting HDT Cup category, with 27 cars entered for this event. Greg Boyle is expected to give a strong showing in the outright stakes, in his Nissan Silvia. Merrick Malouf always puts on a good show in his V8 Falcon Ute, and with the handicap format, victory could really go to anyone. The HDT Cup is a close fought category, the class honours went to Harrison, Macklyn, Tipping and Lloyd last time out, but there will be plenty looking to tip them from their perch this weekend.

Strong fields are also expected for Production Racing Cars and Formula Tasman & LM Sports, with close to 20 cars entered for each. Anthony Soole will be looking to regain the upper hand in Production Class X, while there are still a number of class championships to be settled. In Formula Tasman, Chris Farrell took the win last round, but Sam Dale was absent. Dale is back this weekend, and the action will be hot, with a number of Formula 2 cars joining the fun.

Look for quality racing in the RocketSports and Touring Car Challenge fields. Darren Saillard will be looking to make amends for a string of DNFs at the last round, but Andy Cantrell will ensure he doesn't have the Touring Car Challenge all his own way. Steve Ingwersen, Norm Stokes and Ben Eggleston will also be spicing things up.

The climax of the event will be the 1 hour iRace enduro, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with 23 cars entered for the race, which will incorporate a compulsory pitstop. As with all endurance races, strategy plays a big part, and consistency is the key.

Unofficial practice gets underway Friday (13 Nov) morning, with Practice and Qualifying on Saturday (14 Nov) morning. Racing commences Saturday afternoon, with a full day of racing action on Sunday (15 Nov).

Check out the full schedule by clicking here.

Admission for spectators is free!

The Supplementary Regulations and Meeting Schedule for Round 6 are now available.

Click here to access the Regulations

Click here for the Meeting Schedule

See you all at Oran Park!

The Independent Race Series staged a very successful Drive Day at "The Farm" on Sunday, the circuit instantly a favourite with the drivers.

Inclement weather in the lead up to the event held off, and the entrants were blessed with dry running pretty much throughout. What little water was on the circuit in the morning quickly dried off after the initial familiarisation laps around the circuit behind a pace car.

Drivers were let loose on the circuit mid-morning, and then spent the rest of the day learning the nuances and subtleties of the 5.1km, 25-turn circuit, purpose built to be the ultimate challenge.

An excellent roll up of officials made the day possible, and as always, everyone is extremely grateful for the time they give up to allow our events to run safely and smoothly.

Entrants all made the effort to make their cars quieter, to adhere to the 90db limit, and only two cars were required to stop running as they were unable to reduce their noise enough. All the participants really embraced the spirit of the event (and the spirit of iRace in general), and treated the venue with respect, and looked after it like it was their own - everyone made sure they didn't leave rubbish laying around, and left the grounds in as good condition as possible.

Driver behaviour was under the microscope, with 'racing' strictly forbidden. Driver behaviour was excellent, with just the one group of three drivers black flagged and cautioned for getting too serious.

The circuit itself was a magnificent challenge, with just about every type of corner imaginable on offer, making putting together a consistent lap a true feat. The entire venue passed 'evaluation' with flying colours, with only one small mishap in the final session of the day.

Photos from the event are available here.

Finally, a huge thank you to the venue owners for allowing us to use this great facility. We hope to see you again in the not too distant future.

Round 6 entries are now officially open, and we can now reveal that the event will feature two endurance races.

Round 6 will be held on the popular Oran Park South Circuit 13-15 November, and will feature all the favourite iRace categories. In additional to the normal program of races, the meeting will also feature a 1 hour endurance race for MX5 Challenge cars on Saturday afternoon, and another 1 hour endurance race for iRace Sedan cars from Touring Car Challenge, Muscle Division (including HDT Cup) and Production Racing Cars on Sunday afternoon.

Both endurance races will include a compulsory timed pitstop for all cars. A second driver is allowed, but driver changes are not compulsory, the stationary time will be the same whether a driver change takes place or not.

Competitors are encouraged to get their entries in early. All races will be subject to maximum grid density, and we're expecting the enduros in particular to fill up quite quickly.

Entry fee for the normal events at the meeting is $395. Competitors who are entered for the normal meeting can enter one of the enduros for only $100 more. Competing only in one of the enduros is also permitted, the entry fee is $395.

Access the online entry form by clicking here.

Access the printable PDF by clicking here.

We've had a section of the iRace website that has laid dormant since the site was launched last year - the "Features" section. Other things have always seemed to take priority over getting a feature article online.

Not anymore though. We've now published our first feature article, and hopefully these become a more regular occurrence.

The first article is on how to be interviewed, and is mostly aimed at competitors. To check out the Features page, click here, or use the link in the navigation bar on the left.

Due to unprecedented interest, entries are now closed for our special event Drive Day at "The Farm".

Thank you to everyone for their interest, and to those competitors whose entries have been accepted, you will receive further information regarding the event (and instructions on how to get to the secret location) shortly.

Independent Race Series competitors have been invited to preview a fantastic Road Course one hour north of Sydney on Sunday October 4th 2009.

An exclusive "Drive Day" has been secured for Independent Race Series competitors at this 5.1 km, 23 corner road course situated in a beautiful parkland setting. The amazing layout (pictured right) has been described as "Australia's Nurburgring", and by Garry Willmington as the best piece of track he has ever driven. The venue has previously only been available to friends of the owners, but has been secured by iRace for this very special event.

Secure your place early as numbers are limited.

Entry is $295, and includes a BBQ lunch for the entrant. BBQ lunches will be available for $10 for everyone else attending.

Access the online entry form here. Please ensure you select the correct payment option if paying via PayPal.

Access the hardcopy entry form here.

Entries are now open, and close 25 September. Don't miss out!

UPDATE: Entries have now officially closed.

As always, competitors and officials at Round 4 of the Independent Race Series were in the running to win some great prizes from Kumho Tyres.

The winner in the Production Racing Cars class, with the prize for this round going to the winner of Class X, was Franck Donniaux. Franck wins a pair of Kumho race tyres.

And the volunteer official drawn out of a hat was Wayne Johnson from Goulburn. Wayne worked at the event as a flag marshall, and wins a set of Kumho road tyres.

Kumho helps the Independent Race Series recognise our hard working officials, with one randomly chosen at each round to receive a set of Kumho road tyres. To find out more about being an official for the Independent Race Series, click here.

To find out more about Kumho Tyres, and F Sport, click here.

Television coverage from Round 4 of the Independent Race Series will be screened on SBS Speedweek this Sunday, 23 August. Coverage will start at 1pm (remember to check your local TV guides), and iRace is expected to lead the show.

The coverage will then be repeated on Wednesday on Fox Sports Inside Speed - check your TV guide for exact timings of the program.

The TV coverage will feature highlights of the action from Oran Park, of iRace's biggest meeting so far. Don't miss it!

The Independent Race Series hosted its most successful round ever at Sydney's Oran Park on the Grand Prix layout on the weekend.

Record fields in a number of categories boded well for the event before it even started, and the spirit of the competitors, and quality of the racing all added up to make it a great weekend of racing.

Action got underway on Friday (14 August) morning, with unofficial practice. Qualifying kicked off after lunch, and the first of the races were held late Friday afternoon. The weather was perfect throughout, and Saturday morning brought more sunshine, and plenty of racing.

Muscle Division saw the inclusion of HDT Cup at this round, and some great racing. The outright honours were dominated by Stuart Inwood in his impressive Nissan R33 GTR Skyline. Inwood was victorious in three out of the four races, only missing out on the handicapped Race Three when his handicap proved too huge to overcome. Brett Morse (Mazda RX7) was also impressive, taking second outright for the category. Third outright was Greg Boyle (Nissan). In the sub categories, Rod Gurney was top Muscle Car, Merrick Malouf was the winning Ute, Todd Betland took out Saloon Car honours, Steve Berry was the best of the Improved Production cars and Stuart Inwood also took out the Japanese Turbo category.

In HDT Cup, there was plenty of action, and Adam Lloyd emerged the outright victor for the weekend. He won from Adam Tipping and Keiran Macklyn. In the sub categories, Troy Harrison won Class B Classic and Keiran Macklyn won Class A Classic. The HDT Cup proved to be a massive success, with the combination of affordable machinery, a recognisable brand, and close, fair racing proving very popular!

In the Production Racing Cars, there was an upset at the front of the field. Anthony Soole has had the upper hand all year, with Franck Donniaux plagued with reliability issues at earlier events. Not so this time out though - despite some VERY close racing, Donniaux (Subaru WRX) took a clean sweep of wins to end up victorious in Class X. Soole (Lotus Exige) secured second in Class X, with Daniel Flanagan (Commodore Ute) taking third in his first run in the car.

In Class A, Clark Stott (Mazda 3 MPS) proved too good, to take the class honours over Geoff Kite and Hans Riehs.

Class B was very nearly a family affair, with Carly Black (Peugeot 206) fighting it out with father Barry Black (Peugeot 306), Neil Byers spoiled the party though, pushing his Mitsubishi 380 to take class honours ahead of Carly followed by Barry.

Class C was another family affair, husband and wife duo John and Kylie Willmington taking on the class in a pair of Nissan Pulsars. John dominated the category (outdoing a number of higher classed cars), ahead of Chris Reeves (Proton Satria) and Josh Riehs (Proton Satria). Kylie did very well on her debut though, finishing fourth in class, and just one point behind third!

Formula Tasman & LeMans Sports saw a promising field, with some truly exotic machines fighting it out. Chris Farrell brought along his beautiful 2001 Swift Formula Atlantic, and was never headed all weekend, the car looking planted on the track, and Chris driving very nicely. Farrell took out the Formula Tasman win, and outright victory. Ed Singleton pushed hard in his immaculate Singletini Radical, taking the LeMans Sports honours. The placings in each category were: Formula Tasman - second Craig Dawson (F391 Dallara), third Chris Lynch (F397 Dallara); and LeMans Sports - second Andrew Macpherson in the formidable Mosler MTR, third Neil Kenny (Mallock MK31).

The Touring Car Challenge saw a diverse field do battle, with some excellent racing, and plenty of spectacle. Andy Cantrell in the ex-Glenn Seton Falcon V8 Supercar was untouchable throughout the event, taking pole and victory in two of the races, to take the outright victory. Close behind though was Dameon Jameson in his awesome Jaguar, who took two race wins, and second outright. Third outright went to Joe McGinnes in his crowd pleasing XT GT Falcon. Class honours went to Cantrell for V8 Supercar, Phil Groeneveld for V8 Giant and Dameon Jameson for Muscle Car.

A welcome addition on the card at Oran Park was the MX5 Challenge. The large field of these nimble machines joined the RocketSports ranks, and enjoyed two standalone races. In the RocketSports outright, the MX5's proved unbeatable, with David Raddatz taking the victory. He was closely followed by Matilda Mravicic, and Nick Martinenko. The Holden Roadsters mixed it up with the MX5's, putting on a great show. Graham Smith ended up on top in the Roadsters, with Rod Moynahan second and Terry Mayfield third.

In the MX5 Challenge, honours in the Turbo category went to David Raddatz, in the NA Slick category, Shane Otten took the win, and in the NA Road category Corey Stevens took the honours.

Overall, the whole meeting was a huge success, and thanks must go out to everyone who helped make it happen - the outstanding competitors, new and old, the volunteer officials and marshalls, Oran Park management and of course the hardworking iRace team.

The next confirmed event for the Independent Race Series will be held at Oran Park (South Circuit) 13-15 November. The team are working hard on securing an event in October - details will be announced as soon as they are available. We're working hard to keep bringing you our trademark brand of mate-against-mate, affordable racing.

So, watch this space!

Press play to start the slideshow. Click the fullscreen icon (lower right corner) to view in fullscreen, then click show info to see the details on each driver.

Round Four kicks off in just over 12 hours, and it's looking like the biggest iRace meeting yet.

The round, to be held at Sydney's Oran Park, on the GP layout, will feature racing by all the iRace categories: Formula Tasman & LeMans Sport, Touring Car Challenge, Muscle Division, Production Racing Cars and RocketSports. Additionally, the round will see the debut of the brand new HDT Cup category, and the inclusion of the MX5 Challenge.

The Independent Race Series prides itself on mate against mate racing, and catering for a diverse range of competitors and cars. This round will feature a number of notable competitors:

Andrew Macpherson will be driving the awesome Mosler MT900GTR (pictured right) in the combined LeMans Sports and Formula Tasman category. He'll be up against lady racer, Michele Guyer in her March Formula Holden and Ed Singleton (who made quite an impression in Muscle Division in his last appearance) in his Radical. Chris Farrell will driving his 2001 Swift Formula Atlantic, which should suit the GP layout very well. The Formula R boys are also back, and always push hard.

In the Touring Car Challenge, Darren Saillard will be the man to beat, but Andy Cantrell (pictured left) will be looking to do just that, after being narrowly defeated at the last outing at Oran Park. Friend of the series, David Towe will take the wheel of the ex-John Bowe Mustang, and will no doubt adapt quickly from his light BMW M3 to the hulking V8 Mustang. Steve Ingwersen will be keen to make an impression in his Commodore V8 Supercar, and Joe McGinnes is always spectacular!

RocketSports will be joined by the MX5 Challenge for this round, with nearly 20 of the nimble handling Mazdas in the field. The Holden Roadster brigade have been working on the handling of their cars, and Rod Moynahan, Clive O'Connor, Graham Smith and Terry Mayfield (pictured right) will be battling it out. The MX5 Challenge will also have two standalone races on Saturday.

The Production Racing Cars category has gone from strength to strength. The affordable and accessible nature of the machinery, and the closeness of the racing has really driven that growth, and this round looks to be the biggest yet for the category. Pushing hard for a great result will no doubt be Anthony Soole. He'll be challenged by Richard Mork, an Oran Park expert. Hans Riehs always goes hard, and will be doing double duty this weekend, driving his BMW Mini as well as a HDT Cup car. The girls will be well represented too, with Carly Black doing a great job in Class B, and Candace Shafell returning to Class C. Kylie Willmington (picutred left) will be making her debut in a former championship winning car. Kylie's husband, John is currently leading the Class C championship, and we've received some inside information that Kylie will give John a serious run for his money. Kylie has secured support from Caltex Depot, Jax Tyres Penrith and Penrith Muffler Man, and will be driving a Nissan Pulsar.

And last but by no means least is Muscle Division. Muscle Division will feature the largest field at this round, and will incorporate the brand new HDT Cup category. Muscle Division has seen RX7s run strongly in previous rounds, but they are yet to take a round win - Alex Hay, Gerry Murphy, Brett Morse, Keith Linnell and Steve Anslow will all be looking to rectify that this weekend. Previous round-winner Howard Glinn will be back in his Dolomite Sprint, and watch out for a round long battle between him and Neville Simmons like we saw at the last round. The big story of this round though is the HDT Cup. A category that was only conceived after the last meeting at Oran Park in May, HDT Cup has generated massive interest, and sees a massive TWENTY cars entered for the first outing! Watch out for strong performances from Todd Betland (pictured right), Hans Riehs and Chris Reeves, and the no doubt numerous dark horses, new to the series.

Practice gets underway at 0930 Friday, with Qualifying from 1330. The first of the races will take place from 1510 on Friday afternoon, with the bulk of the racing resuming at 0900 Saturday. The full schedule is available to download here.

Admission for spectators is free on both days. The pits are accessible, and the teams friendly, so come along and check out the Independent Race Series.

Round Four of the Independent Race Series will take place this Friday and Saturday. The event will feature Practice, Qualifying and three Races on Friday 14th August, and the remaining 19 races will take place Saturday 15th August.

Admission to the circuit is free.

Download the event schedule here.

Download the Meeting Regulations here.

Round Four of the Independent Race Series is just over one week away, and the excitement is building about the return of iRace to the fantastic Oran Park venue.

Entries have been rolling in for the event, and it's looking like some healthy fields will be in attendance, the standouts being Muscle Division and Production Racing Cars.

In Production Racing Cars, most of the guns from Round Two are back, and this time out they'll be joined by Graham Lusty in an XR6 Turbo Falcon, and Bryan Fitzpatrick will return in his nimble Renault Clio. Look out for some hot action from this group.

Muscle Division has been swelled by the inclusion of the HDT Cup within the ranks, with plenty of excitement and enthusiasm surrounding the new category. Perhaps one of the most excited is Todd Betland. His Commodore (pictured right and below) has been decked out in Peter Brock colours and livery. Aside from being a gun racing driver, Todd once starred in a Fair Dinkum Sheds commercial alongside Peter Brock. Todd's HDT Cup car is a fitting tribute to the Australian motorsport legend.

Todd will be joined by a number of other competitors who are still waiting for the paint to dry on their racing machines, including Robert Marchese. Robert's car (pictured left) still has some finishing touches to be completed, but he is very keen to get on track.

Other categories in action will be: Touring Car Challenge, Formula Tasman and RocketSports.

The full round schedule will be available shortly. Round Four of the Independent Race Series will take place on the GP layout at the Oran Park venue, with action kicking off 14 August, and concluding 15 August. More information on the round is available here.

For spectators admission will be free. For competitors, entries are still open, so if you want to enjoy this awesome venue, get your entry in asap.

The recent iRace Open Day saw a number of cars present for the launch of the brand new HDT Cup. Interest in the new category has been very strong, and a large number of competitors have already acquired new racecars to compete in the category.

One competitor getting right behind the category is Todd Betland. Todd and his father Laurie have acquired a Class A car, featuring a 308 V8, a Tony Edwards Ultra High Performance brake package, strengthened M21 transmission, Pedders suspension, and a very famous livery. The guys have painted the car in Brock colours, and will shortly be adding signage to match.

The HDT Cup will be supported by HDT, and will cater for VB, VC, VH, VK and VL Commodores, with classes for different engine types/capacities.

Competitors interested in the HDT Cup can contact Laurie Betland on 02 4860 3333 or 0411 176 382.

Photos from the Open Day at Marulan Driver Training Centre are available here.

The next round of the Independent Race Series is in just under one month, at Oran Park GP circuit, 14-15 August. Get your entries in now!

The SBS Speedweek coverage from Round Two at Oran Park screened on the weekend. The full episode is expected to be available from the brand new Speedweek website in the near future, but in the meantime, an excerpt from the program is available now.

Click here to view the video.

Click here to check out the excellent Speedweek website.

An iRace Open Day will be held at Marulan Driver Training Centre Saturday 20 June, and the next round of the series will be at Oran Park 14-15 August 2009.

Round Three of the Independent Race Series scheduled for 19-21 June at Morgan Park has been postponed.

With thanks and acknowledgement to those competitors who had shown their support for the round by getting their entries in, the organisers took the step of postponing the event due to insufficient competitor support. The series plans to shift the event to a date sometime in September or October. For all those competitors out there who want a chance to race at the fantastic Morgan Park layout again in 2009, it's up to you to get behind the event, get your entries in when they open, and encourage your friends and fellow competitors to do the same.

Because we know many of you need your regular speed fix, Marulan Driver Training Centre (MDTC) has stepped up to host an iRace Open Day at the facility on 20th June. The day will feature a "better your best time" track day for production-based cars plus passenger rides as well as a public launch of the HDT Cup with displays and a presentation on the new category. Visit the MDTC website: www.mdtc.com.au for more info, and to register your interest for the iRace Open Day.

Entries for Round Four at Sydney's Oran Park are now open. The round is scheduled for 14-15 August, and will be hosted on the GP circuit. To access the Round Four online entry form, click here. To download the form to fax or mail in, click here.

Speedweek has put the World Wide Web on the rev limiter with the launch of the new Speedweek Internet site.

The solid alliance between SBS and Speedweek has taken yet another step forward with the launch of what both groups feel will be one of the bench mark internet sites in this country for motor sport fans.

The site at Speedweek.com.au includes full Speedweek program replays as well as segment highlights and bonus footage not aired in the program, which gives Web surfers the ability to view a replay of the program at their leisure.

The first installment of Independent Race Series coverage is already available on the new site, click here to view.

The next installment of the Independent Race Series will screen this Sunday on SBS Speedweek. Check your local guides for details, and check the new website: www.speedweek.com.au for the online version in the near future.

The Independent Race Series' newest category, the HDT Cup, has generated massive interest, before even turning a wheel.

Production Racing Cars hard-charger Hans Riehs has purchased a car (pictured) from South Australia, and a number of other competitors are believed to be in negotiations to acquire cars.

Hans purchased his car from Gary Baxter, who has several other cars available for around $2500 - Bargain Motorsport!! Gary can be contacted on 0418 832 664, or gary@trackskill.com.au

The HDT Cup will be supported by HDT, and will cater for VB, VC, VH, VK and VL Commodores, with classes for different engine types/capacities.

A meeting to launch the category is scheduled for 5 June, at 5pm, at the Super Hoist Plus HQ - Lot 3 Sagewick Place, Moss Vale (off Lackey St). Interested competitors should contact Laurie Betland: 02 4860 3333 or 0411 176 382.

With thanks to John Smith of Photos 'n' Things, more photos from Round Two of the Independent Race Series have been added to the website.

Click here to view the full gallery.

A new category will join the Independent Race Series ranks in the very near future.

HDT manager Darren Gillis raced with the series at Oran Park, and has offered his support to a new category for the Independent Race Series.

The new category will be known as the "HDT Cup" and will cater for Commodores from the following models: VB/VC/VH/VK and VL.

The cars eligble will be divided into classes according to their engine capacity, with classes designated as follows:

Class A will be for the 308 and Chev V8's

Class B for the 253 V8

Class C for V6 and Straight Six cylinder cars

Laurie Betland from Super Hoist Plus has put his support behind the concept and will host a get together for all interested competitors at his business premises at Lot 3 Sagewick Place Moss Vale [off Lackey St] on Friday 5th Of June at 5pm.

Laurie will have a BBQ and informal meeting to launch the exciting new category.

HDT will provide Trophies and HDT rear quarter and windscreen stickers for the category.

Competitors interested in the HDT Cup can contact Laurie Betland on 02 4860 3333 or 0411 176 382.

Television coverage from Round Two of the Independent Race Series will air on SBS Speedweek, Sunday 7 June at 1pm.

The coverage will feature highlights of the action from Oran Park, and plenty of driver interviews. Tune in to catch all the action.

The show will also be screened on Fox Sports InsideSpeed 1 to 2 weeks later (date TBC).

As always, check your local guides for details.

Check out YouTube for some more videos from Round Two at Oran Park:

SuperTruck farewell demonstration (burnouts)

Onboard with Gerry Murphy - RX7 - Muscle Division Race One

Onboard with Gerry Murphy - RX7 - Muscle Division Race Two Part One

Onboard with Gerry Murphy - RX7 - Muscle Division Race Two Part Two

Onboard with Gerry Murphy - RX7 - Muscle Division Race Three Part One

Onboard with Gerry Murphy - RX7 - Muscle Division Race Three Part Two

Onboard with Sam Dale - Reynard 94D - Formula Tasman Race Two

Onboard with Anthony Soole - Lotus Exige - Production Racing Cars

Click the links to view the videos.

Round Three of the Independent Race Series is just one month away. The event is scheduled for the excellent Morgan Park circuit at Warwick, in SE Queensland.

Entries are now open, and competitors are urged to get their entries in.

To access the ONLINE entry form, click here.

To access the PRINTABLE entry form, click here.

As at all rounds in 2009, the first competitor to submit their entry is eligible for half price entry at the following round. Congratulations to Formula Tasman competitor Michele Guyer for being the first to enter for round two, and therefore being eligible to enter for round three for a 50% discount.

The first installment of photos from Round Two of the Independent Race Series has been posted, with photos from a selection of categories.

Check out the new gallery by clicking here.



More photos will be added over the coming days.

IRACE PRC LOTUS EXIGE from Anthony Soole on Vimeo.

Independent Race Series fields have doubled in size since the series made a humble start to 2009, back in March at the wonderful Morgan Park circuit.

Round Two is nearly upon us, and for this round the series heads to Sydney's Oran Park. Bumper fields in Production Racing Cars and RocketSports are expected, plus the fantastic SuperTrucks, and a strong lineup including Touring Car Challenge, Muscle Division, Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports.

The flowing Oran Park South Circuit will play host to some fantastic action, with Practice and Qualifying on Friday (15 May), a couple of races on Friday afternoon, and the bulk of racing on Saturday 16 May.

As always, the Independent Race Series features a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, where fans can get an up close look at the cars, meet the drivers, and generally get amongst it. For drivers, it is an affordable, mate-against-mate platform to enjoy motorsport.

To view the schedule for Round Two, please click here.

If you would like to compete at the event, it's not too late! Check out the online entry form here, and get in touch with our Competitor Liaison via email, or on 0412 785 486, to secure your entry.

If you can't make it to Oran Park for the event, you can keep an eye on the official website: www.irace.net.au for updates during the event.

So, do you want to go motor racing?

We can help get you in a car for the upcoming round at Sydney's Oran Park!

There are affordable drives available in a variety of lease cars. Check out Mal Rose's brilliant Mitsubishi Mirages, or the awesome Reynard 91D Formula Tasman, the brilliant Minetti and Lincspeed Le Mans Sports cars, and there are many more great cars available for lease in just about every category - contact our Competitor Liaison, Rod Dale, for all the details - click here, or call 0412 785 486.

If you don't have a racing licence yet, no problem. Our friends at the Marulan Driver Training Centre can help you out with driver training, and a licence evaluation for the fantastic value iRace licence. Head over to www.mdtc.com.au for all the details on the Marulan Driver Training Centre.

For more information on the licencing requirements for iRace, check out the Getting Involved page for Drivers.

So, the round is just under a month away, but with the Independent Race Series, anything is possible, and we really can get you into a car at Oran Park.

Round Two, Oran Park, 15-16 May 2009. Be there.

The first TV installment for the 2009 Independent Race Series was screened on SBS yesterday, and it generated a LOT of interest. Over 700 new visitors came to the site in the space of a couple of hours following the screening. These new visitors viewed over 15,000 pages, for a grand total of 110,000 "hits". This is the most intensive viewing period the site has ever seen!

So, to our new visitors we say: Welcome! We hope you keep coming back, and we hope that some of you join us on the grid of a future iRace event.

With the influx of new visitors, we realised it was time the "Get Involved" pages had a bit of a spruce up, and that has been completed today. The "Get Involved" section of the site now features information on what is required to become a part of the series, either as a competitor, a volunteer official, a volunteer mechanic, or any other capacity. Head over to the Get Involved section if this is the kind of information that interests you.

If you missed the show, you could try clicking here, and here, or tune into Fox Sports Wednesday 29 April.

A big thank you to the Marulan Driver Training Centre (www.mdtc.com.au) for helping to make the TV possible.

The next round of the Independent Race Series will take place at Oran Park, 15-16 May 2009. If you are a competitor, remember to get your entry in asap, either via the online system, or download the form and send it in.

Darin Mandy of Digital Realism has posted some great photos from Morgan Park over on his website.

Click here to visit the gallery. There are links to purchase images at the top of the gallery page.

Darren offers prints in various sizes, as well as the popular images on CD option.

UPDATE: Darren has now finished uploading the photos for this gallery - check out the links above, and if you find some photos you like, support Darren by making a purchase!

The opening round of the 2009 Independent Race Series has been run and won at Queensland's Morgan Park circuit.

The meeting took place under clear skies and warm weather, and was for many competitors (and the iRace Series) their first visit to the technical circuit.

Friday saw unofficial practice, and the first chance for the competitors to get to know the layout. There were no major occurrences during the day, other than an oil line coming lose on Robert Townsend's Minetti, leading to a fire, and Robert's unfortunate retirement from the meeting.

Saturday morning saw official practice, again held in fine conditions. Darren Saillard was the early pacesetter in the Touring Car Challenge field, lapping in 1m04s. Quickest in the RocketSports field was Robert Free (1m10s). Sam Dale was the sole Formula Tasman entrant, lapping in 1m04s. The Production Racing Cars boasted the most competitive field, led by Anthony Soole in his Class X Lotus Exige (1m12s), but the middle part of the field spread by just a couple of seconds.

In qualifying, the leaders remained unchanged - Saillard took pole for the Touring Car Challenge, Soole for Production Racing Cars, Dale for Formula Tasman/Le Mans Sports and Robert Free in the RocketSports. In each case the midfield groups were tightly grouped, promising some great racing come Sunday.

Sunday morning was again fine, and the first event was the RocketSports, featuring Future Cars. Robert Free led from pole, with John Biddlecombe settling into second place. It was the Holden Roadsters of Graham Smith and Clive O'Connor in third and fourth respectively.

For the second RocketSports race, Robert Free led from start to finish again, but John Biddlecombe succumbed to a fuel problem, and was forced to retire from the rest of the meeting. Smith again got the better of O'Connor in the Holden Roadsters.

In the third RocketSports event, Graham Smith delivered a wakeup call to Robert Free, taking the lead at the start. The two tussled for a couple of laps before Free used the nimble handling of the Future Racer to open up a gap. Smith came home in second, with O'Connor third.

In the RocketSports finale, Robert Free led all the way, but O'Connor managed to get the better of Smith in the early stages, running in second place. Smith got the upperhand at half-distance, and held second to the finish.

Robert Free took the overall win for the round, and Smith took the Holden Roadster honours.

In the Formula Tasman and Le Mans Sports category, Sam Dale was the sole survivor come Sunday, with the other cars not making it to the first race. Dale used the event as a test session, and was clearly not content to slow down, improving his laptime with each session.

The Production Racing Cars proved to be highly competitive, with some very close racing. Anthony Soole dominated, in his Class X Lotus Exige. Behind Soole was a mix of Class A, B and C cars.

In the first of the Production Racing Cars races, it was Clark Stott second overall, and first of the Class A cars. Behind him it was Richard Mork, in his Class A Honda Integra. John Willmington was punching above his weight, first of the Class C cars, and fourth overall! Best of Class B was Malcolm Rea.

Production Racing Cars Race Two saw a reverse grid start shakeup the order a little, Soole needing to push his way through from the rear. He managed it fairly comfortably, taking the lead on the seventh lap (of 10). Nick Chambers took second place, top of the Class A cars. Hans Riehs led much of the race, but a slip saw him drop back to third at the finish. John Willmington again topped the Class C cars, finishing 6th outright, and ahead of ALL the Class B cars. Debutante Carly Black was the first Class B car home, in 8th outright.

The third Production Racing Cars race reverted to a normal grid, and Anthony Soole took another win. Again it was Nick Chambers putting in a strong performance in Class A, taking the class win and second outright. John Willmington was top Class C, 6th outright, and Neil Byers won Class B in his first finish for the weekend.

For the final Production Racing Cars race, Anthony Soole elected to start rear-of-grid, and drove an epic race to come through for the win. Clark Stott took second outright, and top spot in Class A. John Willmington did it again in Class C (6th outright), and Neil Byers took Class B.

In the final standings for Production Racing Cars, Anthony Soole took the Class X victory, young-gun Nick Chambers won Class A, James Flanagan was victorious in Class B and John Willmington was dominant in Class C.

Darren Saillard dominated qualifying for the Touring Car Challenge, but he gave his pole position away for the opening scratch race - electing to start from the rear-of-grid. He made up places quickly though, making his way halfway through the field by the first corner. He picked off the rest by the second lap, and led for the remainder. Behind Saillard the action was hot, with a number of battles evolving. Dave Gardner retired with throttle problems, and Gary Leaton with driveline issues. Richard Mork and Phil Groeneveld had an epic, racelong battle, Mork ultimately getting the upper hand and taking second overall. Joe McGinnes (XY Falcon Muscle Division car) and local-boy Matthew Clift (Mazda RX2) also had a nail-biting battle - the two swapping places a number of times, with McGinnes leading at the flag. Merrick Malouf (BA Falcon V8 Ute) and Paul Bruce (Mazda RX2) also enjoyed a racelong battle, with Bruce coming out on top.

Race Two of Touring Car Challenge was a handicap affair, and Darren Saillard tried his heart out to take the win. He didn't quite make it though. Local driver Matthew Clift pedaled his Mazda RX2 to a handy lead and held it to the finish. Saillard make quick progress through the field, but found a wide Commodore at the hands of Richard Mork, and had his progressed delayed just enough to hand Clift the win. Merrick Malouf drove a strong race to third place.

In the third race - another handicap, Saillard again did his level best to make up the deficit, but this time he was beaten by Dave Gardner. Gardner had suffered a terrible run of luck - alternating between a throttle stuck wide open, and no throttle at all! It all turned around for him in this race though, he took a popular win. Merrick Malouf again took a strong third place.

In the final, Darren Saillard turned the tables, and took a dominant victory. Gardner took second place, with local driver Matthew Clift in third.

Overall results saw Saillard take the outright victory, ahead of Merrick Malouf and Dave Gardner. Saillard took the V8 Supercar honours, Phil Groeneveld the V8 Giants honours and Merrick Malouf took out Muscle Division.

A solid weekend of racing at Morgan Park revealed what a great driver's circuit it is. The challenging layout proved popular amongst competitors, and is expected to draw larger fields at the next event held at the track in June.

The next round of the Independent Race Series will be held at Sydney's Oran Park, 15-16 May, when they host the SuperTrucks for their farewell from Oran Park. All the details are available on the official website: www.irace.net.au

The first round of the 2009 Independent Race Series from Morgan Park will go to air in April 2009.

The program will be broadcast via two channels:

SBS Speedweek - Sunday 12 April at 1pm

Fox Sports - Wednesday 29 April

As always, check your local guides for details.

The TV coverage for this round is supported by Marulan Driver Training Centre - visit the official website: www.mdtc.com.au

Anthony Soole - Lotus Exige - Production Racing Cars


Dave Gardner - VS Commodore - Touring Car Challenge

Kumho Tyres are supporting competitors and officials associated with the Independent Race Series. Competitors are in the running to win a pair of Kumho race tyres, and one volunteer official per round will win a set of four Kumho road tyres.

At Round One, the winners were as follows:

Marulan Driver Training Centre Production Racing Cars - Class C: John Willmington

RocketSports - Future Car Division: Robert Free

Marulan Driver Training Centre Touring Car Challenge - V8 Giants Division: Phil Groeneveld

Volunteer Official: Rex Jolly, Scrutineer

The prize awarded to the racing categories will rotate between subcategories at each round. For Round One, the prize went to Class C for Production Racing Cars, Future Cars for RocketSports and V8 Giants for Touring Car Challenge. The next round will see the prize awarded to a driver from a different subcategory.

As announced previously, our friends at Super Hoist Plus are supplying prizes for the overall Series Champion and Series runner up at the end of 2009.

As the Independent Race Series is a very diverse series, with a wide range of categories competing, and different race formats depending on the category, the best way to decide a "Series Champion" has proved to be a significant challenge.

We have arrived at a formula that is intended to be fair and equitable for everybody, and at the same time manageable. The system will work as follows:

Competitors will be awarded points for their position in their subcategory for each race. First place will receive 4 points, second place 3 points, third place 2 points, and fourth through to last receives 1 point. Competitors will also be awarded a point for each of the other cars in their subcategory that they defeat (for the purposes of this, the number of cars in each subcategory will count every car that attempts a race over the course of a race meeting). For categories that have less than four races over the weekend, points will be divided by the number of races, and then multiplied by four to achieve an equivalent allocation of points as the categories that do have four races. In the event that none of the subcategories within a category have at least three cars, then all cars will be considered as one category for the purposes of Series points calculation.

This does all sound a little complicated, but it is the fairest method we can devise for the purposes of determining a Series Champion.

The standings after Round One are as follows:

Robert Free - 28
John Willmington - 24
Nick Chambers - 22
Darren Saillard - 22
Graham Smith - 19
Merrick Malouf - 19
James Flanagan - 18
Carly Black - 18
Sam Dale - 16
Anthony Soole - 16
Matthew Clift - 16
Clark Stott - 15
Mal Rea - 15
Paul Bruce - 15
Richard Mork (Production) - 14
Neil Byers - 14
Dave Gardner - 14
Josh Riehs - 13
Clive O'Connor - 10
Candace Shafell - 10
Phil Groeneveld - 10
Hans Riehs - 8
Joe McGinnes - 7
John Biddlecombe - 5
Richard Mork (Touring Car) - 4
Gary Leaton - 0

So, everything is very close after the first round, and a reminder of what is on offer:

Series Champion - Two Post YSJ-3000 Hoist

Series Runner Up - Resto Roller

The Independent Race Series first visit to Morgan Park has come to a close, and some great racing took place over the course of the day. A full round report will follow, but the results from the round were as follows:

Touring Car Challenge & Muscle Division

1. Darren Saillard - BA Falcon V8 Supercar
2. Merrick Malouf - BA Falcon V8 Ute
3. Dave Gardner - VS Commodore V8 Supercar

V8 Supercar - Darren Saillard
V8 Giant - Philip Groeneveld
Muscle Division - Merrick Malouf

Production Racing Cars

Class X - Anthony Soole

Class A
1. Nicholas Chambers - Mini Cooper S
2. Clark Stott - Mazda 3 MPS
3. Richard Mork - Honda Integra

Class B
1. James Flanagan - Hyundai Sonata
2. Carly Black - Peugeot 206
3. Malcolm Rea - Toyota Celica

Class C
1. John Willmington - Nissan Pulsar
2. Candace Shafell - Toyota Corolla
3. Joshua Riehs - Proton GTi

RocketSports & Future Racers

Future Racer - Robert Free

Holden Roadster - Graham Smith

Formula Tasman & Le Mans Sports

1. Sam Dale - Reynard 94D

Conditions at Morgan Park were ideal for most of Saturday for Independent Race Series practice and qualifying. A little bit of wind and a few drops of rain made way for fine conditions in the afternoon.

The action on the circuit was mixed. The Formula Tasman and Le Mans Sports field was quite small, and Sam Dale set the fastest time in his Reynard 94D, with a 1m04.9s lap. John Biddlecombe in his Saker clocked a 1m13.4s lap.

In the RocketSports and Future Racers, local star Robert Free set the pace, with a 1m10.4s lap, holding out the Holden Roadster-mounted Graham Smith. Biddlecombe in the Saker was next fastest, with Clive O'Connor taking fourth in another Holden Roadster (1m16.6s).

The categories with the greatest amount of jostling were Production Racing Cars and Touring Car Challenge.

In the Production Racing Cars, most of the field is covered by just 6 seconds, and there are 8 cars covered by just 3 seconds - the action should be hot on Sunday! Anthony Soole took pole in his Lotus Elise (1m12.4s), Hans Riehs got his Mini Cooper S really moving to take second (1m14.1s), just edging out Clark Stott in his Mazda 3 MPS (1m14.9s). Richard Mork took 4th, John Willmington 5th, Neil Byers 6th, newcomer Josh Riehs 7th, Malcolm Rea 8th, James Flanagan 9th, Nick Chambers 10th, and newcomers Carly Black and Candace Shafell filled 11th and 12th.

In the Touring Car Challenge and Muscle Division, Darren Saillard set the fastest time, but it almost didn't happen - Saillard was fighting a gearbox problem which forced him to drive with one hand while he used the other to hold the car in gear! Saillard still managed a blistering 1m04.4s lap. Richard Mork was next quickest, with a 1m08.0s lap, Gary Leaton in 3rd, Phil Groeneveld 4th, and a relieved David Gardner in 5th. Gardner had his throttle jam wide open at the end of the straight, and his quick reactions saw him pull up just short of contact with the tyre barrier. Next up was the two-wheeling Joe McGinnes in his XY Falcon, followed by Merrick Malouf in his V8 Falcon Ute.

Onboard video from Dave Gardner's V8 Supercar will be available shortly on the iRace Blip TV page - click here to view.

A live gallery of photos from the event is available. Visit the iRace gallery here. Or you can access the images directly through the iRace Flickr gallery, where you can download the full resolution versions for printing or reproduction.

The weather looks good again for tomorrow, when all the action is scheduled to happen at the exciting Morgan Park circuit.

With apologies for the delay in getting this online (somebody dug through the iRace HQ phone/internet lines!), the Round One schedule is now available for download.

Click here to download the PDF schedule for Round One.

The Independent Race Series is always working to serve our competitors and fans in the most effective way possible. We try to innovate and capitalise on useful advances in technology that can make everyone's lives a little more streamlined.

When the site launched, we offered our news as a RSS Feed (click here for more information on how you can have every articled delivered to your email program or other RSS reader).

We've started a mailing list and send regular updates to all our subscribers (subscribe here if you haven't been receiving the emails).

We've launched a fully featured Online Entry System that makes it easier for competitors to submit their entries, and makes life a little easier at our end by automatically putting all the entry information into a handy spreadsheet.

And now, in the leadup to Round One, we're ready to launch something else new. Live Updates. The iRace website has always been kept pretty well up-to-date, but race weekends are always a challenge to get new information on the site. This is a problem, because race weekends are what we are all about. Well, now we've introduced two ways to overcome this.

We now feature a live "photostream" on the front page of the site. There is only one photo there now, but that will change once the round gets underway. The most recent photos from the current round will appear in this section. And to view all the photos from the current round, go via the Multimedia page to the round in question and select the Live Photo Feed. The link for Round 1 is here.

We'll also be adding short live news updates to the front page. We can send these in from a mobile phone, so trackside news should appear fairly regularly. The most recent items will appear on the front page, and to view them all, you can check out this link. If you already have a Twitter account, you can 'follow' iraceupdates and receive the news in your 'tweets'.

Bottom of site front page

And if all this sounds like too much for you, you can relax, because all the regular news and updates will still happen. Round reports, and post-event news items will be available in the normal way.

So, get ready for the year ahead. And if there's anything else you'd like to see on iRace.net.au, you can always provide feedback through the Contact Us page, or in the Suggestion Box.

The Touring Car Challenge and Production Racing Cars categories will boast support from the exciting new Marulan Driver Training Centre at Round One of the Independent Race Series.

The Touring Car Challenge features cars from the past 20 years of Australian Touring Car racing, and a diversity format where everyone has a chance to take victory.

Production Racing Cars is dedicated to road-based, production cars, from the showroom floor, via a couple of safety modifications, straight to the race track.

The Marulan Driver Training Centre is dedicated to road safety through driver training and education. The centre, around an hour and a half south of Sydney, features top quality training facilities and a 1km long, 8m wide track, specially designed to feature a variety of driving challenges. Visit www.mdtc.com.au for more information.

Competitors in TCC and PRC will display MDTC windscreen banners in recognition of the support.

Round One of the Independent Race Series heads to Morgan Park this weekend, 20-22 March. Keep track of all the action on www.iRace.net.au

The 2009 Independent Race Series has secured an exciting TV highlights package.

Coverage will be produced by AVE, and highlights from each round will be screened on Fox Sports.

The Independent Race Series caters for a variety of categories including: Touring Car Challenge, Formula Tasman, LM Sports, RocketSports, Muscle Division and Production Racing Cars. The focus is on value for money racing, with entry fees at $395 per round.

The first round of the series is set to take place in just over one month, 20-22 March, and Morgan Park.

Keep up-to-date with all the details on the official website: www.irace.net.au or sign up to the official newsletter here.

The 2009 iRace Launch Day is all systems go, and a full set of directions are now available.

Please click here to download the directions in PDF format.

The 2009 Independent Race Series Launch is go for liftoff, and there are some exciting additions to help make it an even bigger event.

In addition to the on-track sessions, with some driver tuition available, and the BBQ lunch, the following additional activities will be taking place:

Licence and Logbook Processing

Competitors eager to get a head start on their 2009 administration can get all their paperwork out of the way at the event. iRace HQ staff will be in attendance, and ready to help you with your forms. (Relevant forms are also available for download here.)

Marketplace

Buy, sell, swap your racing gear. If you have a racecar or equipment you are selling, the 2009 iRace Launch Day is the perfect venue to display it to prospective buyers. If you have a larger item, or a car you wish to bring, please get in contact with Garry Willmington on 02 4841 1422 or Fax 02 4841 1017 or click here to email.

Anyone who has an item to sell or lease can list the item on our free Classifieds. Please visit the Classified Submission form here to submit your ad.

Get a head start on the 2009 Independent Race Series, get yourself to the Launch Day - 18 January 2009 at the Marulan Driver Training Centre.

The 2009 Independent Race Series is set to take off, with an exciting launch day to be held at the brand new Marulan Driver Training Centre 18 January 2009.

The Independent Race Series is racing for racers. Costs are kept as low as possible, and in the prevailing economic climate, it's expected that this will prove even more important heading into 2009. The Independent Race Series is set for at least five rounds in 2009, Morgan Park 20-22 March, Oran Park (South) 15-16 May, Morgan Park 19-21 June, Oran Park (GP) 14-15 August and Oran Park (South) 13-15 November. More details on the 2009 series will be announced at the Launch Day.

In keeping with the affordable theme for iRace, the Launch Day will be an affordable event, with no racing, but plenty of opportunity for drivers to hone their skills ahead of an exciting season. The day will be an opportunity for competitors, prospective competitors, supporters and suppliers to get together, socialise and network without the pressure of a normal race weekend. Those keen to blow away the holiday cobwebs will have the chance to do some laps too, with the driver training facility open to road or production cars (at a fee of $50 per head for driver or passenger). Driver education will also be available to those who are keen to improve their skills. The day will also be a great opportunity to take some hard-working crewmembers or loyal supporters out for a few laps. There will be kids ride sessions, and iRace licence evaluations for new competitors.

Entry to the Launch Day is free. For those taking part in laps of the facility, the cost is $50 per head, and includes a free BBQ lunch (with soft drink). BBQ lunch is available to everyone else for $5. Soft drinks, tea and coffee will also be available. A 90db noise limit applies to all vehicles at the event.

The Marulan Driver Training Centre is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility, located less than an hour from Sydney. It features a 1km training loop, a short dirt oval, and a skidpan, as well as excellent classrooms and administration buildings. The facility was constructed by Garry and Natalie Willmington, and opened in late 2008.

So, for your chance to be a part of the Launch Day, and get behind the 2009 Independent Race Series, make sure you keep January 18th free, and head to the Marulan Driver Training Centre for a fantastic day. To secure your place now, contact Garry Willmington on 02 4841 1422 or Fax 02 4841 1017 or click here to email.

UPDATE to the Launch Day available here.

Directions to Marulan Driver Training Centre available here.