Independent Race Series News
Fitting Send Off for Oran Park
16 January 2010 19:24
| 2010, Formula Tasman, Future Racers, HDT, Launch Helmet Cams, LM Sports, McHitch, Muscle Division, MX5 Challenge, Oran Park, Production Racing Cars, RocketSports, Round 1, Super Hoist Plus, Touring Car Challenge
| Permalink
The Independent Race Series gave Oran Park a fitting send off over the weekend, in what is expected to be the final race meeting ever for the popular Sydney circuit. The meeting was also an excellent opener for the 2010 iRace season, highlighting that the tradition of family-friendly, mate-against-mate racing that was such a big part of Oran Park's history will live on in the Independent Race Series.
Activities got underway on Friday morning, with official practice sessions, and then qualifying in the afternoon. Despite the threatening skies, the weather stayed dry for the whole meeting. Strong fields turned out across the board, with the most impressive in RocketSports, HDT Muscle Division and Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars.
Competition was fierce in qualifying, with pole positions taken as follows:
Racing got underway on Saturday morning, and right from the driver's briefing it was clear that mixed emotions were the order of the day - happiness at having a chance to race at Oran Park one last time, and a tinge of sadness that it would be the last time.
In the Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars, competition within the classes was very strong. Class X saw Franck Donniaux (Subaru WRX) fighting it out with Anthony Soole (Lotus Exige). Donniaux made the most of his 4WD to take the early lead. The two drivers traded fastest laps, and Donniaux too the win in Races 1 & 2, with Soole getting the upper hand in Race 3. In the brand new V8 Class, Daniel Flanagan was dominant in Race 1 & 3, but had an off-track excursion in Race 2, and was forced to retire from that race - Geoff Kite didn't need an invitation, and capitalised to take V8 Class in Race 2. Class A belonged to Richard Mork in his Honda Integra - Morky enjoying some great battles, and relishing the chance to reminisce about all the laps he's done at Oran Park. Bryan Fitzpatrick took three class wins in Class B, making a welcome (and successful!) return to the series. And in Class C, John Willmington started 2010 the way he finished 2009, with a dominant class win. Full results available here.
HDT Muscle Division boasted a bumper field, and the racing was fantastic. Greg Boyle took the win in the scratch race, holding out Adam Lloyd and Mick Duff. Race 2 was the first of the handicap races, and a red flag after 9 laps saw the fastest cars unable to overcome their handicap. Rod Gurney took advantage though, driving a smooth race to take the win ahead of Paul Axiak and Alan Walls. Race 3 ran the full distance, and on the final lap almost the whole field was separated by only a couple of hundred metres. Paul Leabeater took the race win, also handing him the outright round win. Darren Gillis scorched through from a full lap handicap to take second, and Adam Lloyd was third. Full results available here.
Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports started with a promising field, with a couple of cars dropping out during the day. Sam Dale led the early running, but succumbed to gearbox failure dropping him from the lead of Race One, and ruling him out for the weekend. The Choon F3 cars wasted no time in taking over the lead though, and battling it out through all three races. David Choon took Race 1, but son Robert took the wins in Races 2 & 3. Robert took the round win, ahead of David, with Glenn Lynch putting in a solid performance to finish third. In the LeMans Sports stakes, Neil Kenny performed strongly, winning Race 1, but suffering a mechanical problem in the process, ruling him out of the remaining races. Andrew MacPherson put in a strong performance in his West (which he hadn't sat in until arriving at the circuit!), and took the wins in Races 2 & 3, and the LeMans Sports round win. Full results available here and here.
RocketSports put on some of the closest racing of the weekend, with the three different groups of cars in the field proving to be surprisingly evenly matched, with the Future Racers, the MX5s and the Holden Roadsters providing an excellent spectacle. Jade Barnes (Future Racer) had his eye on a clean sweep of wins, and after winning Race 1 & 2, was looking set to do so. 2009 Future Racer champion, Nathan Jess had other ideas though, securing the win in Race 3. Robert Free and Terry Clearihan continued their ongoing rivalry. Top of the MX5s was Chris Tonna, and the best of the Holden Roadsters was Terry Mayfield. Full results available here.
The McHitch Touring Car Challenge saw the inclusion of the new Gran Turismo class, opening the door for a more diverse field. In Race One, Barry Jameson had the upper hand in his Jaguar, ahead of Darren Saillard (Falcon Supercar) and Norm Stokes (Mazda RX7). In the first of the handicap races, Darren Saillard was a man on a mission, carving through the field to take the win. Grant Wilson in his awesome 1969 Chev Camaro V8 Giant held on for second place, and Andrew MacPherson was impressive in his Mosler to take third. In the finale, Saillard again blitzed through the field to take the win. Chad Parish in his debut in the ex-Perkins VX Commodore Supercar drove a solid race to finish second, and Norm Stokes was third. Saillard took the outright win, ahead of Parish in an impressive debut and a great showing from Grant Wilson. Full results available here.
A selection of onboard video from this event is available here, thanks to Launch Helmet Cams.
Look out for a gallery of photos soon.
The next round of the Independent Race Series will be held a Morgan Park, 20-21 March. For competitors, head to the online entry form to get your entry in. The Morgan Park circuit is fantastic, and really worth the journey for all those competitors from the southern states.
Activities got underway on Friday morning, with official practice sessions, and then qualifying in the afternoon. Despite the threatening skies, the weather stayed dry for the whole meeting. Strong fields turned out across the board, with the most impressive in RocketSports, HDT Muscle Division and Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars.
Competition was fierce in qualifying, with pole positions taken as follows:
Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars - Franck Donniaux (D. Flanagan V8 Class, Richard Mork Class A, Bryan Fitzpatrick Class B, John Willmington Class C
HDT Muscle Division - Greg Boyle - Nissan Silvia
Formula Tasman - Sam Dale - Reynard 94D (Neil Kenny LeMans Sports)
RocketSports - Jade Barnes - Future Racer
McHitch Touring Car Challenge - Barry Jameson - Jaguar
Racing got underway on Saturday morning, and right from the driver's briefing it was clear that mixed emotions were the order of the day - happiness at having a chance to race at Oran Park one last time, and a tinge of sadness that it would be the last time.
In the Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars, competition within the classes was very strong. Class X saw Franck Donniaux (Subaru WRX) fighting it out with Anthony Soole (Lotus Exige). Donniaux made the most of his 4WD to take the early lead. The two drivers traded fastest laps, and Donniaux too the win in Races 1 & 2, with Soole getting the upper hand in Race 3. In the brand new V8 Class, Daniel Flanagan was dominant in Race 1 & 3, but had an off-track excursion in Race 2, and was forced to retire from that race - Geoff Kite didn't need an invitation, and capitalised to take V8 Class in Race 2. Class A belonged to Richard Mork in his Honda Integra - Morky enjoying some great battles, and relishing the chance to reminisce about all the laps he's done at Oran Park. Bryan Fitzpatrick took three class wins in Class B, making a welcome (and successful!) return to the series. And in Class C, John Willmington started 2010 the way he finished 2009, with a dominant class win. Full results available here.
HDT Muscle Division boasted a bumper field, and the racing was fantastic. Greg Boyle took the win in the scratch race, holding out Adam Lloyd and Mick Duff. Race 2 was the first of the handicap races, and a red flag after 9 laps saw the fastest cars unable to overcome their handicap. Rod Gurney took advantage though, driving a smooth race to take the win ahead of Paul Axiak and Alan Walls. Race 3 ran the full distance, and on the final lap almost the whole field was separated by only a couple of hundred metres. Paul Leabeater took the race win, also handing him the outright round win. Darren Gillis scorched through from a full lap handicap to take second, and Adam Lloyd was third. Full results available here.
Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports started with a promising field, with a couple of cars dropping out during the day. Sam Dale led the early running, but succumbed to gearbox failure dropping him from the lead of Race One, and ruling him out for the weekend. The Choon F3 cars wasted no time in taking over the lead though, and battling it out through all three races. David Choon took Race 1, but son Robert took the wins in Races 2 & 3. Robert took the round win, ahead of David, with Glenn Lynch putting in a solid performance to finish third. In the LeMans Sports stakes, Neil Kenny performed strongly, winning Race 1, but suffering a mechanical problem in the process, ruling him out of the remaining races. Andrew MacPherson put in a strong performance in his West (which he hadn't sat in until arriving at the circuit!), and took the wins in Races 2 & 3, and the LeMans Sports round win. Full results available here and here.
RocketSports put on some of the closest racing of the weekend, with the three different groups of cars in the field proving to be surprisingly evenly matched, with the Future Racers, the MX5s and the Holden Roadsters providing an excellent spectacle. Jade Barnes (Future Racer) had his eye on a clean sweep of wins, and after winning Race 1 & 2, was looking set to do so. 2009 Future Racer champion, Nathan Jess had other ideas though, securing the win in Race 3. Robert Free and Terry Clearihan continued their ongoing rivalry. Top of the MX5s was Chris Tonna, and the best of the Holden Roadsters was Terry Mayfield. Full results available here.
The McHitch Touring Car Challenge saw the inclusion of the new Gran Turismo class, opening the door for a more diverse field. In Race One, Barry Jameson had the upper hand in his Jaguar, ahead of Darren Saillard (Falcon Supercar) and Norm Stokes (Mazda RX7). In the first of the handicap races, Darren Saillard was a man on a mission, carving through the field to take the win. Grant Wilson in his awesome 1969 Chev Camaro V8 Giant held on for second place, and Andrew MacPherson was impressive in his Mosler to take third. In the finale, Saillard again blitzed through the field to take the win. Chad Parish in his debut in the ex-Perkins VX Commodore Supercar drove a solid race to finish second, and Norm Stokes was third. Saillard took the outright win, ahead of Parish in an impressive debut and a great showing from Grant Wilson. Full results available here.
A selection of onboard video from this event is available here, thanks to Launch Helmet Cams.
Look out for a gallery of photos soon.
The next round of the Independent Race Series will be held a Morgan Park, 20-21 March. For competitors, head to the online entry form to get your entry in. The Morgan Park circuit is fantastic, and really worth the journey for all those competitors from the southern states.
TV Week!
20 August 2009 04:35
| 2009, Formula Tasman, HDT Cup, LM Sports, Muscle Division, MX5 Challenge, Oran Park, Production Racing Cars, RocketSports, Round 4, Touring Car Challenge, TV
| Permalink
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 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!
iRace Grand Prix
18 August 2009 00:40
| 2009, Formula Tasman, HDT Cup, LM Sports, Muscle Division, MX5 Challenge, Oran Park, Production Racing Cars, RocketSports, Round 4, Touring Car Challenge
| Permalink
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!
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!