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MINI CHALLENGE TOP 10 (after 2 of 8 rounds):
MINI CHALLENGE TOP 10 (after 2 of 8 rounds): TV SCHEDULE: Round Two Highlights: Saturday, April 26 at 2:00pm nationally on the Seven Network
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Continued from News
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2008 Australian MINI CHALLENGE NATHAN HITS TOP GEIER AT WAKEFIELD PARK ! Melbourne ’s Nathan Geier (Split Image Project Management) has taken advantage of the misfortune that struck Paul Stokell (DecoRug Motorsport) in race three of MINI CHALLENGE today to become the fifth race winner from the six races held this season. Stokell looked to have the third race and the round shot to bits, before his MINI suffered a mechanical gremlin mid-race, leaving the dejected triple Gold Star Champion to watch from the infield as 25-year-old Geier stormed to the chequered flag. Grant Denyer was in a clear second placing, some 3.1 seconds behind, securing the runner up placing for the round. The Seven Network personality, who was also racing in the V8 Supercar Development Series today, assumes the Series lead by eight points from Neil McFadyen (Scope Signs & Graphics). Coming home in third placing, debuting new sponsorship this weekend from Shell Helix Ultra, was Perth ’s Paul Fiore. After starting on the front row of race two by virtue of his fifth placing yesterday, Fiore got the best of the start from pole-sitter Gary Young (Salta Constructions). From there, he resisted maximum pressure to take out the race – his first in MINI CHALLENGE. Both Geier and Stokell sat on the double WA State Champion’s bumper throughout the race, but he held his nerve and came away with the race victory. Young drifted back through the field and finished sixth and advanced one more position in the final race. Series leader coming into the event, Neil McFadyen had a solid, albeit fairly lonely, two races today. The latter part of race two saw him advance onto Denyer’s tail and he crossed the line fifth. A third in the final race saw him consolidate second position in the Series. Similarly, Todd Fiore had much of the running on his own throughout the day, ending the races eighth and sixth respectively. Todd bounced back well from Eastern Creek and with local knowledge at Barbagallo, racing wheel to wheel with brother Paul would no doubt be the ultimate goal. The two races today saw some amazing action throughout. Race two was highlighted by several fierce positional fights. Whilst the front three of Fiore, Geier and Stokell were nose to tail for virtually the entire 20 lap distance, with the racing behind just as intense. Race two saw a battle between UBER-STAR CAR pilot, Shaun Cleary – a journalist with MOTOR and Auto Action Magazines – Damien Flack (Ultrimax Chemicals) and David Turner (Glory Constructions) go right down to the wire, with Turner ultimately claiming the ninth placing. Queenslander, Darren Berry (Clipper Motor Yachts) in just his second race meeting was right on the tail of that battle for much of the race and has moved ahead in huge strides following on from round one. A small mistake at the top of the circuit saw him drift back and battle with Motorline MINI Garage team-mate, Kevin Miller. In the third race, Iain Sherrin (Sherrin Rentals) – who has taken to MINI CHALLENGE like a duck to water – had a race long charge with Melbourne’s Michael Stillwell (Bib Stillwell MINI Garage). Sherrin was lucky not to flip the yellow MINI coming out of the notorious fish-hook corner. He was left with nowhere to go when Stillwell had a mechanical problem, the former mounting the red, white and silver MINI. The incident put both out of action. Series points-wise, Denyer leapfrogs McFadyen and leads the Series by eight. Geier jumps to third place, meantime the cruel race three DNF cost Stokell significantly, drifting back to fourth. Paul Fiore rounds out the top five. The next round at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway will hold plenty of interest right through the field with local hopes, the Fiore brothers and David Turner in the mix, coupled with no less than three drivers sporting success ballast of 25kg as a result of the first two rounds. It’s fair to say MINI CHALLENGE is about to move up a gear! NATHAN GEIER (Round Winner): “It’s kind of surreal! I’m still in shock to be honest. Paul (Stokell) was driving real well, it was really unlucky for him. I was following him and heard his car shut down and from then on started worrying about mine! I was trying to concentrate on my lines and not worry about how far Grant was behind me. Next round will be interesting. We’ll have an additional 25kg on board, which means it’s a totally different ballgame. It was a great weekend all round and really sets us up well for the remainder of the season.” GRANT DENYER (Second): “It’s been busy, to say the least! Driving the two classes really helped me a lot this weekend. The MINI is a lot of fun to drive and to walk away from this weekend with the Series lead is a real bonus. The class is a great deal of fun and has some really good people involved, I’m having an absolute ball. Bring on Barbagallo!” PAUL FIORE (Third): “I’m rapt! It’s a great way to debut a new sponsor in Shell Helix Ultra for the Brisbane MINI Garage team. The car was just fantastic all day and to have a race win and set the lap record into the bargain was awesome. The next round is at my home track at Barbagallo, so this really gives me a lot more confidence heading into that event. I have plenty of laps under my belt around there, it can’t come soon enough!”
STOKELL LEADS DECORUG QUINELLA AT WAKEFIELD
Stokell staved off an early charge from Melbourne racer, Nathan Geier (Split Image Project Management). Geier, who has been the revelation of MINI CHALLENGE to date, put in a solid performance until a small mistake at turn nine on the eighth lap cost him significantly.
DecoRug Motorsport’s Paul Stokell leads Nathan Geier pic:Split Image Project Management That allowed Grant
Denyer to close up, and a lap and a half later, he advanced into second
when Geier ran wide. McFadyen had a lonely race in fourth, but was able to close up on Geier on the final lap. The success ballast of 25kg from his round one victory seemed to have some effect on the Sydney-based racer. Starting on pole for tomorrow’s race two will be Gary Young (Salta Constructions) when the top six finishers from today are reversed. The Melbournite was involved in a race long battle with Perth ’s Paul Fiore (Shell Helix Ultra), a superior start by Fiore proving decisive. Missing the top six inversion was Iain Sherrin (Sherrin Rentals). Sherrin spent much of the race alone. He was kept busy in the dying stages, though, when a charging Shaun Cleary – the MOTOR Magazine journalist piloting the UBER-STAR CAR – closed right up to the Brisbane-based Managing Director. Rounding out the top 10 was Todd Fiore (Shell Helix Ultra) and Michael Stillwell (Bib Stillwell MINI Garage). Damien Flack (Ultimax Chemicals) advanced to 11th following yesterday’s qualifying, with David Turner (Glory Constructions) – who was running well in the top 10 for much of the race, Darren Berry (Clipper Motor Yachts) and Kevin Miller (Motorline MINI Garage) rounding out the field. An unlucky Ricky Occhipinti endured a clutch issue with the Formula Uno Motors racecar, unable to complete a flying lap, which the team are working furiously to rectify ahead of tomorrow’s two races. Race winner, Stokell walked away impressed with his day’s work, but warned Geier loomed as a threat: Paul Stokell (1st): “Nathan had me under a lot of pressure throughout the early part of the race. It was shaping up to be a good race between the two of us, but when he dropped back, I definitely breathed a sigh of relief! I got a good start, but Nathan was right in there behind me and was pushing. I’m happy with first, there are some quick guys I have to get past tomorrow though and it’s definitely not going to be easy.” Nathan Geier (3rd): “I got a good start and was following Paul (Stokell), we were staying right there with him. The car got away from me at turn nine and I lost momentum, then Grant was able to capitalise and get through on me. All isn’t lost though, starting off row two tomorrow will be interesting.” Gary Young (6th): “Paul (Fiore) beat me off the start, but once the race settled down, I thought I might have had something for him. Although I didn’t get past at any stage, it was close! When it was just past half race distance, I started thinking about my position and realized that I was in sixth. Then I began weighing up whether I should get past Paul or not! Seriously though, off pole will be fun, but I’ll have to be on my game to keep those blue cars (DecoRug) behind me!” MINI CHALLENGE Round 2, Race 1, Top 10:
McFadyen takes round win, Denyer scores race win Neil McFadyen has won the first Australian MINI CHALLENGE round at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Raceway yesterday(Sunday) with a classy victory in the final race after Seven Network personality, Grant Denyer won the morning’s race. McFadyen had previously won Saturday’s opening encounter ahead of Jason Bargwanna RACE ONE . The first race anywhere in the world for the R56 model MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE racecar got off to a frantic start with Bargwanna, McFadyen, Stokell, Denyer and Geier all swapping positions on the opening few turns. The lead was decided in favour of McFadyen at turn nine on the opening lap, when he took the Scope Signs and Graphics MINI underneath Bargwanna to take the lead in a brilliant passing manoeuvre that left little margin for error. From there, it became a terse encounter between the two, swapping fastest laps for the entire duration. Ultimately though, McFadyen was able to assert his authority and take the first race victory in the world for the MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE racecar. The margin of victory was 1.5 seconds. Despite finishing second, Bargwanna came away with the fastest lap of the race. Behind the front two, it was on for young and old. Whilst Stokell was ensconced in a comfortable third placing, Denyer and Geier were nose to tail for practically the entire distance, the former taking the fourth placing. By virtue of his sixth placed finish, Paul Fiore has earned himself a pole position berth in tomorrow’s reverse grid second race. The eyes of the crowd were focused on a battle a bit further back however, with Iain Sherrin, Todd Fiore, Gary Young, Chris Oxley, Ricky Occhipinti, Michael Stillwell and Dave Turner swapping positions from corner to corner for the entire 10 lap distance. Seventh placing went to Oxley in the end, with Todd Fiore, Young, Occhipinti, Sherrin, Turner and Stillwell following through. Rounding out the field were Callum Ballinger – who only had the call-up to drive on Wednesday when original driver, Kevin Miller was held up in Brisbane, Tim Poulton – who’s hoping for more from some overnight changes and Darren Berry. RACE TWO: Paul Fiore led the early running from pole position, with a quick starting Denyer right on his hammer. The DecoRug Racing pilot waited until the third circulation to make his move, diving under the double WA State Champion to take the lead. At the same time, McFadyen advanced past Nathan Geier and continued his charge from the reverse grid sixth placing. Once at the head of the pack, it was all Denyer. He opened a gap on team-mate Paul Stokell and McFadyen, who’d both charged past Fiore by this stage, and an enthralling three way battle appeared to be emerging. The margin between first and second opened out with Stokell having the Scope Signs and Graphics car of McFadyen looming large in his mirrors, before the triple Gold Star Champion focused his attention on Denyer in front of him. The difference between Stokell and Denyer closed significantly in the final laps, but it was the Seven Network star’s race, taking a fine victory and leading home a DecoRug quinella, much to the delight of an ecstatic team owner, Bill Gremos. McFadyen’s third guaranteed him a pole position start for the final race. An excellent fourth went to Fiore, with Geier coming home fifth following a race long battle with Jason Bargwanna RACE THREE: Denyer got jump into turn one before McFadyen charged through to take the lead at turn four. Stokell charged from his second row starting position and attempted a move at turn two on the second lap, but was unable to get the job done, losing ground to McFadyen. Impressive Victorian, Nathan Geier was once again in the thick of the action, trying a move on Jason Bargwanna at the turn two hairpin on lap four, however came in far too hot and speared across the turn, lucky not to take Bargwanna with him. The move cost Geier significantly, but he was able to race back Bargwanna’s tail, crossing the line just 0.1 seconds behind the former Bathurst winner in fifth. Up front, McFadyen set about establishing a lead, while Stokell did his best to chase him down. The Sydney-sider survived a scary moment midway through the race when he exited turn one to find the track covered in grass and dirt from an off by another competitor. Whilst the front three appeared relatively settled for the run to the chequers, further back, it was on for young and old. The battle involving Sherrin Rentals driver, Iain Sherrin, Gary Young (Bib Stillwell MINI Garage), Chris Oxley (Hallis Recruitment) and Dave Turner (Glory Constructions) kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The three diced, sometimes up to three wide, for much of the 10 lap distance. Ultimately, the battle was resolved in favour of Turner, who scored the seventh placing. Sherrin, Oxley and Young followed. Ricky Occhipinti – a former karting team-mate of McFadyen – finished the race in 11th, vowing he would bounce back at Wakefield Park. Following him home was Michael Stillwell, Callum Ballinger, Tim Poulton and Darren Berry. Poulton survived a huge off at turn one during the race, lucky not to tip the Trivett Classic MINI Garage entry over, but was able to recover and finish. Berry – in the Clipper MotorYachts car – was happy with his weekend, having never driven a race car - or any car for that matter - on a race track before Friday! The round went the way of McFadyen, 12 points ahead of Stokell, who was a further six in front of Denyer. Naturally, the youngster was ecstatic. NEIL McFADYEN: “It was great to walk away with the win and have such a solid start to the Series. Race two went to plan, I knew what I had to do to secure pole and achieved it. I didn’t get a great start in race three, but hitting the dirt that was all over the racetrack heading into turn two added some excitement! I had to get out of the throttle and was lucky not to spin actually. We’ll go home now and see where we can improve for Wakefield Park. I think we can find something, but things are so tight, any slight advantage you can get proves to be huge.” PAUL STOKELL: “We’re happy with how the weekend ended. If I had started from the front row in the final race, I think I may have had something for Neil, but as it was I didn’t. Of the front-runners, I knew I was the only one with fresh rubber, but I wasn’t able to capitalise on it. The racing was pretty clean across the weekend, but there is a long way to go in the Series.” GRANT DENYER: “The weekend was excellent, winning the second race and finishing on the podium, I couldn’t be happier. In the final race, I got caught out on cold tyres. I made a great start and was pretty happy to get away in front of Neil, but just didn’t have enough heat in the tyres and he got through. The deal with DecoRug came together at the last minute, so to finish on the podium is a great result, as I hadn’t seen the car before arriving here on Friday, let alone drive it. Now we have some time up our sleeve, I’m looking forward to the next round where no doubt we can make even more forward progression.” JASON BARGWANNA: “It was out of control out there! It was a great experience to be driving the MINI CHALLENGE UBER-STAR CAR and a great introduction for a new category to Australian Motorsport. I was having a battle royale with Grant in the final race, but couldn’t get past him. I didn’t want to spear him off, but it was a tough race, which is to be expected in this single manufacturer style of racing. We finished fourth on points and set the lap record for MINI CHALLENGE and had a lot of fun into the bargain, so that’s a good result!”
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Paul Stokell has
brought home a one-two for the DecoRug Motorsport team in the first race
of the second round of MINI CHALLENGE at Wakefield Park Raceway today,
leading home team-mate Grant Denyer.