iRace Round 5 - Production Racing Cars + RocketSports + Formula Tasman Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 2 - Car or Driver - Part 3 - Racing Results from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 2 - Car or Driver - Part 2 - Racing Methods from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 2 - Car or Driver - Part 1 - Racing Goals from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

Replay XD Hot Lap - Round 2 - Chris Farrell from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 2 - Formula Tasman LeMans Sports Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

Enter Round 1 of the 2013 Independent Race Series

Sydney Motorsport Park, GP South, 1 Feb 13

iRace 2013 Teaser from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 6 - Formula Tasman + LeMans Sports Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 5 - Formula Tasman + LeMans Sports Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 4 - Chris Farrell Interview from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 4 - Formula Tasman + LeMans Sports Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

We've just launched a basic line of iRace merchandise, available immediately. There is a nice iRace Polo shirt (and this same embroidered design can be added to other tops including hoodies and jackets if you choose), plus a range of caps - an iRace version and one for each category. You can choose your own sizes and colours, and order directly from the manufacturer, payment via PayPal or credit card.

Check out the products and links below, and feel free to send us your ideas for new products!

The direct link to our storefront is: www.zazzle.com/iracehq

There are regular discounts, so make sure you check this page before you check out to see what the current offers are.

Racing for the 2010 Independent Race Series has come to a close, and there are a bunch of new champions to be recognised. To cap off a great year iRace will be having a two-part function at the Marulan Driver Training Centre Saturday 11 December.

Part 1 will be a Family Practice and Training Day using the fantastic training loop at MDTC. To drive on the day the fee is $80 (special price for iRacers), to be a passenger the fee is $50 (for iRacers).

Part 2 will be a 2-course Presentation Dinner in the function room at MDTC. The cost for the dinner is $29 per head.

You can choose which parts you get involved with and get more details on this special page on the iRace website: www.irace.net.au/presentation

The cutoff date for responses is December 3rd.

Round 7 TV coverage will screen on Fox Sports InsideSpeed Wednesday 27 October.

The coverage will also be shown on SBS Speedweek on a date to be advised.

As always, check your local guide for details.

Round 5 of the 2010 Independent Race Series took place under cloudy skies on Friday at Eastern Creek. Great fields across all categories put on some terrific racing, and as always a great atmosphere and plenty of camaraderie.

In Formula Tasman, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis was expected to be a major force in his 1985 Ferrari F1 car, and he took pole position in Qualifying 2. Guido was destined not to make the grid for the first race though, after the car succumbed to gearbox gremlins. Chris Farrell retained his stranglehold on the front spot, leading the field all the way in his Swift Formula Atlantic in Race 1. Sam Dale slipped into second place in his Reynard 94D and kept it to the chequered flag, Ron Coath was in third. As the field awaited the start of Race 2 the skies darkened, and it seemed inevitable that it would rain at some time during the race. The rain fell as the cars completed their warmup lap, and with all cars on slicks and an extremely slippery surface, it was a steady start to the race. Sam Dale managed to get the power down a little better and took the lead at the start. Despite the treacherous conditions Farrell held second to the finish, with Ron Coath again in third. Farrell and Dale ended the round equal on points, but Dale was awarded the round win due to his higher finishing position in the final race. Ron Coath took third for the round.

LeMans Sports saw it's most impressive grid yet, with a clutch of Radicals joining the series for the first time. Peter Opie was fastest in qualifying, and peerless in both races, taking the top spot for the round. In fact, in the wet Race 2, Opie was able to pass the leading Formula Tasman cars (the categories were running together) and take a strong outright win. Second place in the opening race went to Rowan Ross (Radical), third was Andrew MacPherson (West). The wet conditions in Race 2 changed the order somewhat, with Greg Smith (Radical) second and Andrew MacPherson again third. Peter Opie won the round, with Rowan Ross second and Andrew MacPherson a close third.

The McHitch Touring Car Challenge saw a V8 Supercar in the ranks again, and it was Dean Neville (BA Falcon Supercar) who took pole position by a comfortable margin. Neville took victory in the first race, but suffered a blown tyre at the very high speed turn one in the second race, ruling him out for the remainder of the day. The always consistent Norm Stokes was second in the opening race, first in Race 2 and second in Race 3, giving him enough points to win the day and extend his championship lead. Second for the round went to Barry Jameson who DNF'd the opening race, but finished second and first in Races 2 and 3 respectively.

RocketSports saw the popular Holden Roadsters and Future Racers joined by an extra group of production-based sports cars for this round. The three groups were extremely close, with their different strengths coming to the fore in different sections of the circuit. Jade Barnes took pole position in his Future Racer, ahead of Michael Caine in his twin turbo RX7. Caine turned the tables in the opening race, taking the win ahead of Steve Dascarolis and Kosi Kalaitzidis (both in Future Racers), best of the Holden Roadsters was Rod Moynahan. In Race 2, Caine was again the outright victor, ahead of a recovering Jade Barnes and Stephen Borness in his 911 Carrera, Moynahan was again best of the Holden Roadsters. In the final race Jade Barnes was able to take the win ahead of Caine, and Rodney Barnes was third. Graham Smith was quickest of the Holden Roadsters. For the round, Michael Caine took the outright victory, Jade Barnes won the Future Racer category, and Rod Moynahan took out the Holden Roadsters.

HDT Muscle Division turned on some awesome action, and once again proved that consistency is key, and ultimate pace is not always enough to take victory in the category. Joel Knott (Nissan GTR) won the opening race, but was unable to take the grid for the following races. Stuart Inwood (Nissan GTR) took second in Race 1, with Brian Anderson (BMW E46) third. Anderson took the win in Race 2, the first of the handicap races, ahead of Mark Abnett (EVO 4) and Allan Ross (Cooper S). Race 3 saw Stuart Inwood take the victory ahead of Brian Anderson and Paul Butler (EB Falcon). The outright win for the round went to Brian Anderson, ahead of Stuart Inwood and Mark Abnett. Category winners were: Brian Anderson (Improved Production/Sports Sedans), Robert Marchese (HDT Cup) and Stuart Inwood (Japanese Turbo).

In the very popular Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars, pole position went to Franck Donniaux (WRX) by a clear margin. The classes were hotly contested, with Donniaux winning Class X from Mal Smith (WRX) and Leon Black (WRX). The V8 Class saw two different race winners on the day, but was ultimately won by Geoff Kite (Commodore), ahead of Tony Grant (Monaro) and Daniel Flanagan (Commodore Ute). Class A saw Richard Mork back amongst the action, and winning all races to take the class win ahead of Clark Stott (Mazda 3 MPS) and Nick Chambers (Mini). Class B went to Neil Byers (Mitsubishi 380) ahead of Sean Soole, fresh from a massive rebuild after his accident at Lakeside in his Celica, and Carly Black (Peugeot 306). Class C went to John Willmington (Pulsar SSS), ahead of James Flanagan (Hyundai Sonata) who took his first ever race win and Chris Reeves (Proton). BlackBerry Store awarded awesome BlackBerry devices to Richard Mork and James Flanagan.

A successful round in no small part thanks to the awesome volunteer officials (with some great prizes going to a couple of lucky workers thanks to Blue Hills and Fastrack), and the spirit of the iRace competitors and their teams.

Coverage from this round will air on SBS Speedweek Sunday 25 July.

The next round of the series will be held at Queensland Raceway, 14-15 August. Entries are already open. The series returns to Eastern Creek for the season finale in October.

Round Three of the Independent Race Series was held at Eastern Creek on Friday 9 April.

The event was the first time iRace has hosted a one-day format on a Friday, and it proved to be a big hit with the competitors, with plenty of track time for everyone, and a full weekend left to recover, rejoice or reconstitute.

Qualifying was held in the morning, with two sessions for each category. Despite threatening clouds over the circuit on the Thursday evening as many teams unloaded their cars, Friday morning brought clear skies and warm temperatures, which would remain in place for the whole day.

Once qualifying was out of the way, the racing action came thick and fast, with eleven races between noon and 4.20pm.

The Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars saw another very strong grid do battle, with Anthony Soole setting the pace in qualifying, his nimble Lotus Exige a full two seconds clear on pole position. In the racing, Soole was equally quick, but a DNF in Race Two cost him the Class X round win, that honour going to Franck Donniaux in his Subaru WRX STi. In the V8 Class, Steve Briffa impressed everyone with his immaculately turned out VE HSV Clubsport. Briffa never finished outside the top three outright, and won the V8 Class convincingly. In Class A, Clark Stott took a well deserved round win. Class B was hotly contested, with the popular Bryan Fitzpatrick returning to the category getting the upper hand to take the round win. Class C went to John Willmington in his very fast Pulsar SSS. Save of the day goes jointly to Steve Briffa and Mal Smith, the pair doing a synchronised spin in the high speed turn one (photos here, video here).

Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports were combined, with Chris Farrell running very strongly in his Swift Formula Atlantic, and dominating all sessions. Sam Dale had hoped to offer more of a challenge to Farrell, but a slipping clutch saw him limp home in both races. Geoff Rands performed well to take out the LeMans Sports honours.

RocketSports saw a solid field of Future Racers do battle with the Holden Roadsters. Father and son duo, Rodney and Jade Barnes turned out a pair of immaculate Future Racers, and were split in Qualifying by the Canberra Milk-liveried Future Racer of Steve Dascarolis. Jade Barnes went on to take the outright round win, winning two races, while the other race was won by his father Rodney. In the Holden Roadster stakes, Graham Smith took the honours.

HDT Muscle Division and McHitch Touring Car Challenge were combined for this round, and the action was fantastic. Norm Stokes and Joel Knott were split by just a hundredth of a second in Qualifying, with Stokes taking the pole. In the opening scratch race, Stokes took the outright win, with Knott best of the Muscle Division cars. Adam Lloyd and Adam Tipping pushed each other all the way, and were the leading HDT Cup runners. In the first of the handicap races, Race Two, newcomer Michael Nordsvan took the win, with a number of battles right throughout the field. In the final race (another handicap affair), 4 cars jumped the start, but the racing didn't suffer at all. Joe McGinnes wretched day (he'd already suffered two DNFs) came to a heartbreaking end with just one lap to go, and after he'd driven an epic race to take the lead at the beginning of the final lap. Joe's right front tyre let go, and he was out of the running. It then looked as if Michael Nordsvan would take another race win, but he was one of the jump starters, and received a 30 second penalty, handing the race and round win to another newcomer, Tim Miller in his fire-breathing Mazda RX7. Rod Gurney drove solid races to take out the Improved Production/Sports Sedan honours, with Adam Lloyd best of the HDT Cup. Norm Stokes took out the McHitch Touring Car Challenge.

All in all, a fantastic day's racing, and there were plenty of smiling faces at the trophy presentation at the conclusion of the event. A huge thank you to all the volunteers and officials who made the event possible, and for those of you who missed this one, make sure you come along to our next one-day event at Eastern Creek, 9 July. Before that though, the Independent Race Series heads to the fantastic Lakeside circuit in Queensland, 12-13 June. Entry forms will be available soon, so watch this space!

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:

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.

There's been plenty of action for the Independent Race Series in the past few weeks, as everyone gets ready for the new season. In case you missed it, here is a summary of what's been happening (click any of these to read the relevant article):

• Super Hoist Plus became the naming rights sponsor of Production Racing Cars
• HDT became the naming rights sponsor of Muscle Division and HDT Cup
• McHitch Uniglide Trailer Couplings became the naming rights sponsor of the Touring Car Challenge
• Launch Helmet Cams became the Official Onboard and Helmet Camera Partner
• Toranas are now eligible for HDT Cup
• Super Hoist Plus now features a dedicated class for V8s
• Our 2009 Presentation Night was held at Marulan Driver Training Centre
• A new section was added to the website to showcase onboard camera footage
• We learned how to make our racecars a little safer
• We offered up some New Years Resolutions for racers
• Updated category regulations are now available

2010 is going to be a busy year! Strap in for an exciting ride...

Round 1 is just a week away. If you haven't gotten your entry in yet, don't delay - head to the entry form now, and don't miss your last chance to race with iRace at Oran Park!

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.

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.

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 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

The Formula Tasman ranks are set to be joined by a new outright contender and she means business!

Michele Guyer is relatively new to motorsport, having obtained her licence in late 2006. She cut her teeth shortly thereafter in hillclimbing, competing at a variety of events, and improving with every outing, most recently setting a number of "Fastest Time of Day" (FTD) in her striking 1987 March Formula 4000. Guyer credits Erol Richardson with convincing her to venture into open-wheelers. Richardson is an accomplished engineer, also known as the brains behind Bob Muir's Lexus V8-powered Reynard 94D, and under his tutelage, Michele is expected to perform strongly in Formula Tasman.

Guyer has previously driven at Wakefield Park, Oran Park and Fairbairn (ACT). When she's not setting FTDs, she works as an IT Manager, and she lists her racing highlight (so far) as when:
"SDMA presented me with the “Effort Par Excellence” award for being the only lady to win an event outright, the only lady to get under 50 seconds for this track (44) and the only lady to win FTD in their history with a special mention of consistently achieving a PB at each meeting."

Guyer's car is a 1987 March, powered by a 3800cc Holden V6, and with engineering by Erol Richardson, should prove to be a formidable weapon.

Keep abreast of all the latest news and information at the official website: www.irace.net.au