iRace Round 5 - Muscle Division Touring Car Challenge 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.

iRace Round 2 - Muscle Division Touring Car Challenge Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

Use this viewer to watch all three films in order. Try watching in , then click the  to watch in fullscreen, and turn your volume up . Enjoy!

iRace TV Round 1 Part 3 - POST-RACE from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace TV Round 1 Part 2 - THE RACE from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 1 - Muscle Division Touring Car Challenge Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

Replay XD Hot Lap - Round 1 - Norm Stokes 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 4 - Michael Coulter Interview from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 4 - Touring Car Challenge Highlights from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 3 - Tim Willis Interview from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 3 - Steve Coulter Interview from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

iRace Round 3 Touring Car Challenge Montage from Sam Dale on Vimeo.

Round Three is fast approaching. If you'd like to be a part of it you can get your entry in here.

If you don't have a racecar ready, the Oz Truck guys have the awesome #85 car ready to go and available for lease, more details available here. If you're keen to lease something else, get in touch with Rod Dale, and he will point you in the right direction!

Round Three will be held at Morgan Park, 16-17 June, with practice available on Friday 15 June.

More on Oz Trucks

More on the Handicap Format

As you know the weather has been unbelievably wet in the past few months. This has had a real impact on the track works at Eastern Creek, putting the construction of the new South Circuit layout well behind schedule. So far behind that all events scheduled at the circuit between now and the end of July have been cancelled. This includes our scheduled Round 2. All of our remaining rounds are set to go ahead as scheduled.

All of this means its now only three weeks until Round 1 at Queensland Raceway! A reminder that this opening round is for Muscle Division, Production Racing Cars and Touring Car Challenge. The round itself will be held Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April. Friday practice is also available on Friday 30 March. Entries for this round are open, you can use the button below to choose your preferred method to enter.

You can also get a nice discount if you would like to enter for multiple rounds.

The remaining rounds of the series will be open to all categories, with Round 3 at Morgan Park 16-17 June, Round 4 at Eastern Creek North 5 August, Round 5 at Eastern Creek North 27 October and Round 6 at Eastern Creek North 30 November.

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.

Congratulations to members of the iRace family Stu and Karen Inwood who were married on Saturday. Stu has raced with iRace from the early days, and has also been a great help with scrutineering at our events.

The wedding and reception were held on Saturday, with the Inwood boys then heading straight off to Canberra to compete in a hill climb event today!

Entries are now open for our first round of 2012. As with previous years, you have a number of options for submitting entries - the old fashioned paper entry (you can download a PDF, print it out and post or fax it in), the even more old fashioned paper entry (where you can request us to send you a paper form so you can fill it out and send it in), or the all-singing, all-dancing online entry system. The one link below will take you to a page where you have all three options. We're also rewarding those who enter for multiple rounds with a discount system - the more rounds you enter, the bigger the discount.

Round 1 will be held at Queensland Raceway, 31 March - 1 April (with Friday practice available 30 March). Entries are open to Production Racing Cars, Muscle Division and Touring Car Challenge.

 

iRace competitors are getting ready for the season ahead, with some sporting revamped cars, and some with brand new machines.

Acuform Muscle Division regular, Matt Veal, has updated his awesome Volvo 242 GT-T with a terrific period livery.

And another Acuform Muscle Division regular, volunteer scrutineer, and unofficial iRace representative, Stuart Inwood has ramped up his commitment, with the acquisition of an AU Falcon V8 Supercar to race in the Touring Car Challenge.

We can't wait to see these, and all the other new and updated cars on track in 2011!

The first round of the Independent Race Series for 2011 will be held at Queensland Raceway, 5-6 March. You can learn more about the event here, and entries can be submitted by clicking here.

UPDATE: Another great looking new car for the series from Troy Harrison, an awesome VT Commodore for Production Racing Cars.

If you have a new car or livery and would like to let everyone know, click here to send in the details.

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.

Gentleman racer, Ray Lintott passed away recently, and iRace would like to extend their condolences to Ray's family and friends.

Lintott passed away on September 12, at age 67, after succumbing to a 12-month battle with cancer.

Lintott was known for racing a wide variety of cars, and being a noted car dealer. He joined iRace in January 2010 for the last ever race meeting at Oran Park, driving his Porsche 911. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Round 6 of the 2010 Independent Race Series was held in fine weather at Queensland Raceway 14-15 August. As with the earlier round held at Lakeside, only a selection of the iRace categories attended: Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars, McHitch Touring Car Challenge and HDT Muscle Division.

The action came thick and fast, with each category completing five races. The fast layout at Queensland Raceway, with the long straights meant the more powerful cars were at an advantage.

Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars saw plenty of on-track action, with two of the races red-flagged when cars went into the gravel traps, but when the flags were green the racing was spectacular. Class X saw a dominant performance by Franck Donniaux in his WRX STi once again, winning outright in all five races. The V8 Class was blitzed by Daniel Flanagan in his Commodore ute - Flanagan didn't have it all his own way though, he was forced to start from pitlane in the opening race, but still managed to finish second outright, and first of the V8 Class (onboard video here). Class A was won by Clark Stott (Mazda MPS) who enjoyed some epic battles with Graham Lusty. Class B went to Barry Black, the quiet achiever of Class B. Black kept his nose clean, while Neil Byers and Sean Soole kept each other busy. Class C was once again dominated by John Willmington (Pulsar SSS).

HDT Muscle Division saw a diverse array of cars, from turbo-powered 4 cylinders to fire-breathing V8s, and the on-track action was equally as exciting. Tony Saint (Mazda RX7) showed great consistency and solid performances in the handicap races to take the round win, ahead of Paul Chaffey (Subaru WRX) and Rod Gurney in his beautifully turned out XT GT Falcon. Gurney's team, in the true spirit of iRace, also helped another competitor get back on track - Maria Mare spectacularly broke an axle, and it was Corey Gurney who was instrumental in getting the Commodore saloon car back up and running.

McHitch Touring Car Challenge turned plenty of heads for this round, with the introduction of the Oz Truck stock cars. The 500+ HP, V8-powered utes look the part, and proved that they can lap with the best of them, setting very fast times, and taking the round win outright, with Chaz Mostert winning all but one race. Second for the round was the spectacular Dwayn Taylor in his wheel-hiking Torana. Third was Graham Struber in the second of the Oz Trucks.

In all, another epic round of the Independent Race Series. TV coverage from this round will screen on SBS Speedweek, Sunday 5 September at 12.30pm. The grand finale for 2010 will be held at Eastern Creek, Saturday 16 October. Don't miss out!

Joe McGinnes, popular McHitch Touring Car Challenge competitor, and inventor of the awesome McHitch will be appearing on the TV program New Inventors tonight on ABC1 at 8pm.

McGinnes invented the revolutionary McHitch Trailer Coupling, and supports the Touring Car Challenge category. Check back here after the show for a rundown of what happened, and links to some additional information.

UPDATE: Joe's outline, including some video from the show, has now been posted on the New Inventors website. Check it out, and VOTE FOR JOE if you support his outstanding invention!

UPDATE #2: Joe has won the "People's Choice" award! Congratulations Joe, and thank you to all those who voted!"

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!

Joe McGinness, a founding member of the iRace family, and popular Touring Car Challenge competitor, had a great idea. He turned that idea into an amazing invention - the McHitch Uniglide Trailer Coupling.

The McHitch product is set to revolutionise towing. And in 2010, to promote the product, McHitch will be the naming rights sponsor of the Touring Car Challenge. The category will be known as the McHitch Touring Car Challenge, and all racecars will bear a McHitch.com.au windscreen banner.

The McHitch really is an amazing product. It offers triple-locking safety, greater than 90 degree flexibility, and extremely quiet and smooth operation. If you spend any amount of time towing, the McHitch can make it a much more pleasurable (and safer) experience. Head over to www.mchitch.com.au to learn all about this revolutionary product, and support the company supporting our series.

The McHitch Touring Car Challenge showcases the past 20 years of Australian Touring Car history. Featuring ex-V8 Supercars, Super Tourers, V8 Giants and the more recent "Giant Killers", cars such as the Mitsubushi Evo and Subaru WRX, as well as a contingent of invited "Muscle Cars" to put the odd cat amongst the pigeons.

The first round for 2010 will be held at Sydney's Oran Park GP, 15-16 Jan 2010. Click here for more information.

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!

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.

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.

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

Anthony Soole - Lotus Exige - Production Racing Cars


Dave Gardner - VS Commodore - Touring Car Challenge

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 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