Independent Race Series News
Thrilling Round 6 a Fitting Finale for 2009
The final round of racing for the 2009 Independent Race Series was held at Oran Park on the weekend, with a number of suprise results, and plenty of action-packed racing.
Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports saw a packed field of open-wheelers in a great boost for the category. The racing was top notch, with Chris Farrell setting the early pace in his Swift Formula Atlantic. Farrell took pole, and the opening race. Sam Dale made a good start in the second race, and led the early laps until a safety car intervened. Farrell took the lead at the restart, while Dale suffered brake failure and contacted the wall at the final corner. Hard-charging Robert Choon went 
on to finish second, with his father David Choon in third. In the final race it was looking like Chris Farrell would win at a canter, until a lap from the end and his car caught fire. Farrell managed to get out unscathed, and the fire was extinguished, allowing Robert Choon through to take the race, and the round win. Farrell ended up second overall, with David Choon in third. Andrew Wlodek took the honour for top Formula 2, after strong runs all weekend. Vince Evans took the Formula R honours in his debut in the category. Robert Choon was top Formula 3 and Michele Guyer took a well earned win in the Formula 4000 group. Rick Otten had a solid performance to finish top LeMans Sports car.
In Muscle Division Terry Denovan and Greg Boyle went into the round as the men to beat. Denovan's Commodore and Boyle's Silvia looked to be evenly matched in qualifying, with Denovan narrowly taking pole. The round result proved the unpredictability of the handicap format though as neither man managed to take the top spot. Boyle dominated Race 1, after he upped his pace from qualifying. Denovan was the top Improved Production/Sports Sedan and second outright. Third place went to Adam Tipping, who was 
also the leading HDT Cup car. In the first of the handicap races (race two), Adam Tipping took the win. Boyle overcame a 2 lap handicap to come through in second, with Troy Harrison in third. In Race Three, another handicap affair, Boyle this time managed to carve through the field and take the win, second was Adam Tipping, and third went to Michael Duff in his howling HSV Maloo Ute. In the final race, Boyle was unable to compete. Steven Cook took the win, with Adam Tipping in second and Todd Betland third after strong drives all weekend. Category winners were: Classic Muscle Car - Ryan Strode; IP/SS - Steven Berry; V8 Ute - Michael Duff. In the HDT Cup Feature Race, Adam Tipping dominated to take the win from Darren Gillis and Jon Worrell.
In the Touring Car Challenge, Darren Saillard (BA Falcon Supercar) set the pace in qualifying. Saillard also took the honours in the opening scratch race, ahead of Barry Jameson (Jaguar V8 Giant) and Ben Eggleston (Commodore Supercar). In the first of the handicap races (race two) Darren Saillard took the win again, this time ahead of Steve Ingwersen (Commodore Supercar) and Joe McGinnes (XY GT Falcon). In the third race, Jameson took the win, ahead of Ingwersen and Saillard. Saillard was unable to make the start of the final race, leaving Jameson to take the win ahead of Ingwersen and Eggleston. Category winners for the weekend were: Touring Car - Steve Ingwersen; Muscle Car - Norm Stokes; V8 Giant - Mark Telfer; Group A - Matt Veal.
In the RocketSports, a small but quality field provided some exciting racing with the winner of Race One only taking the lead on the final lap. Graham Smith took race one. Race Two was taken by Adam Dodd. Graham Smith took the win again in race three, and was again victorious in race four. Graham Smith took the round win.
The Production Racing Cars put on some fantastic racing. Since the last round, Anthony Soole had upgraded his Lotus Exige to add a supercharger, with a significant power increase, to take the fight to Frank Donniaux in his WRX. In the opening race, Donniaux used the 4WD to get a better launch and take the lead, but Soole managed to take the lead when Donniaux spun nearing the finish. Daniel Flanagan was close behind, and first Class A. Class B went to the returning Bryan Fitzpatrick and C to John Willmington. In the second race, the results were very similar to the first, despite a reverse grid start - in fact, Donniuax managed to get from the rear of the grid to first place by the second corner! The third race saw the same class winners. The finale was a dramatic affair, with Geoff Kite taking the outright win (and Class A), Richard Mork in second and Anthony Soole in third.
The event culminated in the iRace One Hour Enduro. In hot conditions, the key was always going to be consistency and tyre and car conservation. It seems nobody told this to Steve Ingwersen though, as he set a cracking pace right from the start, leading all but the first lap of the race to take a dominant win. Finishing in second, Anthony Soole had read the script, and used a combination of relentless pace, with economy to beat the Eggleston/Lewis V8 Supercar home, the latter requiring an extra pitstop, which relinquished second place to Soole.
The Independent Race Series returns to Oran Park for the first even in the 2010 season. The series will compete on the GP circuit 15-16 January. The series will also host a combination Family/Christmas/2009 Presentation day at Marulan Driver Training Centre on 12 December. Details on the day will be released soon, as will the 2010 calendar, and a brand new iRace website. So even though the racing for 2009 has finished, stay tuned to www.irace.net.au for all the new developments!
Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports saw a packed field of open-wheelers in a great boost for the category. The racing was top notch, with Chris Farrell setting the early pace in his Swift Formula Atlantic. Farrell took pole, and the opening race. Sam Dale made a good start in the second race, and led the early laps until a safety car intervened. Farrell took the lead at the restart, while Dale suffered brake failure and contacted the wall at the final corner. Hard-charging Robert Choon went on to finish second, with his father David Choon in third. In the final race it was looking like Chris Farrell would win at a canter, until a lap from the end and his car caught fire. Farrell managed to get out unscathed, and the fire was extinguished, allowing Robert Choon through to take the race, and the round win. Farrell ended up second overall, with David Choon in third. Andrew Wlodek took the honour for top Formula 2, after strong runs all weekend. Vince Evans took the Formula R honours in his debut in the category. Robert Choon was top Formula 3 and Michele Guyer took a well earned win in the Formula 4000 group. Rick Otten had a solid performance to finish top LeMans Sports car.Formula Tasman Outright:
1. Robert Choon
2. Chris Farrell
3. David Choon
LeMans Sports:
1. Rick Otten
In Muscle Division Terry Denovan and Greg Boyle went into the round as the men to beat. Denovan's Commodore and Boyle's Silvia looked to be evenly matched in qualifying, with Denovan narrowly taking pole. The round result proved the unpredictability of the handicap format though as neither man managed to take the top spot. Boyle dominated Race 1, after he upped his pace from qualifying. Denovan was the top Improved Production/Sports Sedan and second outright. Third place went to Adam Tipping, who was also the leading HDT Cup car. In the first of the handicap races (race two), Adam Tipping took the win. Boyle overcame a 2 lap handicap to come through in second, with Troy Harrison in third. In Race Three, another handicap affair, Boyle this time managed to carve through the field and take the win, second was Adam Tipping, and third went to Michael Duff in his howling HSV Maloo Ute. In the final race, Boyle was unable to compete. Steven Cook took the win, with Adam Tipping in second and Todd Betland third after strong drives all weekend. Category winners were: Classic Muscle Car - Ryan Strode; IP/SS - Steven Berry; V8 Ute - Michael Duff. In the HDT Cup Feature Race, Adam Tipping dominated to take the win from Darren Gillis and Jon Worrell.Muscle Division Outright:
1. Adam Tipping
2. Greg Boyle
3. Todd Betland
HDT Cup:
OUTRIGHT:
1. Adam Tipping
2. Darren Gillis
3. Jon Worrell
Class A Classic - Adam Tipping
Class A Modern - Jon Worrell
Class B Classic - Troy Harrison
In the Touring Car Challenge, Darren Saillard (BA Falcon Supercar) set the pace in qualifying. Saillard also took the honours in the opening scratch race, ahead of Barry Jameson (Jaguar V8 Giant) and Ben Eggleston (Commodore Supercar). In the first of the handicap races (race two) Darren Saillard took the win again, this time ahead of Steve Ingwersen (Commodore Supercar) and Joe McGinnes (XY GT Falcon). In the third race, Jameson took the win, ahead of Ingwersen and Saillard. Saillard was unable to make the start of the final race, leaving Jameson to take the win ahead of Ingwersen and Eggleston. Category winners for the weekend were: Touring Car - Steve Ingwersen; Muscle Car - Norm Stokes; V8 Giant - Mark Telfer; Group A - Matt Veal.Touring Car Challenge Outright:
1. Steve Ingwersen
2. Darren Saillard
3. Barry Jameson
In the RocketSports, a small but quality field provided some exciting racing with the winner of Race One only taking the lead on the final lap. Graham Smith took race one. Race Two was taken by Adam Dodd. Graham Smith took the win again in race three, and was again victorious in race four. Graham Smith took the round win.
The Production Racing Cars put on some fantastic racing. Since the last round, Anthony Soole had upgraded his Lotus Exige to add a supercharger, with a significant power increase, to take the fight to Frank Donniaux in his WRX. In the opening race, Donniaux used the 4WD to get a better launch and take the lead, but Soole managed to take the lead when Donniaux spun nearing the finish. Daniel Flanagan was close behind, and first Class A. Class B went to the returning Bryan Fitzpatrick and C to John Willmington. In the second race, the results were very similar to the first, despite a reverse grid start - in fact, Donniuax managed to get from the rear of the grid to first place by the second corner! The third race saw the same class winners. The finale was a dramatic affair, with Geoff Kite taking the outright win (and Class A), Richard Mork in second and Anthony Soole in third.Production Racing Cars Class Winners:
Class X - Anthony Soole
Class A - Daniel Flanagan
Class B - Bryan Fitzpatrick
Class C - John Willmington
The event culminated in the iRace One Hour Enduro. In hot conditions, the key was always going to be consistency and tyre and car conservation. It seems nobody told this to Steve Ingwersen though, as he set a cracking pace right from the start, leading all but the first lap of the race to take a dominant win. Finishing in second, Anthony Soole had read the script, and used a combination of relentless pace, with economy to beat the Eggleston/Lewis V8 Supercar home, the latter requiring an extra pitstop, which relinquished second place to Soole.iRace Enduro:
1. Steve Ingwersen
2. Anthony Soole
3. Ben Eggleston/Daniel Lewis
Touring Car - Steve Ingwersen
Production Racing Car - Anthony Soole
Muscle Division - S. Berry/G. Boyle
The Independent Race Series returns to Oran Park for the first even in the 2010 season. The series will compete on the GP circuit 15-16 January. The series will also host a combination Family/Christmas/2009 Presentation day at Marulan Driver Training Centre on 12 December. Details on the day will be released soon, as will the 2010 calendar, and a brand new iRace website. So even though the racing for 2009 has finished, stay tuned to www.irace.net.au for all the new developments!