The photo gallery from Round One of the Independent Race Series has now been uploaded, with additional photos to be added shortly.

There are some great shots in the gallery, and photos have been divided into the separate categories that ran at the event. Click here, or the image on the right to view the gallery, or use the individual category links below. The pages are also accessible from the "Multimedia" section of the site, accessible by clicking the appropriate button on the menu to the left.

Formula Tasman & Le Mans Sports

Touring Car Challenge

Production Racing Cars

Muscle Division & Invited Sports

The next round of the Independent Race Series will be held at Queensland's Morgan Park 15-16 November 2008.

We have more photos coming soon from Round One of the Independent Race Series, but can whet your appetite with this series taken during Qualifying for the Production Racing Cars on Saturday.

Hans Riehs had been setting the track alight in his Class B Mini Cooper S, setting fastest time in the morning practice session (51.48s), and setting a time good enough for second on the grid before running wide heading towards Suttons. Unfortunately the car dug in as it entered the sand trap and suffered a slow roll onto, coming to a rest on its side.

Hans was uninjured, but took no further part in proceedings. The car suffered fairly minor (mostly cosmetic) damage, and is expected to return to the front of the Production Racing Cars pack in the near future.

The first ever round of the Independent Race Series was held at Sydney's Oran Park over the weekend, with a successful meeting and some very exciting on-track action.

Unofficial practice took place on Friday 10 October, and many of the competitors took the opportunity to get familiar with the flowing Oran Park "South Circuit" layout.

Saturday morning brought the official practice sessions for four separate groups: Touring Car Challenge, Formula Tasman/LeMans Sports (combined), Production Racing Cars and Muscle Division. Drivers had little time to relax, with qualifying held mid-morning.

In the Touring Car Challenge field it was Darren Saillard on pole in his BA Falcon V8 Supercar. In the Formula Tasman ranks, Sam Dale dominated in his Reynard 94D, Mark Laucke was quickest of the LeMans Sports in his WEST. Quickest of the Production Racing Cars was Clark Stott in his Mazda 3 MPS. Muscle Division saw Chris Clearihan take pole in his Future Racer.

Racing got underway just after midday, and the first ever race in the Independent Race Series was Production Racing Car driver Clark Stott, putting in a stunning performance in his Mazda 3 MPS. Racing continued into the afternoon, finishing just before 5pm with a sudden downpour drenching the final race.

Over the course of the day the category results were as follows:

Production Racing Cars was taken out by an envigorated Neil Byers. Byers took his Mitsubishi 380 to two race wins (out of four races), ahead of Anthony Soole (Toyota Celica) and Bryan Fitzpatrick (Renault Clio). Class wins went to Clark Stott (Class A), Neil Byers (Class B) and John Willmington (Class C). As part of a bet made with his team, Neil Byers walked the pitlane (after the circuit was closed of course!) in his checkered boxer shorts to celebrate his wins.

Formula Tasman was won by Sam Dale in his Reynard 94D. Dale won all three races, setting the fastest laptimes in each. It didn't go all his way though - a sticking throttle cable on Dale's car saw Bob Muir take the lead in the final race, but some confusion over the safety car saw Muir excluded from the race. Formula Robertson honours went to Glenn Lynch.

In the LeMans Sports stakes, the overall result went to Aaron Steer in his WEST. Mark Laucke looked strong early on (taking two race wins), but was unable to complete the final race, handing the victory to steer, and relegating Laucke to second. Class honours went to Laucke (Oxygen Class), Scott Bingham (Radon Class) and Rick Otten (Neon Class).

The Touring Car Challenge honours went to Darren Saillard in his BF Falcon V8 Supercar. Saillard beat Mark Telfer (VZ Commodore) and Phil Groeneveld (VS Commodore) for outright honours. The ex-V8 Supercar honours went to Saillard, and the V8 Giants to Telfer.

Muscle Division was taken out by Canberran Chris Clearihan in his Future Racer. Second place went to Glen Austin in his EB Falcon, and third was taken by Steve Wild in another Future Racer.

To access the full results from Round One, please click here.

Round Two of the Independent Race Series will be held at Morgan Park (Queensland) 15-16 November. Keep track of all the latest news and information on www.irace.net.au

The event schedule for Round One of the Independent Race Series is now available to download. The schedule (as well as a range of other administrative documents) is available from the "Admin" page of the site. Or you can access the schedule directly by clicking here.

Round One of the 2008 Independent Race Series will be held at Sydney's Oran Park, Saturday 11 October 2008.

Young rising Australian driver, Tom Drewer has won the 2008 IMSA Lites L2 Championship with a clean sweep at Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Click here for the full story.