At iRace we love our officials. At every trophy presentation drivers extend their thanks to the volunteers who stand in the sun, rain or wind all day to make our racing possible - we couldn't do it without these guys. And when we can, we try to give something back. At our most recent round at Eastern Creek, every official went into a draw with a chance to win one of two great prizes. The winners from that round were as follows:

Judy Ellacott from Race Control won a weekend for two at the Blue Hills Farm Retreat, with thanks to the Gurney family. Situated in the heart of historic Hartley Vale, Blue Hills Farm Retreat offers relaxing country charm for both couples and families providing an ambient, romantic and cosy place to unwind and relax. Surrounded by native Australian bushlands with wild life a plenty, breathtaking mountain escarpments and glorious sunsets, this is a special place.

Rodney Gard from Recovery won a V8 Super Drive and Ride thanks to the guys at Fastrack. Experience V8 Racing / Driving at its best, with the best, you and a professional race car driver behind the wheel of a V8 Race Car You Drive for 6 (NSW-SA) or 8 (VIC-WA) heart-racing laps. Then be taken for 3 thrilling Hot Laps as a passenger with your pro race car driver.

Similar rewards will be offered at our final round for 2010, again at Eastern Creek, in October. If you would like to learn more about becoming an official, or getting involved with iRace, click here.

We'd also like to extend a huge thank you to Prolific Systems who provided two safety cars at the round. Prolific Systems offer quality, affordable emergency vehicle lights and siren amplifiers, as well as a range of other equipment for emergency and industrial vehicles.

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 5 for the 2010 Independent Race Series will be held tomorrow at Sydney's fast Eastern Creek circuit, with solid fields across the board.

Formula Tasman and LeMans Sports will field it's most diverse grid yet, with a Ferrari F1 car entered, a number of Formula Atlantics and F3 cars, plus a solid offering of Radical prototype cars. Chris Farrell will return, looking to maintain his series lead.

RocketSports will feature three distinct, yet competitive groups, with the nimble Future Racers, the popular and distinctive Holden Roadsters and the super fast Production-based Sports Cars. Nathan Jess will be looking to defend his 2009 Future Racer championship while Michael Caine is expected to be super fast in his Twin-Turbo RX7.

Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars will field another strong grid, with Anthony Soole returning to the group, but in a new car this time - a Mitsubishi EVO8, taking the 4WD turbo fight to Franck Donniaux. Morky is back in Class A, giving Clark Stott a run for his money. Daniel Flanagan and Geoff Kite will be duking it out in the V8 class, while Neil Byers and Carly Black are front runners in Class B. And can anyone break the dominance of John Willmington in Class C?

The HDT Muscle Division and McHitch Touring Car Challenge showcases a huge diversity of production-derived tin tops and touring cars. Norm Stokes will be looking to maintain the upper hand in the Touring Car Challenge ranks, but will have his work cut out for him with Barry Jameson and Dean Neville putting up plenty of competition. The Muscle Division is too close to call, but Rod Gurney leads the championship, and his car is only getting quicker!

Check out the entry list here.

The schedule is available here (on track action kicks off at 9am).

The weather is looking like another variable, with showers predicted, and seeming likely to spice things up even more.

Location:General Holmes Dr,Sydney Domestic Airport,Australia

As we mentioned previously, popular Super Hoist Plus Production Racing Cars driver Mark Bell was injured in a testing accident at Queensland Raceway in late June.

From all reports Mark's recovery is slowly progressing, but it will no doubt be a long haul. To support Mark and his family, iRace will be holding a fundraising raffle.

Tickets will be available at our Eastern Creek round next Friday (9 July), but we'd like you to pledge your support in advance if possible (and if you can't make it to Eastern Creek, and want some tickets, let us know and we'll sort something out). To reserve your tickets, please head to the support form by clicking here and complete your details.

Prizes have been arranged by R & A Mowers, operated by the Gurneys (HDT Muscle Division competitors), and with thanks to Parklands, Karcher and Makita.

First prize:


Parklands DX-250 electric kids bike

Second prize:


Karcher electric pressure water cleaner

Third prize:


Makita cordless drill

Tickets are $10 each or you can get 10 tickets for $50.

If you would like to share a message of support for Mark and his family, you can do it on our Facebook page (click here).

If you want to tell your friends about this, you can use the address: supportmarkbell.irace.net.au

The Marulan Driver Training Centre (MDTC) is a top-class driver training facility just an hour from Sydney. MDTC offers driver training for all levels, and is dedicated to educating and skilling Australian drivers to reduce the likelihood of accidents.

MDTC is owned and operated by members of the iRace family, Garry and Natalie Willmington.

To show your support for this fantastic facility, there is a poll being run by the Marulan Regional Portal - head over by clicking here and vote in the poll.