ALL PRELIMINARY RESULTS
(Live Race Results – Natsoft.com)
SATURDAY AUGUST 31
Production Touring Cars – Race 1
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1
Bikes – Dunlop Sydney TT – Race 1 – Red Flagged.
SUPERKARTS NATIONAL TITLE TO BE DECIDED THIS WEEKEND
The fastest Superkart drivers from around Australia will be congregating at the Paynter Dixon Sydney MasterBlast for the second and final round of the 2019 Superkarts Australia Nationals Series. There will be no shortage of on track action as drivers battle for championship glory in front of their biggest crowd in over a decade.
Defending 250 International champion llya Harpas will be looking to win his fourth title in succession but will have to fight hard against arch nemesis and veteran Gary Pegoraro as both drivers go into the race weekend sitting equal first on points. They will have plenty of competition from drivers such as Matt Bass, the young Victorian sitting third overall, and New Zealander Anton Stevens who has had his fair share of success at the Sydney Motorsport Park Circuit over the years.
The 250 National category will be a race of the elder statesmen vs the young newcomers with John Dunn and John Pellicano attempting to hold off Josh Miller. John Dunn will be looking to claim his first ever SKA Nationals title at his home circuit.
The 125 gearbox category will be the most hotly contested category of all with five or more drivers capable of winning races. Impressive fourteen-year-old youngster Blake Purdie from South Australia will look to consolidate his championship lead by finishing consistently at the front, whilst the two race winners so far this year, Lee Vella and Nicholas Schembri, will be ones to watch during the weekend. Local Sydney drivers will also be keen to register a good result with Adam Cogger a real threat for a race win, and Paul Campbell the reigning champion sure to be in contention at his home circuit.
If the racing in the past is anything to go by, the Superkarts will be a category not to be missed, providing one of the purest racing spectacles available in motorsport today.
SIERRA SCRAPS AND STRAIGHTS VS EIGHTS IN C&A
Heritage Touring Cars’ Legends of Bathurst are set to storm Sydney Motorsport Park at Sydney MasterBlast, bringing the true monarchs of muscle back to Sydney for the first time in 2019.
The iconic Australian racing cars from Group C and Group A will be headlined by a three-way RS500 Sierra scrap. Terry Lawlor’s run away with the last two Heritage Touring Cars rounds in Dick Johnson’s Shell RS500, but Tony Karanfilovski has been on the hunt in the ex-Glenn Seton Peter Jackson Sierra and is looking strong. Sydney Master Blast will see the pair joined by an ex-Colin Bond Caltex Sierra that has been recently restored by Chris Stillwell.
An ex-Paul Morris BMW M3 piloted by Eddie Sansil will make its debut at the event, as will Neil Schembri’s Gary Rogers Motorsport VL Commodore.
These and more will join a packed field of C & A legends that are set to bring the golden age of Australian touring car racing back to life at Sydney Motorsport Park. This is classic motorsport at its finest, don’t miss it!
PRODUCTION TOURING TITLES ON THE LINE AT SYDNEY MASTERBLAST
The 2019 NSW Production Touring Car Championship is set for an intriguing season finale at the Paynter Dixon Sydney MasterBlast ft. Muscle Car Masters event on 31 August-1 September, with titles to be decided across all seven classes, as well as the crowning of the outright champion.
The unique points structure for NSWPTC places an emphasis on class results rather than outright finishing positions – as a result, there are six drivers from four different classes with a chance of winning the overall title.
Leading the way is Class B2 (Performance Naturally Aspirated) driver Geoff Kite, who leads the outright points by virtue of winning his class in all five rounds this season aboard his Commodore SS-V.
Kite’s nearest challenger is series veteran Matt Holt, in his Class A2 (High Performance Naturally Aspirated) HSV Clubsport R8. Holt has been a consistent front-runner in NSWPTC for many seasons now, and has been the driver to beat in Class A2 all season.
Coming into the weekend third in the overall standings is Michael King, who holds the ascendancy in Class A1 (High Performance Forced Induction) aboard his Mitsubishi Evo X. The turbocharged performance and all-wheel-drive traction of the Evo continues to make it a popular choice for production car racers, and King was particularly strong in the Wakefield Park rounds, where he was able to exploit the Evo’s handling prowess against the heavier Aussie V8s at the technical Goulburn circuit.
After several seasons racing an Evo, Daniel Oosthuizen switched to an HSV for this season and is fourth in points (second in Class A2), while the overall top six is completed by a couple of Class D (Other Touring Cars) drivers, Harrison Gray and Edan Thornburrow in their Toyota 86s. The fight for Class D honours has been one of the most intense in the field, with Gray and Thornburrow separated by just four points heading into the season finale.
While the contenders in the other classes may not be in contention for outright championship honours, there are still bragging rights up for grabs. In Class B1 (Performance Forced Induction), Bathurst driver Peter O’Donnell heads the points in his BMW 335i, ahead of Darren Herbert (Mitsubishi Evo V).
Class C (Sports Touring Cars) is led by former outright champ Chris Reeves, who started the season in a Suzuki Swift before slotting into a VW Scirocco for the remaining rounds.
Making a return to the production car racing scene in 2019 has been Phil Alexander, who has driven his Pulsar to three round wins in Class E (Small Capacity Touring Cars), and holds a handy advantage over Bruce Colbey (Suzuki Swift).
While the outright and class championship battles will be the weekend’s main focus, competitors will also have the chance to experience the thrill of racing in the dark, with the event including a novel night-time qualifying session and race on Saturday evening, in addition to the three day-time races across Saturday and Sunday.
