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MIEDECKE DELIVERS A SWEET 21ST FOR LOCAL TEAM
CELEBRATING THEIR 21st anniversary working and racing together Andrew Miedecke and Adelaide ENZED Touring Car Masters team Whiteline Racing has triumphed in the season opening race at the Clipsal 500.
Starting second Miedecke powered his Lubrimaxx Chevrolet Camaro to the lead on the first of ten laps and was never headed to open the 2015 TCM season in style with a victory on home turf for his team.
Miedecke who ended the 2014 season with a Pro Masters class round victory at Phillip Island last November started his season in style by recording a 1.5-second victory over two brand-new cars to TCM this year.
Two-time TCM champion Gavin Bullas applied pressure to Miedecke throughout but had to settle for second ahead of a fast-finishing Jim Richards in his similarly-new AMC Javelin.
Polesitter John Bowe slipped to fourth place after losing power early in the opening lap with a suspected plug lead issue on his Ford Mustang.
Bowe had earlier recorded his ninth-straight Touring Car Masters pole position but had to settle for fourth place at the end of 10 hot laps on the streets of Adelaide.
Glenn Seton finished fifth with Brett Youlden a stout sixth in his Autolite-sponsored Holden Monaro GTS.
Greg Crick finished seventh however was on track for a podium position before a mid-race spin dropped him down the order.
Crick and second-placed Bullas were battling for position until a lap-seven spin saw Crick drop to eighth before he ultimately recovered to seventh at the line though the Mopar Charger still set the fastest lap.
A warring battle pack for the bottom of the top-10 waged all race with Keith Kassulke (8th) edging out Eddie Abelnica’s similar XB Falcon coupe and Cameron Tilley’s giant-killing Valliant Pacer for the final spots in the 10.
Mark King edged out Jason Gomersall by 0.0005s for 11th position in a last-lap drag between Camaro and Torana.
There were battles all throughout the strong 30-car race one grid with several drivers experiencing ‘hairy’ moments across the 10-lap duration.
Adelaide driver Nigel Benson found himself with three wheels on his HQ Monaro when his left-rear departed at turn three on the third lap of the race.
Meanwhile Ian Palmer spun his Pontiac Firebird in the final corner and was narrowly avoided by a group of cars – including the duelling husband and wife duo of Greg Keene and Amanda Sparks – on the last lap.
Earlier John Bowe scored a record ninth straight ENZED TCM pole position when he edged out Andrew Miedecke by just 0.03s in qualifying.
Bowe’s incredible pole streak stretches back to the final round of the 2013 season at Phillip Island and includes a sweep of ever pole position available throughout the 2014 season. Ironically the last person to ever score a TCM pole not called John Bowe was Glenn Seton who sat on top of the charts at Mount Panorama in 2013.
Seton set the seventh fastest time in qualifying and narrowly avoided being relegated to the rear of the grid after race officials deemed he had ‘kerb hopped’ too many times at the Senna chicane.
Instead Seton lost his fastest time only dropping him just one position down the grid. ÂÂ
Miedecke Greg Crick Gavin Bullas Jim Richards Brett Youlden Keith Kassulke Cameron Mason Mark King and Cameron Tilley completed the top-10 in qualifying.
The second TCM race of the weekend will feature a reverse top half of the field tomorrow to be broadcast live on FOX Sports Motorsport throughout Australia.
ENZED TOURING CAR MASTERS – CLIPSAL 500 (RACE 1)
Pos Car Competitor/Team Driver Vehicle Cap CL Laps Race.Time Fastest...Lap1 95 Whiteline Transport Racing / L Andrew Meidecke (NSW) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800 10 15:21.3990 6 1:31.1476 2 16 Rain City Racing Gavin Bullas (VIC) Ford Boss Mustang 5800 10 15:22.8073 9 1:31.2363 3 2 Shannons Insurance Jim Richards (VIC) AMC Javelin 5890 10 15:27.4095 9 1:31.4861 4 18 Dunlop Super Dealers/Wilson Se John Bowe (VIC) Ford Mustang Trans A 5800 10 15:28.1325 7 1:31.7476 5 30 Thunder Road Racing Australia Glenn Seton (QLD) Ford Mustang Coupe 5000 10 15:32.9574 7 1:31.4142 6 56 Autolite Spark Plugs Brett Youlden (VIC) Holden HQ Monaro Co 5800 10 15:35.3722 8 1:32.1529 7 75 Mopar Performance Greg Crick (TAS) Chrysler Charger E55 5570 10 15:38.1555 3 1:31.0198*8 52 Outbound Racing / wheels.com.p Keith Kassulke (QLD) Ford Falcon XB Coupe 5800 10 15:40.1435 3 1:33.0084 9 48 Adelaides Cheapest Cars Eddie Abelnica (VIC) Ford Falcon XB Coupe 5800 10 15:40.6336 5 1:32.5024 10 60 Tilleys Racing Equipment Cameron Tilley (NSW) Valiant Pacer 4390 10 15:41.1632 5 1:32.4538 11 85 Whiteline Transport Racing / K Mark King (QLD) Chevrolet Camaro RS 5800 10 15:42.7159 4 1:32.5660 12 35 iseek Racing Jason Gomersall (QLD) Holden Torana SL/R 5047 10 15:42.7164 6 1:32.6547 13 25 Freestones Transport/Freestone Paul Freestone (VIC) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800 10 16:01.4054 5 1:33.7312 14 3 Hercules Engines Cameron Mason (NSW) Ford Mustang Fastbac 5000 10 16:04.4216 3 1:33.7939 15 10 Sunliner RV Tony Hunter (VIC) Chevrolet Monza 2+2 5000 10 16:13.8995 7 1:35.4285 16 28 Tilley Automotive Brad Tilley (NSW) Ford Mustang Coupe 4735 10 16:16.1964 5 1:33.7292 17 46 THD Motorsport Leo Tobin (VIC) Holden HQ Monaro Co 5800 10 16:18.2251 3 1:35.4537 18 50 Flo.gineering Carey McMahon (NSW) Holden Torana SL/R 5000 10 16:19.4254 5 1:35.0176 19 33 SportsMed Greg Keene (SA) Porsche 911 RS 3600 10 16:20.7768 3 1:34.8136 20 32 SportsMed Amanda Sparks (SA) Porsche 911 RS 3600 10 16:21.4448 3 1:35.5516 21 74 Lyndways Builders Wayne Mercer (VIC) Ford Falcon XY GTHO 5800 10 16:22.1552 7 1:35.3192 22 17 Red Rock Winery Rohan Little (VIC) Porsche 911 IROC 3600 10 16:36.0753 8 1:36.7740 23 11 Lion Mill Solutions Tony Edwards (VIC) Ford Falcon XA GT 5768 10 16:36.1038 9 1:35.9630 24 20 Palmer Promotions Ian Palmer (QLD) Pontiac Trans-Am 5800 10 16:36.5631 3 1:35.0534 25 9 Jesus Racing Andrew Fisher (NSW) Ford Falcon XY GTHO 5800 10 16:56.3204 4 1:32.7677 26 15 Hercules Engines/Bridgestone Graham Stewart (SA) Chevrolet Camaro SS 5800 10 17:01.7137 5 1:38.2727 27 65 On Demand Electrical Graeme Cook (SA) Porsche 911 IROC 3600 9 15:27.4535 2 1:40.3379 DNF 13 Black Cat Racing Rory O'Neill (SA) Porsche 911 IROC 3600 9 15:17.6464 5 1:39.4775 DNF 72 BMR Industries Bruce McLeod (NT) Ford Falcon XA Super 5550 4 7:32.4797 2 1:42.1694 DNF 22 PRT Race Fabrication Nigel Benson (SA) Holden HQ Monaro Co 5800 3 4:52.6585 2 1:34.0419