26 October 2017 | General

KUMHO SERIES SET FOR TITLE DECIDER

Brad Jones Racing will seek to become the first main game Supercars Championship team to win the title with driver Jack Smith leading nearest rival Michael Anderson by 106 points ahead of the last three races of the year.

Third-placed Tyler Greenbury sits in third place and remains in contention 120 points from the lead with a total maximum score of 143 up for grabs should a driver score pole and three race wins at the 3.9km circuit in Sydneys West.

Smith is in his first season of Kumho Series competition and has also this year tackled the Super2 Championship with Brad Jones Racing.

After finishing third in the opening round at Phillip Island the SCT Logistics-backed driver had a stunning middle stanza of the championship that allowed him to build his commanding lead.

He won rounds at Winton and Queensland Raceway sweeping pole and all three wins at the Ipswich venue.

Chasing down the young star at the front will be privateer runner Michael Anderson who has starred this year having upgraded to an ex-Prodrive Racing Australia FG Falcon for this season.

After his shock pole position in round one of the championship Anderson has finished on the overall podium twice this season and notched up his first race win in the series last time out at Phillip Island.

Eggleston Motorsports Tyler Greenbury has put an unlucky start to the season behind him with great speed in the last two rounds finishing on the podium in Queensland and winning his fourth race of the year at Phillip Island recently.

While Greenbury may be an outsider for the overall title the battle for the final spots of the season 2017 podium are likely to be highly competitive.

Less than 50 points cover Anderson in second place Greenbury Phillip Island winner Jon McCorkindale and rookie driver Jordan Boys.

McCorkindale was superb in the wet conditions at the Victorian circuit en route to his first race and round victories in the Kumho Series.

Anderson and McCorkindale will also battle for the Kumho Cup (privateer) class title this weekend Anderson holding a 53 point lead over his Falcon rival in the standings.

Image Racings Boys won the opening round at Phillip Island this year and has since posted a string of consistent performances to remain in contention for a top three finish this season.

The field gathered for Sydney Motorsport Park includes a diverse mix of drivers in cars with a broad history in Australian Touring Car / Supercar competition.

Outside of the main contenders for the overall and Kumho Cup titles Jason Foley (ex-DJR BF Falcon) and Jamie McDonald (Ex-ProDuct Racing VP Commodore) will make their respective series debuts this weekend.

McDonald will join regular Brad Neill (ex-Parsons VS Commodore) and Andy Cantrell (Ex-GSR EL Falcon) in an expanded Heritage class competition. Neill leads the heritage class ahead of the final round and with closest rival Troy Stapleton not running will likely wrap up the title in race one.

Former ute racer Nandi Kiss (VE Commodore) and Gary Collins (ex-Perkins VE Commodore) also return to the series as does Warren Millet in his ex-Mark Skaife VZ Commodore.

Ten of the field will be racing in their home state giving local fans plenty to cheer for.

The Kumho Series grid tackles private practice on Friday ahead of qualifying and the first race on Saturday.

Sunday will see two further races conclude the Kumho V8 Touring Car series for 2017.

Saturday and Sundays action will be streamed live with links available via the Kumho Series website and facebook page.

ROUND 5 ENTRY LIST:

Car #	Class	SPONSOR	DRIVER	State	VEHICLE	CC	COLOUR
7	Kumho Cup	Mocomm Motorsports Communications	Jim Pollicina	NSW	Commodore VE	5000	Red
11	Kumho Cup	Kenwood Homes	Michael Anderson	NSW	Ford Falcon FG	5000	Red/White
12	Kumho Cup	Century 21 Hazelbrook	Chris Delfsma	NSW	Ford Falcon BF	5000	Red/Blue/Whi
17	Kumho Cup	TF Maintenance	Jason Foley	NSW	Ford Falcon BF	5000	Black/White
21	Championship	Brad Jones Racing/SCT Logistics	Jack Smith	QLD	Commodore VE ll	5000	Red/Grey
23	Kumho Cup	Massel	Michael Caine	NSW	Commodore VE	5000	Red
33	Heritage	McDonald Motorsport	Jamie McDonald	NSW	Commodore VP	5000	Black
36	Kumho Cup	Nandi Kiss Racing	Nandi Kiss	NSW	Commodore VE	5000	Whte
38	Championship	Eggleston Motorsport	Tyler Greenbury	QLD	Commodore VE ll	5000	Black
39	Kumho Cup	Vectra Corp	Chris Smerdon	SA	Ford Falcon FG	5000	Blue/Yellow
49	Championship	Image Racing/Lubrimaxx	Jordan Boys	VIC	Ford Falcon FG	5000	White
55	Heritage	Neill Motorsport	Bradley Neill	QLD	Commodore VS	5000	Blue
69	Kumho Cup	Dial Before You Dig/Mac Motorsport	Jon McCorkindale	NSW	Ford Falcon BF	5000	Green
77	Kumho Cup	Protrack Automotive Performance	Gary Collins	VIC	Commodore VE ll	5000	Black
88	Kumho Cup	WakeUp! Backpackers	Warren Millett	NSW	Commodore VZ	5000	Black/Red
111	Heritage	Custom Garage	Andy Cantrell	NSW	Ford Falcon EL	5000	Whi/Blue/Red

 

2017 SO FAR:

Round 1 (Phillip Island)

Pole Michael Anderson
R1 Tyler Greenbury Geoff Emery Michael Anderson
R2 Tyler Greenbury Josh Smith Jack Smith
R3 Jordan Boys Geoff Emery Jack Smith

Round Jordon Boys Geoff Emery Jack Smith

Round 2 (Winton)

Pole Jack Smith
R1 Jack Smith Tyler Greenbury Jordan Boys
R2 Tyler Greenbury Jack Smith Michael Anderson
R3 Jack Smith Jordan Boys Michael Anderson

Round Jack Smith Jordan Boys Michael Anderson

Round 3 (Queensland Raceway)

Pole Jack Smith
R1 Jack Smith Tyler Greenbury Anton DePasquale
R2 Jack Smith Anton DePasquale Tyler Greenbury
R3 Jack Smith Anton DePasquale Tyler Greenbury

Round Jack Smith Anton DePasquale Tyler Greenbury

Round 4 (Phillip Island)

Pole Jack Smith
R1 Tyler Greenbury Jack Smith Michael Anderson
R2 Jon McCorkindale Michael Caine Jack Smith
R3 Michael Anderson Jon McCorkindale Chris Smerdon

Round Jon McCorkindale Michael Anderson Michael Caine

STANDINGS:

1. Jack Smith 451
2. Michael Anderson 345
3. Tyler Greenbury 331
4. Jon McCorkindale 306
5. Jordon Boys 298
6. Michael Caine 242
7. Jim Pollicina 229
8. Josh Smith 208
9. Chris Smerdon 207

10.  Anton DePasquale 119

Kumho Cup Standings:

1. Michael Anderson 493
2. Jon McCorkindale 440
3. Michael Caine 381
4. Jim Pollicina 357
5. Chris Smerdon 331

Sydney Motorsport Park Lap Record: 1m34.2752s (Liam McAdam 2015).