20 August 2018 | General

KUMHO SERIES TITLE TO BE DECIDED AT TAILEM BEND

Just nine points separate young drivers Tyler Everingham and Zak Best in the battle or the unofficial third-tier of Supercars racing the pair set to battle out the championship in their identical FG Ford Falcons run by Matt White Motorsport.

A strong 19-car field will tackle the fifth round of the championship this weekend however it is the title battle that will be the focus for many.

It will be another first for the brand-new South Australian venue the eventual Kumho Series winner to be the first ever champion crowned at the impressive facility an hour outside Adelaide.

Everingham 17 and Best 16 have been evenly matched in their debut Touring Car season and have traded results race-for-race since the opening round at Phillip Island in May this year.

In his part-time campaign defending champion Jack Smith won the opening two rounds before stepping aside to focus on his Super2 Series campaign.

Best won his first race at Phillip Island in race two and subsequently finished second overall that weekend with Everingham just 13 points behind in third.

Smith won again at Winton one month later where this time it was the turn of Everingham to join the winners list when he won in the second race.

He would edge out his teammate for second overall by 15 points to move ahead in the standings with Best third.

The pair then assumed point at Sydney Motorsport Park in late June when they battled furiously for the lead in each race; Everingham scoring pole and winning twice to take the round victory while Best won the longer third race to keep his rival close.

Last time out at Queensland Raceway Best scored his first round win on a countback three bonus points for pole position helping him win the round ahead of Everingham.

143 points are up for grabs this weekend however the pair will have to work hard to grab their fair share of them thanks to several likely challengers at the pointy-end of the field.

Brad Jones Racings Jack Smith will return for the finale and with no title aspirations on the line will be going out to win every race to improve on his already imposing Kumho series record.

Jon McCorkindale meanwhile enters the round fresh from back-to-back podium finishes and armed with a newly acquired FG Falcon.

Since making the debut of his new Falcon in Queensland the New South Wales driver has tested at The Bend Motorsport park in a bid to score a maiden round victory in his second Kumho season.

96 points behind the leader McCorkindale remains in mathematical contention for the championship should either of the two leaders trip up.

Outside of the title contenders the talent-packed field is set to offer plenty of close competition throughout the field.

Image racing duo Harley Haber and Maxim Erickson who both made their respective Kumho series debuts at Queensland Raceway last month return to the Falcon team.

Meanwhile Sydneysider Jim Pollicina need only stay in close company with nearest rival Gary Hills should he wish to secure the Kumho Cup class title this weekend.

Pollicina who continues to race at the pointy-end of the field in his ex-Tasman Motorsport VE Commodore leads his West Aussie rival by 124 points heading into the three races this weekend.

South Aussie racer Chris Smerdon a longstanding member of the local racing community sits third in the Kumho Cup class however is only five points ahead of Brendan Strong in what is shaping up as a close battle for the final step on the class podium.

South Australian fans will also have long-time Supercars privateer Adam Wallis to cheer for the Warrin Mining-backed driver to return to the series for the first time this year in his VE Commodore.

Two drivers will make their Kumho Series debuts this weekend: Blake Fardell to race the Mr HDT Race Engines VX Commodore while Victorian Mark Tracey will debut in a FG Falcon supported by Twin City Roller Doors.

The Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car Series will kick off the final round with a pair of 20-minute practice sessions on Friday 24 August.

Qualifying (9:25am) and Race 1 (7 laps 12:40pm) will be a feature of Saturday while Sundays two races will be held at 10:15am and 3:55pm respectively.

All sessions (except practice one) will be shown live on FOX Sports Motorsport channel 506.

ENTRY LIST Round 5 / OTR SuperSprint Tailem Bend.

Car #	CLASS	SPONSOR	DRIVER	STATE	VEHICLE	MODEL	CC	COLOUR
2	Kumho Cup	Page Bros Jayco	Steven Page	VIC	Commodore	VE II	5000	Black
7	Kumho Cup	Mocomm Motorsports Communications	Jim Pollicina	NSW	Commodore	VE	5000	Red
9	Kumho Cup	Neill Motorsport	Bradley Neill	QLD	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	Blue
10	Heritage	Mr HDT Race Cars & Engines	Blake Fardell	NSW	Commodore	VX	5000	Blk/Wh/Red/Grn
11	Championship	Kenwood Homes	Michael Anderson	NSW	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	Red/White
19	Kumho Cup	Twin City Roller Doors	Mark Tracey	VIC	Ford Falcon	BA	5000	Black
21	Championship	Brad Jones Racing/SCT Logistics	Jack Smith	QLD	Commodore	VE II	5000	Red/Grey
23	Kumho Cup	HF Racing	Francois Habib	VIC	Commodore	VZ	5000	White
27	Championship	MW Motorsport	Tyler Everingham	NSW	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	White
33	Kumho Cup	Warrin Mining	Adam Wallis	SA	Commodore	VE	5000	Silv/Blk/Red
39	Kumho Cup	Vectra Corp	Chris Smerdon	SA	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	Blue/Yellow
41	Kumho Cup	Dial Before You Dig Racing	Mark Primmer	NSW	Ford Falcon	BF	5000	Red/Blue
51	Championship	Maxim Motorsport/Image Racing	Maxim Erickson	QLD	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	White
69	Championship	Dial Before You Dig/Mac Motorsport	Jon McCorkindale	NSW	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	Green
75	Kumho Cup	B Strong Electrical	Brendan Strong	QLD	Commodore	VE II	5000	Black
76	Kumho Cup	Mad Hueys	Garry Hills	WA	Commodore	VE II	5000	Black/Blue
78	Championship	MW Motorsport	Zak Best	VIC	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	White
99	Kumho Cup	Harley Haber Motorsport/Image Racing	Harley Haber	NSW	Ford Falcon	FG	5000	White
111	Heritage	Custom Garage	Andy Cantrell	NSW	Ford Falcon	EL	5000	Whi/Blue/Red