News

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