News

25 June 2012 | General

HUNTER TAKES WINTON AND RECLAIMS KUMHO SERIES LEAD

The Sydney-based driver finished fourth in this mornings race and led at the beginning of Race 3 only to later spin.

He received a pit lane penalty for re-entering the circuit dangerously after the spin but then later retired from the race with driveline problems.

The final race was action packed with Matt Hansen Mark Shepherd and Morgan Haber all eliminated in separate accidents that caused the Safety Car onto the circuit.

Perhaps the drive of the race though came from Mackay driver Justin Garioch who charged from 18th on the grid to third in Race 3.

Yesterdays Race 1 winner Tony Evangelou looked to continue his form in the mornings Race 2 but a spin dropped him back to an 11th-place finish.

He recovered to finish fourth in Race 3 and take the final podium position  for the weekend in his return to the category behind Hunter and young gun Aaron Tebb.

Earlier in the day 20-year-old New South Wales-based mechanic Tebb won his first Kumho Series race in a wild nine-lap Race 2 in his ex-Lee Holdsworth/Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore.

Starting from sixth on the grid in the wet he picked his way through the field and the conditions to win clear of an equally impressive Hansen Hunter Pollicina and Shawn Jamieson.

Tebbs second place overall was his first Kumho Series podium result and has catapulted him into third in the series points.

Queensland driver Shane Hunt won the Hi-Tec Oils Classic Trophy for older model cars his 2001-built ex- Brad Jones Racing Falcon AU finishing an impressive seventh in the final race against much newer machinery.

Television coverage of the round will air in upcoming weeks on Speedweek on SBS and Inside SPEED on Foxs SPEED motorsport channel.

A dedicated one-hour telecast of the round will also air on SPEED at a later date.

The next round of the Kumho Tyres Australian V8 Touring Car Series will be at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich on August 11-12 as part of the Shannons Nationals.

QUOTEBOOK

Josh Hunter (#3 Fernandez Motorsport Falcon BA 1st)

“It was like a battle for survival out there. There was a dry line in the last race but it was greasy on the edges of the circuit. We struggled a bit for pace this weekend but its good to come away with another podium and the round. We worked hard to get the car back on the pace.

Aaron Tebb (#98 MacArthur Truckserve Commodore VZ 2nd)

“The second race today was awesome. It was actually heaps of fun I really like the wet.

“Dad (team owner Robert Tebb) let me finally drive a V8 after years of pestering him so this is a nice reward for him.

Tony Evangelou (#20 TASCCO Racing-501 Falcon BA 3rd)

“Three weeks ago the car didnt have an engine so its been a sensational job by the crew to get here. The car was pretty quick. I made a mistake in Race 2 with that spin but overall it was a pretty good weekend.

KUMHO TYRES AUSTRALIAN V8 TOURING CAR SERIES

ROUND 3 WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

TOP 10 ROUND RESULT

1. Josh Hunter (Falcon BA) 122 points

2. Aaron Tebb (Commodore VZ) 113 points

3. Tony Evangelou (Falcon BA) 91 points

4. Jim Pollicina (Commodore VZ) 62 points

5. Shawn Jamieson (Commodore VZ) 56 points

6. Justin Garioch (Falcon BA) 55 points

7. Matt Hansen (Commodore VZ) 50 points

8. Morgan Haber (Falcon BA) 50 points

9. Shane Hunt (Falcon AU) 48 points

10. Michael Bartsch (Falcon BA) 47 points

TOP 10 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 3

1. Josh Hunter (Falcon BA) 312 points

2. Jim Pollicina (Commodore VZ) 279 points

3. Aaron Tebb (Commodore VZ) 194 pts

4. Michael Bartsch (Falcon BA) 185 points

5. Justin Garioch (Falcon BA) 180 points

6. Chris Smerdon (Falcon BA) 177 points

7. Bobby Jane (Falcon BA) 163 points

8. Morgan Haber (Falcon BA) 153 points

9. Scott Loadsman (Commodore VZ) 123 points

10. Mark Shepherd (Falcon BA) 117 points