With Brady Kennett and Zane Coppins on equal points in the 4WD class going into this round, there was plenty of interest. Gene Rollinson had tied up the 2WD class after Manfeild, but there was still a hot contest in the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup class.
While there are overall placings in the races, there is no overall winner award – the Suzuki Production cars run as three distinct groups, each having a class championship winner.
Kennett qualified on pole ahead of Coppins by 0.271 of a second, followed by Simon Sceats. Then, fourth overall was Rollinson ahead of Kevin Varney, Michael Modgill, Steve Taylor, Andrew Fox, David Silverton and Michael Richards, then William Bamber the first of the Swifts ahead of Scott Downes, Cody McMaster, Graeme Smyth, Richard Moore, Ben Dallas, Brock Barrie and Dane Fisher.
The first race was a triumph for Kennett who quickly opened a lead over Sceats and Coppins after the first lap until Sceats stopped when a loose bonnet stay shorted out his battery. Coppins then set out after Kennett but never really looked like threatening him for the win. Third overall was Rollinson who moved ahead of Varney during the race, setting a new lap record for his class in the process. Then it was well back to Taylor, Silverton, Fox and Richards as Modgill stopped with a loose front wheel. The battle of the Suzukis was furious with Downes just holding out Bamber for most of the race while right behind them McMaster was holding off Smyth, with
The second race started rather sensationally when the top rivals – Kennett and Coppins – made brief contact on the first lap through the sweeper, with Kennett just in front. The touch was enough for Coppins to puncture a front tyre, sending him to the pits for a replacement. The incident was then the subject of a protest by Coppins which was not accepted and then a further appeal against this decision which went to the stewards on Sunday afternoon but was again not accepted.
Kennett thus took the initial lead but was soon passed by a flying Sceats who ran away to take a good win from Kennett, then back to Varney and Modgill, then Taylor, Fox, Silverton and Michael Richards. Problems for Rollinson in his Mazda3 with an intermittent engine miss. Then came the frantic Suzukis – with McMaster leading most of the way from Smyth, Bamber and Barrie, until the last lap when the jostling for position became more urgent, especially under braking for the hairpin. Over the finish line it was Barrie ahead of Bamber, Smyth and McMaster, then Downes, then Moore and Dallas and the rest. Again a tremendous close race by these young drivers. Class lap records went to Bamber and Modgill.
So to the third reverse grid race for the classes and within them. Out front for much of the first part of the race was Dallas ahead of Bamber and Downes, but then the faster class cars started coming through, led by Modgill at first then Coppins who took the outright win just ahead of Sceats, then Kennett not pushing it as third in his class was enough to take the championship win. Modgill won his 2WD class as Rollinson had fitted a standard computer in an effort to cure his miss, but the car still would not run cleanly. Thus second in this class went to Steve Taylor with Rollinson third ahead of Fox and Richards.
The furious battle was again in the Suzukis, the win going to Smyth by a bumper from Bamber, Downes,
POINTS
Class A: McMaster 1223, Bamber 1213,
Class B: Rollinson 1487, Modgill 1205,
Class C: Kennett 1336, Coppins 1330, Sceats 1075, Aitken 849, Rongen 805.
