Phillip Island Round 2 Race report

A very Mixed up weekend for those trying to choose the right Tyres

Saturday 21st April

Qualifying A bit of a non event as it was interrupted by the Tamasi car catching a fire allegedly caused by a fuel cap being left off and the fumes ignited by the exhaust, the car stopped on the main straight and took some time to put out and be removed from the track.

This was followed by another red flag so most competitors only got 1 timed lap to qualify

Brett Dickie was the fastest in his "Performance Motor Sport" Honda followed by Lee Uhlhorn in the "Refrigerated Transport" RX7 new member Scott Manson in his "yournextcar.com" Mini Dave Runkel in the "TraComp" Proton, Steve Howard "Lightning Locksmiths" Corolla and David Brown with the "Aussie Made Garages" Nissan Bluebird.

Race 1 Race 1 had Brett and Lee on row 2 behind Michael Robinson and Graeme Gilliland, at the start before turn 1 Brett had and altercation with Ruta in a Mazda coming into turn 1, which put Brett behind Ruta and Abelnica's Falcon, Dave Runkel got a good start and led Steve Howard into turn 1 with Scott Manson and last David Brown, Lee was then passed into Honda by Ruta, Abelnica's Falcon and Stephen Craig.

Craig then had a major lockup into MG trying to pass Abelnica's Falcon, coming into contact with the back of the red car, next lap Lee and Brett raced up the straight with Lee coming out on top as they negotiated Lukey Heights, Lee then had a major dive under Ruta to secure 3rd Place which he held to the flag.

Craig fell behind the big red Falcon after an unsuccessful pass at Honda and then was passed by Webster who put him back in the field but 2nd in class, which was a shame after the good start he and Lee had enjoyed.

Manson's Mini was able to put some distance between himself and Dave while Dave and Steve Howard continued their dual race long with Dave successful in securing 3rd place in class
Results 1. Lee Uhlhorn 2. Brett Dickie 3. David Runkel

Sunday 22nd April

Love a good wet & drying race to make things interesting
Race 2 Sunday saw a downpour before the day started that washed the track of any rubber from the previous day and continued to drizzle into our race which made it difficult to decide wet or dry tyres, intermediates proved to be the right choice, 2 minutes before the race people where still deciding unfortunately for Michael Robinson he chose Slicks and when trying to not wheel spin off the line bogged the Monaro to the point he was swamped my half the field and lucky not to get a rear end impact he then spent the race playing catch-up.

But this allowed Brett who got a good start and was in front of Lee for couple of laps and raced with Graeme's Mazda while the track was damp. Starting on wets gave him an advantage but as the track dried out, Lees intermediates came on song and they raced until lap 3 when Lee dived under Brett to get 2nd, and challenge for the race lead, Lee was able to pass Gilliland on Lap 4 and made the most of his tyres on the drying track, with Graeme's Mazda closing in on the last lap and secure an outright victory, Brett was able to achieve a very credible 3rd place overall.

Dave drove well in the conditions, mixing it with some V8's and rotaries in a car that should have been outdone by them on any other day, put in a good performance to achieve a very credible 3rd 2 litre Sports Sedan home. The little proton is getting quicker all the time!
Steve drove hard to try and keep up with the others, but looked to suffer from traction issues, tyre choice maybe? I believe he is choosing wider tyres for the future, but got better as the race went on for a 4th place 2 litre Sports sedan.

David Brown driving his red bluebird was out having fun again at the Island making the most of the conditions bringing the car back in one piece.
Results 1. Lee Uhlhorn 2. Brett Dickie 3. David Runkel

A dry race to finish off with
Race 3 Lee started in 1st grid position, but on the run to the first corner in dry conditions couldn't hold off the more powerful cars of Robinson and Gilliland with stiff competition from Ruta in his Mazda 808. A great race to watch, and better to be in I bet, with a close finish of less than one second for 2nd to 4th , Lee claimed a well earned result of 4th place and 1st 2litre Sports Sedan.

Brett charged away off the line and got into a nice old battle for position with Craig Stevens and Phil Webster all race long, nipping at the heels of Bob gill's V8 Falcon as he crossed the finish line. He'll be looking for a better track set up and a bit more grunt for the next meeting. Another good result.

Dave has got his Proton handling well now, enough to go 3 wheeling it through Siberia at times. He has been running some quick times this weekend, some 4 seconds faster than last year! A great result was had by finishing 3rd 2litre Sports Sedan in all races. Well done Dave.

Steve's first couple of laps was spent chasing Dave's hatchback and changes to his car over the break may not have given him the pace he's been looking for this weekend, but the car did return in one piece and some valuable points taken away from this weekend.

David suffered some issues in the bluebird in the last race, but after a full weekend of racing and the car in one piece, he is looking forward to the next round at Sandown
Results 1. Lee Uhlhorn 2. Brett Dickie 3. David Runkel

The TraComp Presidents Trophy was awarded to Lee Uhlhorn

It should be noted that the Tracomp Presidents Trophy is not designed to go to the winner necessarily, in fact it is more of an encouragement award to Drivers, Teams and Pit Crews, but this weekend Lee was chosen for his Race-craft, tenacity, car set up and excellent driving in very mixed conditions.

Results for the meeting

1st - Lee Uhlhorn
2nd - Brett Dickie
3rd - David Runkel

Sandown is our Next Championship Meeting lets see you there.

My thanks to Colin Laging for his help in compiling this race Report

Mike

Round 2 Snippets, - More can be found on the gallery page.

Official 2litre Sports Sedan Photographer

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