Rain Rules at the Lakeside Classic
Saturday
QTCC Group B race 1
Wet and miserable conditions greeted drivers for the first round of the Lakeside Classic. A few cars remained in the pits due to a lack of wet weather tyre options, O'Farrell's Alfa missing from 4th on the grid. Begg lead them away with Phoenix struggling to find his way to Karrassel. The Knight brothers Datsuns split by the Commodores of Adrian Blackwell and Lakeside specialist, Gary Anger. Ian Soloman's BMW running well in 6th with the Commodore trio of Rice, Wedge and Walker attacking the ailing BMW of Phoenix by the end of lap 1, with Peter Jolly right in the mix. Nick Linton, Mark Giorgio and Malcolm Douglas rounding out 12th to 14th.
Lap 2, Begg was clearly getting away, the BMW best suited to the conditions by a country mile. Jolly decided to mix up the field with a spin exiting Karrassel and dropping to last. Knight had found his own section of track with a gap to Blackwell who got by Anger and Rick Knight for third. Rice picked off Soloman, who like Phoenix had started to experience visibility issues and slowed.
Michael Wedge's return to the category was going well, moving up steadily per lap and he and Stuart Walker tip toed through the field to sit behind Anger in 6th and 7th.
Nick Linton's orange Torana was the beneficiary of Jolly's spin and the visibility issues of others, moving up through the field, with ever smiling Giorgio and Douglas along for the ride.
By lap 5, Begg was 1/2 a lap in front of second and starting to lap the back markers. Anger, Soloman, Walker and Jolly had formed a follow the leader chain, driving by the tail lights of the preceding car and nothing more due to the fogged windows and never ending spray of the car in front.
By lap 7 the top 7 positions were settled. Begg was the preverbal country mile in front of Andrew Knight for second. Blackwell, Rick Knight were battling for third with a gap to Rice and a similar gap to Wedge. Linton was having the drive of his life, the old Torana finding its feet in the wet and running comfortably in 7th, with a gap to those visibly challenged in Anger, Soloman, Walker and Jolly.
At the checker, Begg lapped the field in a faultless drive, with Knight a clear second from Blackwell, Rick Knight, Rice and Wedge closing in to follow each other across the line for 3rd to 6th. Linton held 7th from Soloman, Jolly and Anger with Giorgio having his best run in the series for 11th. Walker suffering from the same fate as Phoenix and others and driving at a snail's pace by race end.
QTCC Group A race 1
A small field of 11 cars took the grid for race 1 of the weekend. Karl Begg started on pole from Steve Hay after a damp qualifying. At the start, Hay got the jump to turn 1 with Begg, Justin Anthony, Steve Burridge and Richard Gresham getting away well.
Matthew Mobsby spun exiting Karrassel, the second time in consecutive race meetings the Valeco Homes BMW had trouble negotiating turn 2 in race 1 of the weekend. This split the field with a gap to Leon Kemp who led a gaggle of cars with Michael Woodcroft, Dean McMahon, Murray Kent and Neville Haines in close pursuit.
Hay and Begg opened a small gap to Anthony in third and put on a fantastic battle, the nimble handling of the BMW E36 vs the bruit horse power of the Hano's sponsored Commodore.
Burridge held 4th on his own, from Gresham with the Woodcroft, ahead of McMahon, Haines and Kemp, all using their power to get by the BMW on the faster sections of the circuit.
Lap 5 saw Haines the first of many to be called into the pits for noise issues, before Begg ran wide while lining up a pass on Hay on the entrance to Eastern Loop and gently nudge the tyre wall on the outside.
As the track dried, Gresham was caught by Woodcroft and McMahon before the red flag was thrown and the race stoped two laps shy of its intended 12.
Hay won in a canter from Anthony, Burridge, Gresham, Woodcroft, McMahon, Kent, Kemp and Mobsby.
QTCC Group B race 2
Wet conditions again greeted group B competitors, this time with a number of them better equipped for the conditions. Previous race winner Chris Begg lead them away, Adrian Blackwell picking off Andrew Knight on the way to Karrassel for the first time. Rick Knight in the sister Dato was 4th with Rice, Anger, Wedge, Soloman and Walker following.
Nick Linton continued his good run in damp conditions, the old Torana holding its own against much younger machinery in 10th.
Jolly, Giorgio, Douglas and Phoenix rounding out the stragglers.
By lap 3, it was clear who the biggest mover was in the field, Gary Anger. The old Commodore with the likable driver behind the wheel had moved up 4 spots to sit in 3rd and looked like threatening the leaders.
Begg continued to lead but not in the dominant fashion of the earlier race. Blackwell was doing a great job in second before Anger swept by coming past the old bridge and into Hungry for second.
Rick Knight was driving the wheels off the red Datsun with Rice, Wedge, Walker in a Commodore freight train ahead of Linton and Soloman with a gap to Jolly and another gap to Giorgio.
Lap 6 saw Anger pass Begg for the lead down the main straight, with Rice pulling a similar move on Knight for 5th. This opened the flood gates for Knight, who dropped 4 places in as many laps to 9th.
Blackwell and Andrew Knight closed up for a good battle for 3rd and 4th while Anger and Begg held station out front.
Lap 9, Wedge had a big look at Rice down the main straight but waited patiently until the Bridge, getting by the #33 of Rice. Linton got by the struggling Knight for 8th while Soloman couldn't quite catch Knight by the checker, coming up shy by half a second.
At the front of the field, Anger crossed the line to a popular victory from Begg, with Blackwell and Andrew Knight separated by a couple of car lengths at the finish.
Wedge moved up to 5th from Rice and Walker with Linton pushing the Commodores until the end for 8th.
Jolly, Giorgio and Douglas rounding out the finishers with Phoenix failing to finish due to noise.
Sunday
QTCC Group A Race 2
Sunday opened with clearing skies and a damp track, despite not perfect conditions, a marked improvement on the previous day. Murray Kent failed to start with the Torana suffering oil pressure issues in the morning. Begg, Mobsby, Haines and Rushton started at rear of the field after the previous days issues.
Hay got the jump from the front row to lead them around the first time from Anthony, Burridge, Gresham and McMahon. By Hungry, Begg had made up a number of spots and was in 6th place, just off the leading pack of 5 cars.
Steve Burridge and Dean McMahon used their horsepower advantage over Anthony and Gresham to gain a spot each on lap two with neat passes between the Kink and Karrassel, holding their positions under brakes from the more nibble BMW's.
Next time around, Burridge received a call for excessive noise heading onto the straight and pulled to the right to let the trailing cars past. Unfortunately for Anthony, he followed Burridge and was held up momentarily, allowing both McMahon and Begg to get by.
Hay had opened up a 1.5 second gap by lap 3 over McMahon, Begg and Anthony, when Matthew Mobsby dropped the left rear wheel into the dirt coming down the hill, sending the BMW sideways across the track onto the infield before sliding back across the bitumen at the start of the straight and clouting the concrete wall on the inside. The Valeco Homes BMW taking no further part in the weekend.
Leon Kemp had the best view in the house of the action but damaged a diff after jumping on the anchors to avoid Mobsby. The Diet Coke BMW being showered in grass and mud from Mobsby's off.
The race was red flagged and a restart ordered with the cars forming up in their original starting positions.
Hay joined Anthony on the front row with Gresham on his own in row 2. McMahon and Woodcroft gave row three a yellow flavour with Haines and Begg occupying row 4.
Hay got away again opening up a small gap to Anthony, before the green BMW Wreckers E36 experienced handling issues, locking rears in Hungry and dropping 2 spots. McMahon got by Gresham on the main straight for second, leaving the BMW's to battle it out for 3rd to 5th with Begg joining the party.
Haines and Woodcroft running in close proximity, giving each other plenty of room after the last rounds tangle at QR. Stephen Rushton rounding out the 8 starters.
Hay held a small gap to McMahon, running second in his first meeting at Lakeside with a similar gap to Anthony. Gresham and Begg noise to tail for 4th and 5th.
As if this race hadn't seen enough drama, McMahon set a smoke screen down the front straight after a power steering house let go. Both Begg and Haines got done for noise, leaving Woodcroft and Rushton in 4th and 5th respectively.
Hay lead them to the finish in an easy win, with Anthony and Gresham putting on a close battle with Gresham poking the nose of the 2002 out on the entrance to Hungry everytme, Anthony covering the line perfectly and held on for 2nd by 0.15 of a second. Woodcroft and Rushton doing the same, seprated by less than .3 at the finish. Only 5 cars finished but an action packed race with plenty of close battles and unfortunately two cars down for the day.
QTCC Group B Race 3
Front runners in qualifying, John Phoenix and Joel O'Farrell staring from the rear of field after failing to finish race 2. Yesterdays first time winner, Gary Anger, lead Race 1 winner Chris Begg to Karrassel with Andrew Knight's Datsun 1600 in close proximity.
Knight executing a text book move around the outside of Karrassel, getting by both Anger and Begg and into the lead. The sister car driven by Rick Knight, started slipping backwards through the field and pulled out on lap 5.
The Commodores of Blackwell, Wedge and Walker with a gap to Rice held positions 4th to 7th and looked more ominous over the course of Sunday as the track dried and started to come back to the bigger cars.
Nick Linton continued his impressive run of form in 8th, the old Torrie holding its own against a hard charging Ian Soloman in 9th. Phoenix how had made up ground in the opening laps, before being called for noise and retiring on lap 5.
Jolly, O'Farrell, Giorgio and Douglas rounding out the back of the field in the early laps.
By lap 3, a tight battle had formed with Anger, Begg, Blackwell, Wedge and Walker before Blackwell slowed into Eastern Loop, an engine issue ending his weekend after showing some good pace.
Begg got by Anger on lap 5 exiting Karrassel with Wedge getting by Anger next time around. The VH Commodore not enjoying the drier conditions as much as Saturday's damp track.
Jolly was having a lonely drive, lapping in the 1:06's, ahead of Malcolm Douglas, who got by Giorgio, the little green BMW over taking the Falcon and holding him out until the finish.
Knight had cleared off into the distance, ringing the Dato's neck and showing great pace in the 61's. Anger's race wasn't going so well, Wedge and Walker getting by on lap 10 for 3rd and 4th respectively.
Linton blotted his weekend with a spin exiting Karrassel, dropping two spots to Jolly and O'Farrell who made ground from 13th to 8th during the race.
At the finish, it was Knight in a cantor by 8 seconds to Begg, with Wedge holding out Walker by 0.3 seconds over Anger in 5th. Rice 6th, Soloman holding out the fast finishing O'Farrell for 7th despite O'Farrell setting the 3rd fastest time for the race.
Linton, Douglas and Giorgio the last of the finishers.
QTCC Group A race3
Race 3 provided one of the more entertaining races of the weekend with Burridge, McMahon, Begg, Kemp and Kent starting at rear of field. Kent had earlier left the circuit to collect Torana v2.0 and was giving it a run.
At the green, Hay got away as usual with horsepower leading Anthony to Karrassel for the first time and opened a small gap on the first lap from Anthony and Gresham who in turn had a small break from Woodcroft, Haines and Rushton.
On Lap 2, Begg got by McMahon into Hungry with Begg's greater stopping power providing the difference. Burridge went to school on Begg's move, pulling the same pass on McMahon next time through Hungry.
Woodcroft, Haines, Rushton , Begg and Burridge formed a freight train and followed each other at close proximity in the early stages before Burridge got by Begg and Ruston on the main straight and Haines exiting Karrassel on the same lap. Clearly on a mission, Burridge picked off Woodcroft as he pleased for 4th going into Eastern Loop, much to the cheers of his fan club on the inside of the circuit.
Hay lead with a gap to Anthony and a similar gap to Burridge who was catching the 2002 with ease. Haines got by Woodcroft and moved out and away from the pack. Begg found himself stuck in a battle with bigger cars and horsepower and had to bide his time.
Kemp kept circulating at the rear without trouble as the new diff held together.
On lap 7, Burridge ran wide through Karrassel and lost a lot of time with a power steering issue, retiring after a great drive. Kent and McMahon benefitting from the reshuffle of the pack as Burridge had moved through as they dropped a bit of pace, the Torana and Monaro tacked onto the rear towards the end of the race.
With the front positions looking locked in, Haines started to catch Gresham, Woodcroft and McMahon got close with the 18 over taking the Torana on the way down the hill for the last time and maintaining .7 second gap at the finish line for 7th.
But out front Hay won in a canter by 9 seconds from Justin Anthony, who continued his great weekend, from Haines who pipped Gresham on the line by a tenth of a second. Begg held out Kent by the same margin for 5th and 6th.
Down the field, Kemp had a lonely drive for 9th and Burridge and Ruston failing to finish.
QTCC Race 7 - Combined Race
With a high attrition rate over the weekend, the 7th race of the weekend saw 10 group A and 13 B cars combine on the grid.
Hay and Anthony lead them away with Haines in third before having a spin which resulted in a gap in the field to Gresham and Begg who picked up a spot or two off the line.
Down the field, Dean Rice had a spin as well on the far side of the circuit.
Kent, McMahon, Burridge who had started rear of the group A cars but gained spots on lap 1, to Woodcroft who joined Chris Begg in having a spin into Hungry, both cars avoiding trouble, possible on fluid from the 67 who retired next time around.
Lap 3, Begg got by Gresham, with Kent and McMahon holding a gap to Kemp with a similar margin to a tight pack including Wedge, Walker, Andrew Knight, Anger and the Alfa of O'Farrell.
Soloman lead the rest of group B from Jolly, Linton, Phoenix, Douglas with Woodcroft and Chris Begg getting by Mark Giorgio after their earlier spins.
On lap 4, Gresham dropped back a couple of spots as Kent and McMahon out muscled the smaller BMW.
By lap 6 Walker got by Wedge and caught and passed Kemp to be lead Group B car, breaking out in the process with a 59.7.
Woodcroft gained places, picking his way through the group b cars after his earlier spin, Gresham retook 5th from McMahon who retired next lap around with a noise issue.
At the pointy end, Hay and Anthony held station in positions 1 and 2 with Begg and Kemp having their own dice for 3rd and 4th.
Gresham held 5th from Walker, Kemp, Wedge, Knight and O'Farrell, having his best run of the weekend, also breaking out with a 60.77.
On lap 8, Rice slowed with a flat tyre and retired early, an unfortunate result for the normally reliable and well presented Commodore.
Anger, Soloman, Woodcroft and Phoenix maintained small gaps to each other for the rest of the race for positions 11 to 15.
Chris Begg unable to make much ground on the other group B cars, holding off Linton and Giorgio at the rear for those who finished.
At the checker, Hay lead Anthony by 12 seconds with Begg getting the final podium spot from Kent by only 0.04 of a second.
Gresham had a lonely drive towards the end for 5th, from the lead group B car of Walker with Wedge, Knight and O'Farrell putting on a spirited and entertaining battle for 8th, 9th and 10th.
Anger was the lead car of those who were lapped for 11th such was the pace differential of Hay to the field.
QTCC Race 8 Reverse Grid
A ten car field took the start line for the last race of the weekend, a reverse grid race over 8 laps.
Malcolm Douglas and Mark Giorgio found themselves in the unusual position on the front row with Linton and A grader Woodcroft on row 2. Anger and Soloman, Kent and Gresham and Hay and Haines rounding out the field.
Woodcroft made the best of the jump leading out of Karrassel with a gap already to Gresham, Anger, Haines and Hay.
On lap 3, Haines and Kent got by Gresham as Woodcroft held his advantage out front.
By lap 4 the dark clouds that loomed in the distance had arrived and saw positions change, a repeat of the previous days racing with tyre choice proving a factor in the results.
Kent got by Woodcroft next time by the control tower with Haines, Gresham, Soloman and Hay maintaining safe gaps to each other in the drizzle.
Giorgio pulled a nice pass under Anger on the entry to Hungry in greasy conditions to eventually finish 7th.
At the checker for the final time this weekend, Kent lead a Torana 1-2 from Woodcroft who held Haines out for third by the narrowest of margins. The two Holden combatants running closely as they often do.
Gresham and Soloman having lonely drives for 4th and 5th with Nick Linton and Giorgio separated by half a second at the finish.
Anger, Hay and Douglas all failed to finish.
