Round 2 Preview - Paperclip Awaits for Round 2
On the back of a two-month break, the teams and drivers of the Brisbane Collision Centre Queensland Touring Car Championship are back on-track this Saturday, with Round 2 of 6, and the first of four championship rounds at Willowbank's Queensland Raceway.
Round 2 will be the last single-day meeting until Round 5, and the first time we see racing in the dark for 2021.
The four-race program will stretch across three different circuit configurations, with Qualifying and two races on the 3.12km National Circuit, one race on the 2.14km Clubman Circuit, and one race to be contested on the 1.93km Sprint Circuit.
The opening round at Lakeside Park saw six different race winners, across the three racing groups, with Stuart Walker taking round honours in Group A, Rob Droder claiming Group B, and Scott Kelly victorious in Group C.
As the field heads south of the river city, more than 30 cars will line up for Round 2, including a handful of drivers that were missing from the opening round of the season.
Lance Jurgeleit finally has his BMW E36 ready to hit the track. Saturday’s race meeting will be his first in fourteen months – having not featured on the QTCC grid since the 2020 Lakeside Tribute.
Also featuring on the grid, for the first time this year, will be Lee Gravolin in the Holden Monaro, Lars Lofgren in the BMW E46 M3, Barry Davey in a Ford Falcon, and category favourite, and former series champion, Murray Kent, returns to the grid, in his Holden Torana.
At the front of the field, the battle is set to resume between Stuart Walker, Matthew Haak and Saxon Moyes, but Murray Kent is someone they’ll all have to contend with at some point.
Moyes, fresh off a fantastic result in the All-Stars Drift meeting staged at Queensland Raceway a few weeks back, is the sole BMW vying for outright wins at the moment, in the Brisbane Collision Centre Queensland Touring Car Championship, and if past history is anything to go by, the two races on the shorter circuits will be the perfect opportunity for him to take the fight to his Holden rivals, who thrive on the long straights of Queensland Raceway.
In Group B, Rob Droder is the man to beat on points, but Michael Woodcroft returns, with mechanical issues resolved, hoping to return to the winners circle during Round 2, and take the fight to Droder in the championship stakes.
In Group C, Murray Reilly makes his racing debut at Queensland Raceway, and will face stiff competition from Round 1 winner Scott Kelly, and Ford Escort pilot, Mark Hyde, who has got on top of the gremlins that plagued his progress in the opening round of the season.
Competitors will hit the circuit for general practice on Friday, before the race meeting takes place from 8:30am on Saturday morning.
For those that can get trackside, spectator entry is $20, but for those who can’t, West Bremer Radio, and West Bremer Sport will bring you all the action, with a full replay of the second round airing from Midday AEST, on Saturday, May 29.
The 2021 Queensland Touring Car Championship is proudly sponsored by: Brisbane Collision Centre, Brisbane Motor Works, Uniglide Friction Reducing Concentrate, Hully’s Automotive, Tyre Busters Kunda Park, Hano’s Car Care, Vitesse Developments, Fifotos Motorsport Media, Andrew Knight Electrical Contracting, Western Suburbs Mechanical, Hyqual Australia, and Prestige Stripes and Signs.
