Radical Australia Cup battle heats up in Sydney
Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW (1-3 March, 2019)
After a challenging opening round for the eleventh season of Radical Australia Cup on Mount Panorama, the teams return to Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend for three races and more valuable championship points.
Bathurst saw some outstanding drives right throughout the field, but by the close of the second 50-minute race it was former champion Neale Muston who stood tall at the top of the points on his return to Radical SR3 competition, whilst for former rival and fellow three-time champion Peter Paddon the weekend didn't quite go to plan, a small technical issue whilst comfortably leading the opening race having a big impact on his points position.
Likewise title rival Chris Perini also suffered misfortune with his own problems in race two whilst comfortably holding a podium finish, the two of them though expected to reignite their Bathurst rivalry this weekend in Sydney.
Historically Paddon is the most successful Radical driver at Sydney across the last four seasons with five wins from eight starts, whilst Perini top qualified in both races that concluded the 2018 Radical Australia Cup season in Sydney, taking a win against Paddon in the process.
They'll both have a close eye on their GWR team-mate Kosta Pohurokov who returns after a frustrating run at Bathurst which saw contact with the barriers during practice, contact which brought his weekend to a premature end. With a stunning new livery on his Tilton Racing SR3RSX, Kosta is expected to be right in the fight at the front of the field, but he won't be the only local driver to make his presence felt.
Brad and Mitch Neilson were the standout team in the opening race at Bathurst, using strategy to perfection to dominate the first race after an early Safety Car intervention, the former 'Rookies of the Year' also expected to be right in the mix fighting for the podium.
Tony Haggarty returns to active competition this weekend alongside son Simon in the second of the HRT entries, having subbed his SR3RSX to rising West Australian star Aaron Love at Bathurst, the experienced Radical campaigners always in the mix in Sydney, whilst Phil Anseline - who was also strong at Bathurst in his new RSX - will likely make his presence felt towards the front of the field.
Peter Clare is another who is expected to feature, the Shared Runway driver having been on a steep learning curve at Bathurst alongside Australian superstar Joey Mawson, and the 2018 'Most Improved Driver of the Year' will be keen to implement that knowledge this weekend.
As the home-base of Radical Australia, the Sydney Motorsport Park layout is well known to the bulk of the field with drivers like Rowan Ross, Michael Whiting and Bill Medland enjoying intimate knowledge of the 3.93-kilometre circuit, whilst for RA Motorsport's Chris Medland, round two will present his first opportunity to share the driving duties with son Max who makes his Cup debut in Sydney.
Sydney also welcomes the debut of Texan Jim Hernandez, the now-Queensland based businessman competing in his first Radical event after months of testing in his SR3RSX, the motorsport tragic looking forward to his first event and an opportunity to apply the experience he has gained through the mentoring process developed by Radical Australia over the last 11 years.
Live streaming will be in operation on both Saturday and Sunday - details are available through through the Australian Production Car website and the Radical Australia Facebook page.
www.australianproductioncars.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/radicalaustralia
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb6i9oR0l2aHoZsxqZLBP9w
Rnd#2, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
1-2 February, 2019
Friday, 1 March
09:00am - Practice#1 (20-minutes)
02:35pm - Practice#3 (20-minutes)
Saturday, 2 March
09:00am - Qualifying (30-minutes)
01:52pm - Race#1 (50-minutes)
Sunday, 3 March
09:20am - Race#2 (15-laps)
Radical Australia Cup history at Sydney Motorsport Park:
Qualifying#1; 1. Chris Perini 1:29.6077, 2. Paddon 1:29.9332, 3. Oliver Smith 1:30.1019
Qualifying#2; 1. Chris Perini 1:29.6115, 2. Paddon 1:30.1107, 3. Neilson 1:30.4265
Race#1 (32-laps): 1. Chris Perini, 2. Peter Paddon, 3. Mitch/Brad Neilson
Race#2 (29-laps): 1. Peter Paddon, 2. John Beck, 3. Peter Clare
Qualifying; 1. Shaw 1:28.7357, 2. Smith 1:28.9901, 3. Burke 1:29.0854
Race#1 (32-laps): 1. Peter Paddon, 2. Michael Shaw, 3. Oliver Smith
Race#2 (30-laps): 1. Peter Paddon, 2. Chris Medland, 3. Sue Hughes
Qualifying; 1. Winslow 1:28.4401, 2. Paddon 1:28.6871, 3. Ross 1:29.2979
Race#1 (31-laps): 1. Peter Paddon, 2. David Crampton 3. Simon Haggarty
Race#2 (28-laps): 1. O. Smith/G. Smith, 2. Rowan Ross, 3. Simon Haggarty
Qualifying; 1. Neale Muston (SR8) 1:46.5403, 2. Kim Burke (SR3) 1:48.5455
Race#1 (9-laps): 1. Neale Muston (SR8), 2. Kim Burke (SR3), 3. Peter Paddon (SR3)
Race#2 (22-laps): 1. Peter Paddon (SR3), 2. Oliver Smith (SR3), 3. Kim Burke (SR3)
Sydney Motorsport Park
Location: Eastern Creek, Sydney, NSW
Circuit length: 3.93-kilometres
Corners: 11 (anti-clockwise)
Circuit first opened: 1990
Radical SR3 lap record: 1:28.2263 (James Winslow, Race#1, 2 July, 2016) - RACE
1:28.4401 (James Winslow, 1 July, 2016) - QUALIFYING
Championship Points (after one round of six)
1. Neale Muston (60-points), 2. Brad/Mitchell Neilson (49), 3. Brenton Griguol (47), 3. Aaron Love (47), 5. Simon Haggarty (45), 6. Peter Clare (41), 7. Peter Paddon (40), 8. Chris Medland (38), 8. Greg Kenny (38), 8. Chris Perini (38), 11. Bill Medland (34), 12. Michael Whiting (22), 13. Anthony Davis (21), 14. Phil Anseline (18), 14. David Pennells/Matthew Windsor (18), 16. Brad Shiels/Grant Denyer (11), 17. Rowan Ross (7), 18. Ed Singleton (0), 18. Kostinken Pohorukov (0)