2015 CAMS NSW Supersprint Round 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park

2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 3 - Mark Palmer
2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 3 - Mark Palmer 2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 2 - Mark Palmer 2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 1 - Mark Palmer

09 March 2015 / Words by David Lawler, photos by Mark Palmer

After a great MX-5 team performance last year which gained us our 9th CAMS NSW Supersprint Championship, interest for 2015 was even higher with 49 MX-5 club members registering for the championship. While having that many members registered is good, we still need to compete at as many events as possible, to score points for ourselves and for the club, if we are to repeat our 2014 championship win.

The first supersprint of 2015 was held at Sydney Motorsport Park Grand Prix circuit, on Sunday 8th March, and even after 2 late withdrawals there were still 34 MX-5 club members participating. What a fantastic turnout!
There were so many MX-5 club drivers that this was the first supersprint I have been to where I wasn't able to get around and have a chat with everyone.

The rain that was predicted for the afternoon didn't eventuate, however it was a warm day, reaching 34 degress at one point, which made it more difficult for drivers, cars and fast lap times. We had 4 runs over the day, each of 8 minutes. Fastest times were typically set in the first runs of the day, becaming progressively more difficult as both air and track warmed.

2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 2 - Mark Palmer

Some highlights from the results.

  • Bryan Shedden and Stewart Temesvary were at it again in class 1B, with Bryan reversing their 2014 championship placings to beat Stewart. Unfortunately both of them were bested by a Lotus Exige.
  • In class 2C, Luke Kovacic was 4th behind three Porsche GT3s, but in front of a Mitsubishi Evo and a very fast Datsun 240Z.
  • Ralph Thompson won class 3B by over 4 seconds, beating two Lotus Elise's.
  • Mike Hicks, Dennis Chiswick and Gus Elias took 2nd through 4th in SVB, with only half a second between the three of them.
  • Verne Johnson was the quickest MX-5 on the day with a time of 1:47.608, but had to be content wth 3rd in SVC behind two Lotus Exige's.

Is it just me, or do there seem to be more Lotus cars at supersprints this year? Phil Ashton sure seemed to be having some sort of recurring Lotus nightmare.

2015 NSW Supersprint Rnd 1 Pic 1 - Mark Palmer

Unfortunately three MX-5 club drivers had early finishes to their day with car problems. Ed Cory was lacking power, Craig Gartlacher was lacking electricity, and Baden West was lacking gears. Better luck next time guys!

The next NSW Supersprint is at Wakefield Park on Sunday 19th April. Entries have already opened, so get yours in now to avoid missing a spot.

More of Mark Palmer's photos can be found here.