Motorsport Weekly Roundup - 26th July 2023
26 July 2023 / David Lawler & Paul Nudd (photo by Priceless Images)
Last week I forgot to include the upcoming club motorkhana in my weekly roundup of upcoming events. Oops! The motorkhana will be held at the Sydney Motorsport Park skidpan on Sunday 6th August, and we currently have a very low number of entries. If you are an occasional motorkhana driver or maybe even a first-timer, I encourage you to enter. See below in Upcoming Events for details.
Entries are also low for the next club track day which is also the 2023 NSW/Vic Interstate Challenge, at Pheasant Wood on Sunday 13th August. So far, entry numbers are very low, so I encourage you to enter and represent our club against those dastardly Victorians. If you don’t plan to drive then please put your hand up to help run the event instead. Either way, I hope to see you there.
Paul Nudd has provided a report for MX-5 Cup round 2, which is included below in the Completed Events section.
The featured picture this week is from Priceless Images and shows some of the field at MX-5 Cup round 2, where the MX-5s were mixed with Clubmans for their races.
Upcoming Events
Club Motorkhana Round 2 at SMSP Skidpan – Sunday 6th August
The next club motorkhana is in just under 2 weeks at the SMSP skidpan. With entry numbers currently very low, I encourage you to enter for a fun day of motorsport with the relatively cheap entry fee of $80 for club members or $100 for non-members.
For anyone not familiar with motorkhanas, the driving is done on a wet concrete surface so it is slippery, limiting speeds and avoiding wear on tyres. No special equipment is needed, not even a helmet. A motorkhana is a great way to learn car control skills in a safe and legal environment. If you want to know more about driving at a motorkhana then contact me via email or phone. David competition@mx5.com.au and 0403 070 644.
The event page with more information is here on the club website.
Club Track Day Round 5 and Interstate Challenge at Pheasant Wood – Sunday 13th August
Next month we have the 5th round of the annual Track Day Championship plus the NSW/Vic Interstate Challenge on at Pheasant Wood Circuit.
Entries are open here, so get your entry in now and let’s beat the Victorians this year!
If you can’t drive then we can probably use your help as a flag marshal, so if you are available please contact me competition@mx5.com.au.
NSW Supersprint at SMSP North/Druitt Circuit - Sunday 27th August
The next round of the NSW Supersprint Championship will be run by NSWRRC on Sunday 27th August using the SMSP North/Druitt Circuit.
Entries are open. The event page is here.
Completed Events
MX-5 Cup Round 2 at SMSP GP Circuit – Saturday 15th July
Paul Nudd has provided the following report on MX-5 Cup round 2.
The Sydney 300 was at Sydney Motorsport Park in the evening of 15th July 2023. Earlier in the day as part of the MRA program was Round 2 of the 2023 MX-5 Cup.
Consisting of a qualifying session and 2 races Round 2 had a good turnout including 2 entries from drivers from Queensland. Initially 21 entries, dropping to 20 a few days before then down to 19 on the day.
Overall placings
First place on the day went to 2021 champion Tim Herring with 23 points from wins in races 1 and 3 and second in race 2, both outright and in the Forced Induction Open Class. Second place on the day went to Craig Barney also with 23 points from a second and 2 wins in Class B. Third place on the day went to Stuart McFadyen with 22 points from 2 wins and a third in the Naturally Aspirated Open Class Jacob Giovenco also scored 22 points from 2 second places and a win in the Naturally Aspirated Open Class. The tie was broken in Stuart’s favour as he scored more class wins.
Class Results
Forced Induction Open Class
6 Turbo Cars made up the class which was dominated by Tim Herring with 2 wins and a second place in class. Rob Kriletich was next best with a 5th a 3rd and a 4th in class. Richard Herring was heading for a good result with a second in class in race 1 and a class win in race 2 but sadly scored a DNF in race 3 to finish 3rd in class. 4th in class was Brett Lansley with a 5th and two 4ths in class. Jett Herring started well with a 3rd outright and in class in race 1 and finished even better with a 2nd outright and in class in Race 3 but a DNS inb race 2 relegated him to 5th in class. John Fraser rounded out the class with a 6th in race 1 then DNFs in races 2 and 3.
Naturally Aspirated Open Class
4 Naturally Aspirated Cars were quick enough to qualify for the Open Class and the best result went to Stuart McFadyen with 2 class wins and a third in class in race 3. Next best was Jacob Giovenco with 2 second places and a class win in race 3. Third in class was Robbie Giovenco with 2 thirds and a second in class. The rapidly improving Kiara Zabetakis made it into the open NA class and scored three 4th places in class.
Class A
James Hay, from Qld, won Class A with a third, a second and a first in class. Just 1 point behind was Rob Herrick with a second, a third and another second in class. David Johnson started well with 2 class wins but sadly did not finish race 3 and dropped to third in class.
Class B
Aisa Sukarieh is new to racing and became the only entry to qualify for Class C. The rules specify that a single entry to a class is ‘moved up’ to the next class. So Aisa joined class B. Craig Barney won the class with a second and 2 wins. John Connolly was second in class with a 4th, a 3rd and a 2nd in class. Third in class B was our other Qld visitor, Richard Barramwith a win, a second and a DNF. Aisa Sukarieh was 4th in Class B with two 5ths and a 3rd. Paul Nudd was 5th in class B with a 3rd a 4th and a DNF (broken gearbox). Lou Iezzi qualified for class B but did not start in any of the races.
A gallery of images from MX-5 Cup round 2 is on the Priceless Images website here:
https://pricelessimages.ifp3.com/#/gallery/mx5-clubman-july-2023/500-5099/
