Newcomer to the PCC David Heath has enjoyed a stunning debut, blitzing the competition during Round Two at Calder Park.
Friday evening brought grey skies and rain to the Calder Park circuit, and the surface was greasy on Saturday morning. So much so that proceedings were a little delayed. When things did get underway, it was Clark Stott in his BlackberryStore.com.au Mazda 3 MPS who jumped to the top of the timesheets with a 1m09.2s lap. Round 1 winner, Jeremy Gray (AU Falcon XR8) was next quickest, heading Hans Riehs (Mini Cooper S), Anthony Soole (Toyota Celica), David Heath (BF Falcon XR8), Joshua Riehs (Mini Cooper S), Daniel Flanagan (Hyundai Sonata), Phil Buggee (Fiat Punto Sport), Lauren Gray (Toyota Echo), Shane Tanner (Proton Satria) and John Willmington (Nissan Pulsar).
By the time the cars finished qualifying, the order had changed somewhat, with the V8-powered Falcons able to stretch their legs, and enjoying the long straights of Calder. David Heath moved his carstockade.com BF XR8 to the top of the timesheets, with a 1m08.2s lap. Just 2 tenths behind (and at the top of the sheets for most of the session), Jeremy Gray was running strongly. Within half a second of pole was Clark Stott, followed by Hans Riehs - the first of the Class B cars, Soole, Flanagan, Buggee (top Class D), Tanner (top Class C), Lauren Gray and John Willmington. Josh Riehs didn't make it out as his car was suffering hydraulic problems. Neil Byers was also relegated to spectator duties, with his Mitsubishi 380 suffering an electrical gremlin that could not be resolved.
Again the rain fell overnight, and the competitors were faced with a slippery circuit for Race One on Sunday morning. Jeremy Gray got off to a terrific start, and held the lead for most of the race, from David Heath. He relinquished it on the last lap though, Heath sneaking through for the win, with under a second between the two at the finish. A strong performance from Hans Riehs in the Hansinsure Mini Cooper S saw him finish 3rd (and first of the Class B cars), ahead of Clark Stott, Soole, Flanagan, Buggee, Tanner (first Class C) and Willmington. Flanagan ran as high as third early in the race, but slipped back as the race progressed (he was also handed an 11 point penalty for his part in an incident during the race). Absent from the race was Lauren Gray after problems with her Toyota Echo.
The circuit dried out in time for the reverse-grid Race Two, but again it was Jeremy Gray who took the early lead, holding onto it for the first 5 laps. Flanagan also did well out of the reverse grid, holding second place for the first lap. He was gobbled up by David Heath and Anthony Soole on the second lap though, and eventually dropped back to 6th. Heath made the pass stick on Gray on the sixth lap, and held the lead to the finish. Clark Stott ran as low as 6th early in the race, but drove forcefully to make his way up to third by the 5th lap. Soole was the best of the Class B runners, finishing 4th overall, ahead of Riehs, Flanagan, Buggee, Tanner (top Class C) and Willmington.
For the third and final race the grid positions are determined by each driver's fastest laptime from the previous races. This gave Heath pole position, and he used it to full advantage - never headed throughout the race. Behind him Gray held second place throughout, while Clark Stott ran strongly in third until he ran into fuel pressure problems which put him out of the race. Hans Riehs was elevated to third (and first Class B), ahead of Flanagan, Soole, Tanner (first Class C), Buggee and Willmington.
Overall, David Heath's clean sweep saw him take overall honours for the round, and Class A honours. Second outright was Jeremy Gray, and third was Hans Riehs after a strong performance in the Mini Cooper S. Hans also took class honours in Class B, and Shane Tanner won Class C. Philip Buggee took out the Diesel Class D honours.
The next appearance for the AASA Production Car Championship will be at Ipswich's Queensland Raceway 17-18 May.
