A spectacular finish at the Cars For Hope IPRA Final Round 2015
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The driving was fierce but friendly for the final round of the IPRA NSW State Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park. Following the packed out #IAMDRIVEN EOMM a few nights before where a selection of competitor racing cars were present. The Cars For Hope IPRA Final Round was the best close to a week of pure automotive goodness.
Improved Production Racing is one of the fastest growing circuit racing categories in Australia; loosely based on a modified road car, it is fast and relatively inexpensive, as far as race cars go. Yokohama’s ADVAN A050 R Spec is the control tyre for this series and is quickly becoming the tyre to have in Tarmac Rallies, Hillclimbs, and Time Attack events.
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Both the Under 2L and Over 2L classes had their fair share of on track excitement in the fight for each title. For the Under 2L class, it was a close fight between Bob Jowett in his Honda EG Civic and Justin McClintock in his Toyota Sprinter, while the Over 2L class had Michael Posa in his Mazda RX-3 up against Andrew McMaster in his BMW E30.
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Despite the inclement weather in the lead up to the Final Round, Race 1 of the Under 2L class was set in dry and windy conditions. Jowett capitalised on his pole position and made a great start in his Civic, while McClintock, who started in 5th position, followed closely behind into Turn 1. But of course first lap antics would ensue into the high speed Turn 1 of SMSP, where Mathew Harris received a tap from behind and spun in front of the oncoming field, which spread in all directions to avoid potential damage. Harris eventually climbed through the field to finish the race in 5th position, while 3rd, 2nd and 1st positions were taken by Graham Bohm, Justin McClintock and Bob Jowett respectively.
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Race 2 was another lively affair with Peter Foote in his Nissan Pulsar three-wheeling through most corners. At the front however, it was still as tight as ever with Jowett finishing in 1st position ahead of McClintock by 4 seconds, who was subsequently 4 seconds ahead of Bohm in 3rd positIon.
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Race 3 of the weekend ended up being the deciding race for the 2015 Championship. McClintock made a great start ahead of Jowett, however whilst fighting for the lead Jowett experienced a front wheel failure, causing him to DNF the race and thus relinquish his chance at securing the title. McClintock finished Race 3 with one hand on the Championship trophy in 1st position, with Bohm in 2nd and Ryan Jagger in a close 3rd position.
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The final race of the 2015 season saw McClintock get another blistering start off the line, followed by Bohm and Anthony Wilken. However, there was another Turn 1 disaster, but this time for the Ford Escorts of Ian Price and Craig Wildridge who came together with extensive damage resulting for both cars. While the championship battle was over for Jowett, he climbed through the field from the last spot on the grid to finish Race 4 in 5th position. 1st, 2nd and 3rd position was taken out by McClintock, Jowett and Jagger respectively.
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Overall the 2015 Championship Title was won by Justin McClintock in his Toyota Sprinter, with a total of 619 points – 20 points over Championship runner up Graham Bohm. Congratulations to Justin for a well deserved win!
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The Over 2L class for the 2015 IPRA NSW State Championship was also hotly contested. It started with the battle for pole position for Race 1, which was clinched by Graeme Watts in his Nissan Silvia with a blistering time of 1.14: 1055, a massive 1.3 seconds quicker than Kees Delhass in 2nd position on the grid.
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Taking full advantage of his pole position, Watts made a great start and had already built up a sizeable lead by Turn 2, who continued to increase his lead throughout the race. The battle behind was fought between Delhass, John McKenzie, Michael Posa, Paul White and the Ingram brothers, Matthew and Peter. With 2 laps to go, McKenzie put a move on Delhass who finished in 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
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For Race 2, McKenzie in his Holden Commodore made a better start but was eventually overtaken by Watts’ Nissan Silvia with its outright speed. Subsequently, Delhass put immense pressure on McKenzie in their fight for 2nd position, with Delhass crossing the line ahead of McKenzie. Unfortunately, he was later hit with a penalty which relegated him to 3rd position.
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Race 3 was a similar affair to the previous race, with McKenzie pulling a lead in front of Watts for the first few laps. However, it would be Watts who would maintain the pressure on McKenzie once again to take the lead by Lap 3. Delhass was then able to put the pressure on to finish the race in 2nd position, with McKenzie in a close 3rd position. With Posa finishing ahead of McMaster, all he needed to do now was finish Race 4 to take the 2015 Championship Title.
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Watts reign in the final round of the Championship continued for Race 4, who led for the whole race while McKenzie was hot on his heels. Delhass ended up crossing the line in 2nd position, but another penalty relegated him once again to 3rd position, moving White to 2nd. Posa finished Race 4 ahead of McMaster and clinched the 2015 Championship Title. Congratulations to Michael for taking out the 2015 season!
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The Cars For Hope IPRA Final Round proved to be the cracker of a finale we’ve waited the whole year for; congratulations to all the teams and drivers who competed in 2015!
For more information on YOKOHAMA ADVAN A050 R spec tyre visit: http://www.yokohama.com.au/Tyres/ADVAN-A050-R-Spec.aspx
