Introducing Modern Sports Cars

[NitroDann]

Awesome.

Your tune looks very good judging by the wideband.

Dann

[mx5racing]

The Inaugural Modern Sports Car event was an outstanding success. This is the report that features on the modernsportscars.com.au website -

The debutant Modern Sports Cars series triumphed over extreme weather conditions @ Wakefield Park last weekend with 23 entrants from Victoria, ACT, NSW and Queensland. Outright winners from Saturdays 1 Hour event, Shane Otten & David Raddatz where unlucky to repeat the feat on the Sunday due to a mechanical failure. Their SP Turbo Mazda MX5 led the field until lap 11 of the 47 lap race. The pairing regained the lead on lap 30 however this time in a naturally aspirated NB model Mazda MX5!!!

Raddatz & Otten had cross entered both MX5′s hence they where able to finish 1st & 2nd during Saturdays 1 hour race. Ultimately the endurance masters finished 3rd outright at the end of Sundays’ 1 Hour event and on the same lap as the outright winner Matilda Mravicic. They also secured 2nd in class D behind Mravicic and ahead of Anthony Soole in his Nissan 200sx

Mravicic finished 4th outright in Saturdays event and drove the entire stint alone, scything through the 20 car grid on the Sunday for the win. Mravicic also won class D in her Turbo Mazda MX5.

Michael Hall & Daniel Deckers were a close second outright just 28 seconds behind Mravicic in their 2.5L naturally aspirated NC model MX5 after the 55 minute race. Deckers set a blistering laptime of 1:06.84 during his Saturday qualifying session and the pairing went on to win Class B.

The Sunday event was culled by 5 minutes as were all the other events due to the extreme weather conditions. The “gloom” set-in after lunch on the Saturday and persisted until approximately 1pm the following day.

Torrential rain accompanied Sunday morning’s two qualifying sessions. Despite the conditions the Modern Sports Cars category filed onto the track. The sessions where uninterrupted and the pole went to Queenslanders Paul Chapman and Anthony Bonanno in their BMW M Coupe.

Unlike the Saturday event, the start of Sunday's race, was met with drying conditions. Chapman took the early lead on treaded tyres however he inevitably relinquished the lead to the slick-shod field. Chapman and Bonanno won their class (Class A) and finished 6th outright – one position better than their Saturday race finish.

Third place in class D, Anthony Soole was unlucky to not finish the event on the podium due to a minor infringement which prompted a drive-through penalty. Soole showed amazing car control throughout the weekends’ racing and remarkable speed, particularly during qualifying on Saturday.

Winners of class E for the weekend were Terry Nightingale and Brian Anderson who also finished 7th outright. Their NC model MX5 was the class of the field in wet conditions. The event marked the first competitive drive for Nightingale in 2013 who proved to be consistently fast from the very first practice session on Friday. Neither driver had sampled the Targa Racing MX5 prior to the event and showed remarkable speed despite the unfamiliar machinery.

Similarly, Queensland drivers Chris Romano and Nick Leontsinis had neither experienced the NC model MX5 OR the Wakefield Park circuit. The duo adapted quickly and set one of the fastest times of the Targa Racing rental fleet on treaded tyres during Sundays event. The Wakefield debutants finished 2nd in class E and 8th outright behind Anderson & Nightingale.

Class C winners Justin Ruggier and Mark Mackay also finished 5th outright in their 2008 NC model MX5. Ruggier & Mackay have partnered for events such as the Bathurst Easter Motor Festival and the Winton 300 where they finished 2nd in class and 7th outright. Ruggier set an electrifying pace during Saturdays qualifying with a time of 1:08.26.

GregTasker completed the event alone and placed 2nd in class C driving his 2006 NC model MX5. Tasker’s regular co-driver Sam Silvestro was at the event regrettably nursing a broken foot after a motorcycle incident. This left the driving duties to Tasker who finished 10th outright in both Saturday and Sunday events.

Endurance professional Nathan Jess partnered a benevolent Adam Ronke in a NB model MX5 to take 3rd in class C. Ronke proved to be a master at maximising their position at race starts. The start of the Sunday race saw Ronke dispatch no less than three cars in the first lap without incident. Jess, a multiple Wakefield 300 winner took over driving duties on lap 18 and continued to hunt down the class protagonists eventually finishing 12th outright. Ronke also fielded a second car capably dríven by Phil Portea – a Nissan NX Coupe. Portea finished 7th in class and is now touting the possible return in a more competitive sports car.

Husband and wife team Peter and Robyn Lacey should have finished higher up the order had it not been for a mechanical issue in the dying minutes of the event. The irrepressible team has travelled to every iconic event from Queensland including Phillip Island, Winton and Bathurst over the last two years. Their early model MX5 has secured a number of remarkable results including a podium at the 2012 Winton 300.

Chris Gough & Zane AL-Said debuted the latest addition to the Targa Racing rental fleet – a 2012 Toyota 86GT. AL-Said tested the Toyota sports car flagship for the very first time during Friday practice. The pairing went on to qualify 2nd in class for Saturdays race and ultimately finished 9th outright on Sunday.

The drivers of the 2nd Toyota 86, Bruce Colbey & Chris Reeves proved to be formidable opponents during the event and unrivalled masters during the wet races and qualifying. The Prestige Auto Traders Toyota 86 set a blistering pace during the start of Saturday’s event. This despite running the car without aftermarket headers!

Father & son pairing Bill and Will Rugg competing in their very first racing event finished 4th in class C aboard their early model Mazda MX5. A remarkable achievement as Will has only competed in a number of speed events whilst Bill has only experienced a handfull of club events. The tricky conditions would normally have proved to be too difficult for novice racers however the pair excelled and are expected to be back on-track more often in the future.

Craig Durrant & Chris Deckers, a first time pairing, finished 6th in the most competitive class of the entire field. They matched the times of the later model cars in their class and ‘punched well above their weight’. The team where unlucky to receive a drive through penalty for a minor pit-lane infringement and would have otherwise finished well up the order.

A mechanical failure sidelined Neil Halls who had been competing in the top 6 in dry conditions all weekend. Driving a NB model MX5, Halls managed to set the fastest time for class C during Saturday qualifying.

Lou Iezzi and Anthony Robson suffered a similar fate on lap 15 during Sundays event. Robson and Iezzi finished 8th outright after Saturdays 1 hour and 3rd in class. Their NA model MX5 was set for an even better finish after Robson set a blistering wet wether pace during qualifying for Sundays race.

Rob Hay placed 3rd in class B and finished 4th outright despite a lengthy pitstop. The sole driver of the #91 NB model MX5, Hay set a remarkable pace in very tricky conditions. His last lap during Sunday’s race was his fastest with a 1:07.97 proving that Hay still had plenty left after 55 minutes of solo driving.

The Modern Sports Cars series is now looking to secure another event before the end of 2013 with a bigger plans for the 2014 season. The inaugural event has proved to be a resounding success with competition from most of the eastern states and a variety of marques.

The organisers would like to thank the Wakefield Park management and volunteers. Particularly Matthew Ronke and Craig Stevenson.

Also, a BIG thank you to all the competitors, their friends, family and supporting crews. The Saturday evening meal at the Lilac City Steakhouse was equally a resounding success with almost every entrant and the entourage present.

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On a personal level I would like to thank Brian Anderson, Zane AL-Said and Matthew Ronke without whom this event would not have taken place. Brian and I have been speaking about this type of racing for a long time and I first floated the idea with Adam Ronke in April last year. We all worked incredibly hard behind the scenes and to have such a great turnout of competitors from NSW, VIC, QLD and ACT was fantastic. The feedback from all competitors was overwhelmingly positive and I’m sure our future events will be bigger and better.

Don’t forget to register at modernsportscars.com.au to keep up to date with everything happening behind the scenes.

[evil_weevil]

Good write up Chris.
Looking forward to hopefully entering the next one

[Magpie]

Good write up Chris.
Looking forward to hopefully entering the next one

[greenMachine]

Well done to Chris and all who pulled this together, it is good to see that hard work rewarded with a successful event and happy competitors.