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Back to September 2011 Motorsports News Archive
| 15-09-2011 at 07:00: An Eventful Weekend for a Proton | |
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Phillips took it straight to the Swifts from the moment the lights went out with the first 8 laps being what he described as “the best racing I have ever done”. For 27 laps, Phillips battled hard to take the lead in class before working on his next target, the class D car of McGill/Brunsden. The Phillips session wasn’t without its own special moments when the exhaust blew itself apart causing auditory distress for the driver. The first Safety Car had Phillips pit with Andrew Turpie taking the wheel for the remaining laps. It was almost smooth sailing for Turpie, with laps being set at consistent times he was able to capitalise on position and bring the team home in a comfortable 2 lap lead from the first of the Swifts. Sunday saw was race two for the team and was shortened by 20 laps due to a some dramatic accidents, including a Porsche into the wall at Turn 8, then when the Swift Series cars came out, one ended up in the wall opposite at Turn 8 before rolling over. Phillips took the wheel for the start of race two in position 13 (outright). After a fantastic start he set about trying to put some distance between the Proton and the Swifts, however it all came unstuck when at the end of the first lap, a dead Evo 9 caused a safety car which saw most teams complete their compulsory pit stop (which did not apply to class E cars). Unfortunately Grant didn’t realise what was going on until he entered pit lane, following the rest of the field, except for about 5 other cars including the Swifts. Realising his mistake, Phillips was on a mission to get past the two Suzuki Swifts and be certain to take out a fourth consecutive victory. After rounding them up and putting some distance on the Swifts while completing a blistering fastest lap of 1.33:5252, Phillips came in for the driver change with Daryl Martin. Straight away there was trouble with the Valvoline sponsored Proton, the driver change caused an issue with the radio squelch meaning there was no communication between the driver and pit crew. Martin set about putting some good times down and taking the Pedders Team to victory and some more distance between the Proton and the Swifts. Then the opportunity to take on the Celica of McGill/Brunsden saw the two cars in a great display of racing around the unique Sandown Raceway. “I was having the best time racing with Matt McGill,” said Martin. “There was a bit of bumper to bumper action with Matt’s Celica which was a lot slower in the corners than the Proton and there was one time in turn 10 though where I rubbed a bit harder than I was expecting and I’m sure Matt was a bit surprised by it too because next lap I got past him without too much difficulty.” After setting what is believed to be the fastest lap (1:32.2406) by a Proton Satria GTi at Sandown Raceway on lap 100, Martin continued on his fast pace until he came unstuck four laps later after letting one of the much faster Evo’s through heading in to turn 7. Braking much heavier than Martin was expecting, which kept him wide on the dirty line, resulted in a brake lockup and the car understeering straight into the sand trap at turn 9. Angry with his own error, Martin vented some frustration on the steering wheel before composing himself and getting back on the track. Unfortunately there also seemed to be a clutch problem that got worse as the laps continued, with the final 6 laps being run with no clutch at all. Keeping fingers crossed, Martin managed to bring the Pedders Racing Proton home for a chequered victory in class E continuing their unbeaten run. With only the Eastern Creek 8 hour Endurance round to come, the team is faced with some repairs before making the trip north and hopefully securing a clean sweep of class E in the Australian Manufacturers Championship and the Australian Endurance Championship. Grant Phillips currently holds a commanding lead in the Drivers Championship in class E with 482 points, second place is tied between Andrew Turpie and Daryl Martin on 240 points while 3rd place is held by Maddison Gray on 182 points. Words by Daryl Martin |
The first day of action of the Dial Before You Dig AMC 500 was held on last Saturday. Grant Phillips and the Pedders Bendigo race team missed out on class pole for the first time this year and took to the start line looking to make up for a missed opportunity. The pole position went to Gray/Jarvis in their nimble Suzuki Swift.
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