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Back to July 2012 Motorsports News Archive
| 16-07-2012: Horsepower Plays its Part at QR | |
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Heading out for qualifying on QR’s national circuit, it was Skillender that took the pole. Setting his best, and unbeatable, lap of 1:18.8029 he was sure to start in the best possible position. Taking second place on the grid with a time of 1:20.6470, was Troy Marinelli in his nimble Nissan Silver followed in third by Bruce Cook, 1:21.8183. Race one defiantly proved to be a race of horsepower as Skillender was able to get the lead and never look back. Skillender pulled a 13 second gap over the field to snare his first race win of the weekend. In second place was Marinelli who did what he could to stay close to leader but his four-cylinder Silver was no match for the big V8. Coming home in third was Graeme Wilkinson in his Ford Escort. Justin Wade in the BMW E90 M3 started the race from fifth and was the only DNF for the race. Race two was the last car event for Saturday afternoon and it proved an interesting one. Skillender once again got to the head of the pack and left the field, driving like a man possessed. Marinelli did the same and held on to his second place finish with ease. Rounding out the top three spots was James Peck in the Mazda RX-7. Peck moved up from his fourth place starting position to take third while holding off a hard charging Organ-Moore in the Commodore. Greg Elston, Justin Wade and race ones third place finisher Wilkinson all failed to finish race two. As Sunday came round, the IPRAQ drivers would not hit the track until late morning. As the air was filling with diesel fumes from the racing trucks, the field got ready in pit lane for race three. Skillender would lead the group out for race three with Marinelli wishing Skillender would remove four plug leads before they got underway. As they lined up it was Marinelli who got the jump from Skillender on the green light. This was not to be for long as the raging Commodore’s long legs left the Silver in its wake. Further down the field saw Bruce Cook make a great start from last place after rebuilding the gearbox overnight and ended the first lap in fifth position. Peck started well and was hanging onto the back of Marinelli for a number of laps but began to slip further behind as the race went on. Cook and Organ-Moore were battling for fourth place when Cook passed Organ-Moore on lap three. It was not to be long before Organ-Moore would fight back and pass Cook back for position. Further into the race, Organ-Moore’s Commodore would suffer an issue and put him out of the race for fourth. Further back in the pack Ross Hurford and Brett Batterby battled for 13th place for most of the race. The positions changed on a number of occasions but it was Batterby who ended up taking the sort after position 13th. As the chequed flag came out to signify the end of race three, it was Skillender, Marinelli and Peck in the top positions. Cook was able to hold off Skelton and Craig for fourth place. Organ-Moore and Dean Rice failed to finish race three. The final race of round four began early Sunday afternoon. Skillender lined up again from position one with Marinelli on his outside. When the green flag dropped Skillender got away to a good start while Marinelli was swooped by the field after an oil cooler line let go and left oil on his starting box. As the drivers entered turn one the Silvia had been passed by almost the entire field when Redman left the road on the entry to turn two. The race was red flagged but the drivers continued around the track at a snail’s pace until the car of Redman was retrieved and Marinelli was towed to safety. When the cars were clear the green flag dropped but it seemed like half the field had no idea the green was coming. Skillender got a good jump from the waived green and lead the race from restart to finish. Peck was pushing hard but got held up in some traffic and was left way back to take second. Third place was taken out by Skelton in the RX-7 but not for lack of trying by Craig in the Corolla to catch him. Having passed Cook early on in the race, Craig set his sights on catching the RX-7 to take third. At the line there was only a car length left in it but it was Skelton held on for his third place. Cook was passed by Elston in an RX-7 for fifth place while Organ-Moore and Marinelli failed to see the chequed flag. Another great weekend of racing in the Improved Production championship with round five of the championship running on September 1-2 at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick. For a full list of results see www.ipraqld.com |
It was round four of the Queensland Improved Production Racing Association championship over the weekend and Queensland Raceway was the host. Heading into the QR event, drivers knew that this track required horsepower for the long straights and it would take a big effort, or something to go wrong, for the field to catch David Skillender.
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