AGP 2020!!

​Here is Saturday’s Australian Grand Prix review. Enjoy.
As always, thank you first and foremost to all that put their hand up each meet to get our kids racing! From our stewards, to our lap scorers and those who add up the points. It all goes into making the day run smoothly and it it always appreciated.
Well done again to Andy Pearce on securing the services of Shannon McQueen and Michelle Decker to hand out tshirts and trophies. It was appreciated by all and shows the kids what they can achieve in the future if they stick with it!
The track looked like it was going to be a belter from the start. It took some work early, the 160s and 120s got it rolled in and ready to go. Although, they picked plenty of it up themselves, causing a reshuffle of the racing order for some urgent car cleaning! But, all is well that ends well. The track had plenty of moisture in it for(almost) the entire days racing.
Now, to the racing.
Novices:
The first heat would see Leo off the pole in his v40, but it would be his brother Roman who would get the jump from position 3 and hold out his bro to lead all the way. Unfortunately for young Will, he would be sent infield for being primary cause of two stoppages.
The second heat was a pretty straightforward affair, Stuart leading off pole for an all the way victory, Roman again getting the jump ahead of Leo, the pair taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The third heat, again, would see the pole sitter race away to lead all the way. While Roman controlled proceedings, the other three battled way for the minor placing. Will in the v28 would hold out Stuart for second place.
The final would see Roman out of 1 and Stuart out of 2. It was a commanding performance by the top points scorer of the day with Roman racing away for a well earned Novice AGP victory!
But, all the action would take place for the minors in this one. On paper, Stuart would Start and finish in second place, and deservedly so. But he didn’t have it his own way. For the entire final, a blanket could be thrown over all three drivers!
Several times it looked as though Will had the run to get under Stuart, but couldn’t quite get the job done. Another few races for the v28 and he will surely have the experience to take those chances! It was a well earned 3rd for Will.
At other times, Leo looked like he had put some recent mechanical issues aside, as he put pressure on Will and Stuart, mostly on the outside. Again, a little bit more racing under his belt and we’ll have another dynamic future racer on our hands! It was 4th place for Leo but by no means a failure today!
Great racing Novices 👍🏻🏁
JNR Rest:
Our first heat saw Tyler off of pole position. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the most of it first up as Chase and Holly would zip last early on with Jed settling in 4th. The order would not change for the remainder of the heat.
Heat two would see Jed get a crack at pole with Tyler getting his second front row start on the outside of the v66. Jed would take full points in the race from Tyler. Just behind them it was a cracking battle for third. 4 times the placing would change hands wth the V1 just edging out the v80 to take 3rd.
As the track was fast all over, the third heat produced an even surface with passing opportunities limited. They would start and finish in the same order...Holly taking out the heat from Chase, Jed then Tyler.
Holly would start the final out of pole. She was solid from the drop of the green to the waving of the chequers. It was an all the way win and well deserved AGP Jnr Res victory!
She was helped along by some excellent racing behind her where positions were changing frequently, but it gave Holly the clear air you want out in front.
Chase seemed in control for a couple of laps out of 2nd, but Jed wasn’t going to let him race away easily. In the first 9 laps of the feature, the 2nd/3rd places changed 5 times! Jed would eventually hold Chase out with Tyler nipping at their heels the whole way.
It was another very entertaining race day from Jnr Res. Well done 👍🏻🏁
120 open:
As has been the trend of late, the 120 open class was full of speed, great moves and a big dollop of controversy through their heats and final today. So, I guess you could say it was definitely entertaining?
The first heat had it all! There was a spin out early but Hudson would take control at the front of the field. Logan and Cody would battle for position behind the v64, with the v2 getting a pass done in the fourth lap and holding on for second. There was plenty of shuffling of positions in the back four cars throughout, with the v82 finishing on the infield after dropping a chain.
The next heat was a lot calmer. On a fast track, Jamie would control things prom pole, leading all the way. Arthur was solid in second place with Leah taking an all the way third. Cody was the big mover, steering his v2 from 8th to 4th.
The last heat saw Cody get the jump off pole. He would only lead for two laps before Logan would take the front in the third lap and lead to the Chequers. Jamie would now challenge the v2 for second place, taking it over in the 5th lap...but Cody wasn’t done with yet. With 3 laps to go he would take back second and hold.
The final starting grid saw Cody in 1, Logan 2nd and Jamie 3rd. These three put on an excellent display of fast paced driving and clean passing throughout the heats. This final was promising to be a beauty.
They jumped as expected with the v2 leading from the v55 and v27 for the first few laps. Arthur settled into fourth with Hudson pressing in fifth.
Logan would squeeze past Cody in the 4th lap as the track started to dry out a little. 2 laps later Jamie would make the most of a chance to slip past Cody as he became a little unsettled. Cody would regain his composure but had unfortunately dropped back to fifth.
The new trio of the v55, v27 and v82 would control things for the rest of the race. Logan taking a well deserved AGP win from a persistent Jamie. Arthur battled well from 6th to third.
Great entertaining racing 120s 👍🏻🏁
160s:
It was another great day of racing on an excellent deck for our 160s.
Heat 1 and Zoe would get a great jump from 4th to lead all the way. The V1 did the same, getting a huge run from 6th to 2nd. There were plenty of movers back in the pack too, with Chevy taking 3rd from 8th and Jayden 4th from 11! The v51 of Mallacai was looking good again sitting in fourth until he spun to the infield, strangely, sitting out the race on the edge of the track.
Heat 2 and Zoe would again show her class and jump to the lead from third, winning the heat. Blake got a great run from 6th, holding onto second until the half way mark when the V1 would flex some muscle and burst past to take second. Blake holding 3rd. Several stoppages marred the race, slightly, with plenty of cars shuffling at the back.
Heat 3 would see the v35 control proceedings from pole. Chevy would jump from 6th to 3rd, and when the 2nd running v45 spun out, Chevy would sit in behind Callan. Pushing him all the way to the Chequers. Mallacai dropped from 3rd to 6th at the start and had some work to do. The v56 of Zak was doing a good job holding out the challengers behind him until the 8th lap when the v51 would slip past and steal 3rd.
Points wer collated and, yet again, the track was showing its first sign of dryness for the day, just in time for the 160 final 🙄
So, as has happened a few times lately, it took a few times to get this final running...four in fact! But, when they got a lap in the books, it settled in their starting positions of the v15, v43, V1 and v35. The big mover early was the v51. Starting from 8th, Mallacai would get a great jump and settle in fifth.
It would be a scrappy affair at time for the rest of the feature, with four more seperate stoppages through the race. The v6 would be placed infield for 2 primary causes after showing a bit early in the day.
The last third of the final is where it got very interesting. Callan would take a great opportunity to slip past a wobbly V1 and 2 laps later, the v51 and v4 would do the same.
Chevy would pounce on an unsuspecting Zoe in the 13 lap, sniffing about another feature win. On the same lap Callan would attempt the same. There was contact between the second and third place cars...unfortunately, Zoe’s chain was off amd she would finish the feature infield.
Cal would push Chevy to the line but the race was over. Chevy, in an excellent(although much shortened race, Jason 🤣)run, would take the win from Callan and Mallacai. Three rookies on the podium! Jemma would edge out Jayden late for fourth and fifth.
It was an interesting watch from start to finish for the big kids, next weeks Title bout should be a cracker!
Great job all 👍🏻🏁
Overall, It was an excellent days racing put on by our little racers and they can all be very proud of the way they are all progressing through their individual careers. Keep it up guys.
See you all in a couple of weeks for our Victorian Title!