06 Aug FANTASTIC FIVE FOR LYNTON/LEAHEY
Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey have secured an amazing fifth Fight in the Night victory at Queensland Raceway this evening, despite running a spare car following Friday’s practice fire for their original steed.
The Class X #23 Bruce Lynton Service BMW M3 started the race with Lynton at the wheel, before Leahey took over for the latter stages and put in a convincing drive to take the lead following the compulsory pit stops.
The #23’s outright and Class X victory tonight follows a runner-up finish to the #58 Go-Kart-Go BWM M3 of Aaren, Wayne and Drew Russell in this morning 30-minute opening race for the APC brought to you by LIQUI MOLY field – for more on that race, see further in this report.
The #23 crossed the finish line ahead of the #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4 of brothers Grant and Iain Sherrin (Class X), the #38 KCK Lubricants/Vic’s Timbers BMW M3 of Ben Gersekowski (A2), the #64 Cachet Homes HSV of Mathew Holt and Chris Lillis (A2), and the #7 Local Legends Ford Mustang of Grant Denyer (A2) – who was in third outright until the final minutes of the race when he suffered a broken clutch.
Jimmy Vernon in the #50 Hunter Pacific Ceiling Fans Evo X was first for Class A1 in seventh outright, finishing the race behind the #4 Property Investment Store BMW M4 of Anthony Soole and Adam Burgess (X) – who in sixth outright had a much better outing than in the earlier race where they failed to finish due to rear suspension damage.
Vernon’s closest A1 competition, the #99 Paramatta Vehicle Services Evo X of Tyler Mecklem and Hadrian Morrall, was never far behind him, finishing the race in 8th outright.
Coming up behind them in 9th outright and first in Class C was Jake Camilleri in the #36 Grand Prix Mazda-backed Mazda 3 MPS. The #210 Tekworkx Motorsport Hyundai i30N of Zoe Woods and Luke Youlden and the #25 Prime Motorsport Astra of Chris Holdt were 2nd and 3rd in class respectively from 10th and 11th outright.
Allan Jarvis in the #70 Suzuki Swift took the Class E victory from 14th on the road, while Amar Sharma and Daniel Natoli took out the Class D victory from 15th outright in the #39 LME Care/Gtechniq Ford Fiesta after being unable to finish this morning’s 30-minute race (gear selector issue).
Falling afoul of lady luck this evening were the #19 One World Charter/Griffith Corp Mercedes A45 of Mark Griffith and Will Brown (damage after Griffith went wide and collected the tyres), the #16 Power Torque Engine & AMG Spares Mercedes C63 AMG of Tony Levitt and Jason Simes (fluid leak), the race one winning #58 Go-Karts-Go BMW M3 of Wayne, Drew and Aaren Russell (tie rod end damage) and the #118 DA Campbell Transport Mitsubishi Evo X of Dean Campbell (turbo issues).
Two safety cars were called for during the race – the first for a dislodged barrier following an off for Chris Gunther, and the second for the #40 Btuned Euro Specialist BMW M4 of Karl Begg and Stephen Jukes which came to a stop on the track with oil left in its wake.
The fate of the #40 was particularly heartbreaking, as with Begg at the wheel, it had convincingly lead the first half of the race after rocketing from P4 to P1 on the opening lap. However it was not to be, with trouble striking soon after the entry’s CPS stop.
The Fight in the Night wasn’t the only APC brought to you by LIQUI MOLY action on-track today – with the field enjoying a 30-minute race this morning.
Taking the honours in the sprint race were the #58 Go-Karts-Go BWM M3 driven by Aaren Russell, who crossed the line ahead of fellow Class X runners, the #23 Bruce Lynton Service entry the #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4 and the #40 Btuned Euro Specialist BMW M4.
Class victories went to the #7 Local Legends Ford Mustang (A2, 5th outright), the #50 Hunter Pacific Ceiling Fans Evo X (A1, 7th outright), the #36 Grand Prix Mazda MPS (C, 12th outright) and the #70 Suzuki Swift (E, 16th outright). Failing to finish the opening race was the D class #39 LME Care/Gtechniq Ford Fiesta (gear selector issue), the #4 Property Investment Store BMW M4 (rear suspension damage) and the #118 DA Campbell Transport Evo X (loose heat shield).
The Australian Production Cars brought to you by LIQUI MOLY action will continue at Queensland Raceway Sunday morning, with a final 30-minute race to be held at 9.45am.
For more information on the Australian Production Cars, visit www.ausprodcars.com.au or contact Troy Williams on troy@ausprodcars.com.au
*All results provisional
