BUSY SATURDAY AT PHILLIP ISLAND FOR MEGUIAR’S AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION CARS

24 Aug BUSY SATURDAY AT PHILLIP ISLAND FOR MEGUIAR’S AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION CARS

Posted at 15:13h in Extreme, Motor, racing by

Saturday August 24 has hosted two one-hour races for the Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars, as part of round four of the six-round 2024 season.

Race one

Race one kicked off at 10.20am and was a race of attrition with tyre life lined up as a key focus for the remainder of the weekend following a number of late race failures across the field.

Taking out the outright and class X victory was Cameron Crick in the #118 DA Campbell Transport BMW M2 he shares with Dean Campbell, who crossed the line ahead of outright and class X runner-up, Mark Caine (#21 Secure Wealth BMW M4, sharing with Simon Hodges).

Third outright and for taking the A1 win was Michael Osmond in the #17 Ozzy Outhouse BMW M1345i, while Allan Jarvis was fourth outright and first for Class C in the #70 TOA57D Motorsport VW Polo GTI he is sharing with his father, Rob Jarvis, this weekend.

Rounding out the top five outright and taking third for class X was Grant Sherrin in the #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4. Grant had charged through the field to be leading the race by lap two, and then reclaimed that lead with 19 minutes to go after the completion of the compulsory pit stops. However, with three minutes to go, disaster struck while he was holding off Campbell with a rear right tyre failure sending him to the lane.

The tyre gods weren’t done with him then either, with the front right quickly expiring upon his rejoining the track for a final lap to finish the race, seeing Grant have to nurse the car around the circuit and limp across the finish line to ensure a points-paying finish for the entry he is sharing with brother and 2023 outright and class X champion, Iain Sherrin.

Chris Lillis took out the A2 class win in the #64 Cachet Homes Chevrolet Camaro SS he is sharing with Joshua Muggleton from sixth outright, crossing the line ahead of A1 runner-up, Chris Sutton and the #321 321 Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo X.

The Invitational entry of Loclan Hennock (#99 Wash It Toyota 86) was next across the finish line, leading third for A1, Tom Shaw, in the Shaw/Zaki Wazir #15 VSP BMW 1M.

Hadrian Morrall (with Tyler Mecklem) was third for A1 from 10th outright in the #9 Parramatta Vehicle Services Ford Mustang, leading fourth for A1, Dean Lillie (in the #71 Buccini Transport BMW M140i he is sharing with Paul Buccini) to the finish.

Failing to finish the race was the #143 A1 Towing Bathurst Subaru STI of Grant Inwood and Darcy Inwood who was in the lane with tyre failure related damage when the checkered flag flew, the #32 Luxe Performance Holden Commodore SSV of Brent Peters and Damien Croxon (spun on track with Croxon at the wheel in the final moments) and the #999 Buccini Transport BMW 135i of Courtney Prince and Karlie Buccini, which was forced to retire after purchasing a replacement engine and rebuilding it overnight after issues in yesterday’s practice. The #999 is taking no further part this weekend.

Race two

Race two got underway at 1.05pm, with many competitors taking it easy for the opening portions of the race as they sought to make sure their tyres made it all the way to the end.

Even so, there were still plenty of intense battles throughout the field across the entirety of the hour-long outing.

Taking the win outright and in class X was Hodges in the #21 entry he is sharing with Caine this weekend, with Hodges followed by A2 winner and 2nd outright, Mecklem (#9 with Morrall).

Third outright and second for class X was the race one winning #118 of Campbell (sharing with Crick), although he very nearly was demoted to fourth outright by a hard-charging Iain Sherrin on the final run down the straight, however Campbell was able to keep himself in front, leaving Sherrin to settle for fourth outright and 3rd in class X in the #27 he shares with Grant Sherrin.

It was another tale of woe for the Sherrins in race two, with Iain in third and chasing down the top two in the final 15 minutes of the race before feeling steering issues in the right front which led him to believe he had a deflating tyre. He and the team made the call to head to the lane for a tyre change, which saw Iain left to rejoin P5 and 3rd in class to push on over the final moments of the race – and push on he did, overtaking Lillis in the A2 runner-up #64 (sharing with Muggleton) on the final lap before closing in on Campbell in the final corners.

Darcy Inwood was sixth outright and the B1 class winner in the #143 (sharing with Grant Inwood), leading A1 winner Paul Buccini (#71 sharing with Dean Lillie) across the line.

Eighth outright and 2nd for A1 went to the Wazir/Shaw #15, while Osmond (#17, 3rd in A1) and the B2 winning #32 of Peters and Croxon rounded out the top ten outright.

11th across the line was the #321 of Sutton, while the C class win went to father and son Rob and Allan Jarvis in the #70, from 12th outright. 13th outright and closing out the field was the Invitational entry of Hennock (#13).

Two more races to go

Sunday August 25 will host races three and four (9.40am and 3.10pm) at Phillip Island for the Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars, with both races to be live streamed on Speedcafe TV. To learn more about the Meguiar’s APC, visit www.ausprodcars.com.au