CAMPBELL/CRICK CLEAN SWEEP THE PVS SYDNEY STOUSH

20 Oct CAMPBELL/CRICK CLEAN SWEEP THE PVS SYDNEY STOUSH

An intense weekend of Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars racing at the PVS Sydney Stoush came to a close with a dramatic hour-long battle on Sunday afternoon. 

Close battles for outright and class positions, as well as variable weather conditions and afternoon races in the setting Western Sydney sun, all made for no end of edge-of-your-seat racing across round five of the 2024 season – the penultimate round of the championship chase.

The formidable #118 DA Campbell Transport BMW M2 of Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell swept the weekend, claiming both the outright and class X top honours at Sydney Motorsport Park at the close of the four races. Grant Sherrin joined Campbell and Crick on the outright and class X round podium, finishing second outright and in class in a solo drive this weekend in the #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4, while the #21 Secure Wealth BMW M4 of Simon Hodges and Leigh Burges rounded out both the outright podium and class X podiums in third place. 

Joining the outright podium getters at the end of weekend celebrations were those taking out honours in class, with Chris Sutton (#321 321 Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo X – 5th outright and 1st for A1), Hadrian Morrall and Tyler Mecklem (#9 Parramatta Vehicle Services Ford Mustang – 6th outright and 1st for A2), Karlie Buccini and Courtney Prince (#999 Buccini Transport BMW – 9th outright and 1st for B1), and Allan Jarvis and Rob Jarvis (#70 TOA57D Motorsport VW Polo GTI – 13th outright and 1st for C) all featured. Also taking a class podium placing this weekend was Robert Vandepol in the #217 MOB/Ashley Jarvis Racing Toyota 86 in the Invitational class and 11th outright.

The #64 Cachet Homes Chev Camaro SS of Chris Lillis and Nathan Callaghan finished the round just off the podium in outright 4th and 2nd for A2. The pair put their popular Camaro through its paces all weekend, running at the front of the pack across all four races to deliver this strong outright result.

Rounding out the remaining round finishers were Tom Shaw and Zaki Wazir (#15 VSP BMW M1 – 7th outright and 3rd for A1), Paul Buccini (#71 Buccini Transport BMW M140i – 9th outright and 2nd for A1), Trent Whyte (#18 Ultimate Diesel Tuning Toyota Yaris GR – 10th outright and 4th for A1), Robert Vandepol (#217 MOB/Ashley Jarvis Racing Toyota 86 – 11th outright and 1st for I), and Loclan Hennock (#99 Wash It Toyota 86 – 12th outright and 2nd for I).

For a recap of race four, please read on. You can read the race one recap here, the race two recap here, and the race three recap here.

The Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars racers took to the track for a final one-hour endurance race Sunday afternoon and didn’t leave anything on the table. Despite confusion over the compulsory pit stops and a five-second time penalty over jumping the start, Crick would take the top step of the race podium, clean-sweeping the round for the first time this year. 

The #118 wasn’t the only car to get caught out by the one and only Safety Car of the race either.

Sherrin and Morrall all dove into the lane as the Compulsory Pit Stop window opened, just as the Safety Car was deployed to recover the stricken #70 TOA57D Motorsport VW Polo GTI of Allan Jarvis and Rob Jarvis, which had stopped just off the track with a suspected collapsed left front ball joint. 

However, as compulsory pit stops can’t be completed under Safety Car conditions, all three entries would have to traverse the pitlane for a second time to complete their stops. The #118 was the first of the trio to re-enter the lane, however, it didn’t serve the five-second penalty, which meant the time needed to be added post-race.

Morrall was next to re-enter the lane to serve the CPS, resuming the race in sixth, before a drive-through penalty was issued to the #9 for speeding in the lane during the previous stop. This extra trip through pitlane cost the #9 precious time, seeing it ultimately finishing the race in outright seventh and 2nd for A2.

Rolling the dice and opting not to re-enter the pits a second time over the confusion with the timing of the Safety Car was Grant Sherrin, who stayed out and crossed the finish line in outright first when the checkered flag fell. A post-race review determined the Safety Car had indeed been deployed prior to the #27 entering the lane, and a two-lap penalty was applied after the fact, resulting in a 10th place outright and class X 3rd place finish for the Sherrin Racing entry. 

It all comes down to the Bathurst International

Attention now turns to the sixth and final round of the season, where the 2024 Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars outright and class champions will be crowned at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International across 8 – 10 November with some incredible outright and class battles still in play. To learn more about the Meguiar’s APC, visit www.ausprodcars.com.au

Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars Round 5 PVS Sydney Stoush Round Quoteboard

Outright and class X round winner, Dean Campbell – #118 DA Campbell Transport BMW M2 (with Cameron Crick)

Dean Campbell

“We got pole and four race wins, which is something we haven’t done before. It was a good weekend, and the other competitors were all really good to race with; we had a few good battles. 

“The last race was interesting with the timing of the Safety Car, the compulsory pitstop window and the 5-second penalty. We probably didn’t agree with it, but we managed to get it done and back out to fight for the win. 

“I’d like to thank all our sponsors – Inland Petroleum, Bathurst Auto Glass, Dawson’s Removals, and Farra Civil. I’d also like to thank Matt Worsely and Matt Cook for preparing the car and also Cameron for his exceptional driving and all the other competitors for the great racing.” 

Cameron Crick 

“We got pole position and all four wins, and Dean is driving really well. He owns the car, and he’s a big investor in my racing so it’s good to reward him with a good result. He won both of his races, so yeah, he’s driving really well.

“Dean and I are close friends now, and we talk all the time away from the race track, which makes it easier when we get to the race track that we’re speaking the same language in that respect. I do a little driver coaching with him, so we’re definitely on the same page. He puts his trust in me to drive his car, and he obviously is quite good with his feedback on the car. He uses a bit of my footage and data to improve as well. 

“Shoutout to Dean and his two mechanics, Matt and Matt (they’re both named Matt) and all our sponsors DA Campbell Transport, Inland Petroleum, Central West Bricks, Dawson’s Removals and Farra Civil.” 

A1 round winner – #321 321 Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo X – Chris Sutton

“It was a great weekend, we had a new set-up in the car that actually worked, and the car was consistent. We killed it this weekend, so the points race is on. We have one round left at Bathurst, so hopefully, we can make some more gains in the championship. 

“It was great to run with the Mustang and Camaro this weekend. The Evo is just a little four cylinder car so we just don’t have the top speed of the bigger cars and we just have to work with what we have. 

“I’d like to thank the Ray White Macarthur Group for their unwavering support and David Nicol from D Sportz as well.”

A2 round winner – #9 Parramatta Vehicle Services Ford Mustang of Tyler Mecklem and Hadrian Morrall

Tyler Mecklem

“It was fantastic to win the event we sponsored, especially our first time here in the Mustang. The car went really well all weekend. In our final race, we had an issue with the pit stop like the Sherrins and Campbell/Crick with the timing of the Safety Car. We missed our compulsory pit stop, so we had to do it again. But, overall, we’re really happy, the car was fast, and Hado (co-driver Hadrian Morrall) drove really well. We were one-two pretty much all weekend.

“To win the event (the PVS Sydney Stoush) that you sponsored is really great, and it was a good round for us.

“And a big thank you to all the guys at the workshop who have come out to help during the pitstop and all the friends and family who have come out to watch. And, of course, to Hado – he owns the car – for letting me drive his beautiful Mustang.”

Hadrian Morrall 

“It’s been a great weekend. We were a little bit surprised to win the A2 class after the issues we had in the last race with the Safety Car and so forth. Tyler did a great job, as usual and the team as always were on top form. Whilst we’d like to have been a bit better outright, a class win is what we came here to do. 

“Thanks to our sponsors Community Moves, the Tint Wizards, and Riverside Brewing. The big shout-out is the crew and all of the officials behind the scenes so we can go car racing.” 

B1 round winner – #999 Buccini Transport BMW 135i – Karlie Buccini (sharing with Courtney Prince)

Karlie Buccini

“It was a great weekend, and Courtney always does really well in the car, and she battles pretty hard, so that was pretty cool. I struggled a little bit myself, but I got there in the end, and we had a great weekend. 

“We’re really looking forward to the Bathurst International. We’ve had some great runs there in the past at the Bathurst 6 Hour, winning in our class this year and placing 10th outright, and we’ve had some good APC times there as well. 

“Thanks to Lance from Brisbane Motor Works and my team, as well as my dad, for getting us there.”

C round winner – #70 TOA57D Motorsport VW Polo GT – Allan Jarvis (sharing with Rob Jarvis)

“The weekend was wonderful except for the last bit! We think a lower ball joint failure in the left front (during race four) was the cause, and then everything just cascaded from there. We broke a rim completely in half and broke the drive shaft as well. We don’t know what the cause was; I came into the corner, put my foot on the brake and the ball joint broke.

“We enjoyed the weekend and having a run with a few guys who are new to the category, which made things interesting. Rob and I had fun. 

“Thanks to Rob (Dad) and Terry for all the work they put in on the weekends.”

 

All pics thanks to Speed Shots Photography