13 Oct CHAMPIONSHIP, FUNDRAISING SPURRING VERNON ON TO THE BEND
Jimmy Vernon heads to next weekend’s penultimate round of the 2022 Australian Production Cars brought to you by LIQUI MOLY season at The Bend Motorsport Park (October 21-23) as the championship leader for the A1 class.
He heads to the South Australian venue, which will host four one-hour races for the category, with a focus on not only building his title lead, but also on raising vital funds for the Kids with Cancer Foundation.
“This year we didn’t set too many expectations, but once we left round one with the lead we were blown away!” Vernon said.
“Each round we have just been focusing on maximising our points and trying to finish every race to keep the consistency there.
“With two rounds left, anything can happen still, so our focus will just be on continuing a consistent run and trying to bank as many points as possible.”
The 2017 Toyota 86 Series Champion says to win the A1 APC title would mean a lot.
“Any time you can win a National Championship it means a lot, but doing it with my family team would just be the icing on the cake,” he said.
“I have been lucky enough to win one National Championship with my Dad running the car already, so to add another to the mantlepiece would mean a lot to us all.”
While busy racing, Vernon has also been taking the opportunity to raise awareness for an important charity this year, working with the Kids with Cancer Foundation.
“Working with the Kids with Cancer Foundation has been extremely rewarding this year,” Vernon said.
“We have selected a child at each round who is local to the race track, and they feature on the back of my helmet. We offer them the opportunity to come to the track and enjoy the festivities of the racing and cheer on the APC!
“We also have some exciting plans that will hopefully fall into place for our final round at Bathurst, so keep your eyes peeled on our social pages!
“A main focus this year for our team is raising as much money as we can for the Foundation. We are pledging 20 percent of our corporate sponsorship this year back to the charity as a direct donation.
“We have a few of our loyal sponsors on board already, but we are always happy to welcome new sponsors to help us help the kids.”
Vernon says he is greatly enjoying his time racing as part of the APC brought to you by LIQUI MOLY field this year.
“Racing with the APC team this year has been a lot of fun. I feel that there has been a step up in competitiveness and the racing is really hard fought,” Vernon said.
“The highlight so far this year would have to be clean sweeping the Queensland Raceway round, a track that I have notoriously struggled with in the past.
“The lowlight would have to be missing out on the outright podium on the last lap in race one at Sandown – if we were able to hold on for that last lap we would have been second outright for the round! But that’s racing.
“I have really enjoyed getting our Evo to a few more tracks around the country this season. After spending its entire life in New South Wales previously it has been refreshing to stretch the legs and take the car interstate.
“The comradery between the competitors is also really strong, everyone is happy to chip in, help out and put on a great show of racing!
“I also personally think the tyre panel has been a great step for the APC this year. The added element of choice is something refreshing for the competitors.”
With just two rounds in the championship left to run, next weekend’s event at The Bend Motorsport Park is going to be critical for Vernon’s championship hopes.
“I am quite excited for The Bend. It is a magnificent track and I have been lucky enough to drive a few different cars there,” he said.
“Taking the mighty Mitsubishi will be an exciting challenge. Whilst we lack a lot of straight-line speed compared to some of the other cars, we should hopefully make up some time through the technical corners.
“My approach will be to consider the Championship, look after my car and try to collect as many points as possible.
“As we get ready for the event, I want to send a big shout out to the category administrators who have been doing a great job to make our lives easier at the track.
“I also have to thank my current sponsors who are helping our campaign this year – without their assistance we wouldn’t be able to raise the much needed awareness and funds for the Kids with Cancer Foundation, so thank you to Hunter Pacific Ceiling Fans, State One Fire Protection and Security and Shockwave Signs who have all been huge contributors to our year, I can’t wait to hand over the big cheque to the Kids with Cancer Foundation at the end of the season!”
For more information on the Australian Production Cars, visit www.ausprodcars.com.au or contact Troy Williams on troy@ausprodcars.com.au