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TEO STRIKES IN BRISBANE AS ROBINSON RACES TO VICTORY
Brisbane, Australia – September 27, 2008 – By Ben Graham, Dirt Modifieds Australia Media Liaison
Mark Robinson steered his Valvoline-backed Teo entry to victory in the season opener at the Brisbane International Speedway on Saturday night (Sept 27), a repeat of his opening night victory at the same venue 12 months prior.
With all three major North American chassis manufacturers, Teo, Bicknell & Troyer, now represented in Australia, the battle between these companies ‘down under’ will be one that is watched closely both here and in the North-east corner of the USA.
After two heat race wins, Simon Jupe started his newly imported Troyer entry on pole for the 20-lap Feature event. However it was fellow front-row starter Darren Latimer who got the jump at the drop of the green flag, with a committed outside manoeuvre through turns one and two.
Robinson had his hands full battling with the Bicknell-shod Ray Klarich before securing the third spot, with the Latimer-Jupe-Robinson & Klarich quartet establishing a handy buffer over the field in the early going. Fellow Troyer runner Peter Britten was running strongly in fifth in the early stages, while the Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil-backed Luke Oldfield was battling mid-pack after starting the main event from the fourth row.
Jupe had his number 49 machine glued to the low line and despite several attempts wasn’t able to sneak past Latimer for the lead. Jupe’s battle with Latimer allowed Robinson to close right in, moving past Jupe and into second midway through the main event.
Latimer’s stranglehold on the lead was erased with a huge bicycle coming out of turn three, with Robinson surging underneath the temporarily two-wheeled Latimer. Once into the race lead, Robinson drove away from the field, racing to a commanding victory.
With Robinson racing away, the battle was for the minors, with Latimer & Jupe engaged in a torrid battle for the remaining podium positions. Klarich appeared comfortable in fourth, with Britten, Oldfield & Muller all vying for a top-five spot.
Oldfield & Muller moved past Britten in the closing stages, but it was too little, too late, with Robinson recording a strong victory over the hard charging Latimer and Jupe. Ray Klarich & Luke Oldfield rounded out the top five.
It was a solid first event of the season for the Queensland V8 Dirt Modified contingent, with the feature event and four preliminary heat races all running uninterrupted, with not a single stoppage the entire night.
Also of note were the new drivers in attendance, with Murray Walker taking the wheel of the ex-Bruce Kiehne owned entry, while Rob Hamilton had his first competitive outing aboard the former TMI Engineering entry of reigning Australian Champ Tim Morse. Congratulations also to Lance Towns, who wheeled out a spectacular looking entry backed by Krispy Kreme Donuts.
V8 Dirt Modifieds return to the Brisbane International Speedway on October 18.
Feature Event- 20 Laps
1st Mark Robinson, 2nd Darren Latimer, 3rd Simon Jupe, 4th Ray Klarich, 5th Luke Oldfield, 6th Keith Muller, 7th Peter Britten, 8th David Clark, 9th Rob Hamilton, 10th Murray Walker, DNF: Lance Towns, Ricka Groom.
For more information on V8 Dirt Modified racing in Australia, please visit www.v8dirtmodifieds.com.au
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