07/03/2010

The Commodore Cup is known for its tight racing, a few biff and barge conversations but it’s also widely recognized for fostering V8 racing talent. That was clearly evident with race two winner being Adam Beechey, in just his second Commodore Cup race. It wasn’t an easy win, as he had one of the young gun drivers, Scott Andrews, breathing down his neck virtually through the whole race.

Pole sitter Jason Domaschenz got off to a reasonable start off the line, yet fell back through the pack to finish a disappointing twelfth from fourteen contenders. It was revealed after the race that the T-10 gearbox the category runs had turned into a box full of marbles, allowing Domaschenz a choice of either first or fourth gear……

Andrews escaped lightly after braking into turn six as Tony Bates, making a massive charge through the field had made it to third and was close enough to tap Andrews off into the dirt. Andrews held the car well and Bates allowed him to slot back in.

Newcomer Garth Duffy again found the limits of adhesion and passed them at turn 1, going off two or three times, finishing ninth overall.

Bad luck mechanically continued to plague Chris Stevenson; dogged by brake issue, a clutch and throttle problem, the team appeared to have sorted the car out only to have the new throttle cable snap on lap 11.

Josh Hughes returned to form, laying down some of the quickest laps and potentially putting himself into contention for pole in race three, being a grid made up of the quickest lap times. After passing Ross McGregor, at one stage up to third, Hughes consolidated his run and ensured the borrowed gearbox was worked hard. Nick Parker, one of the unsung heroes in race two, kept the car out of trouble and after Bates made a clean pass under brakes to take third from McGregor, Parker drove a conservative race to pick up fourth.

Another team with a lot to offer yet being put in a headlock by mechanical problems was the Worksense Workwear entry of Allan Hill. After a clutch problem struck during race 1, the team battled against time to repair it. They made the grid however hadn’t had time to sort the linkages, with Allan garaging the car after two laps. The Axent Racing #9 car of Geoff Fontaine copped more of a pounding, with the right rear of the car misshapen after contact. Geoff rallied to finish eighth.

With race three being based on lap times, it was Adam Lloyd getting pole, after going off track mid race gave him clean race space and allowing him to lay down a 1.08.40. He’ll be up against the likes of Scott Andrews, Josh Hughes and Tony Bates and with rain falling onto the circuit, race three promises a fiery conclusion to round one for the Commodore Cup.

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