Early Speed for Utes at Bathurst

It was an up and down day for Wilson Brothers Racing (WBR) in the opening day of practice and qualifying at Mount Panorama with the V8 Ute series today.

The day started on a very positive note

when WBR assisted driver Jack Elsegood put his Coopers Pale Ale Falcon at the top of the time sheets in practice, however he will start tomorrow afternoon?s first race from position five with a best qualifying lap of 2:36.4276 .

In the morning session, Elsegood posted a quick time of 2:36.0553 which would have been speedy enough for second grid position if posted in qualifying.

For the first time, WBR ar

e also

preparing a Holden Ute for Kurt Wimmer, with backing from Global Trader.

The day started promising enough for the formerV8 Supercar driver; however an inherent problem with the brakes made for some interesting moments as Wimmer came to terms with his newly acquired machine.

Wimmer qualified strongly in the top half of the field in 13th position, however the car was found to be under weight at post session scrutiny, meaning a rear of grid start for the

opening race.

Despite the set back, Wimmer

made strong progress throughout the day, and should be able to carve through the pack.

WBR team principal is upbeat about the team?s chances this weekend.

“Overall there are a lot of positives to come out of the day, even though the final result may not be ideal,” said Wilson.

“Both of the boys will have good race pace and well set up cars, and I know Jack had a much better lap in him in qualifying, but a plug lead came off on his quick lap.

“Kurt was doing a good job with his pace in the car, and he is an experienced campaigner, so it should be a good challenge for him to come through the field.”

The weekend features three rac

es spread over the next three days of competition, with the second and third races being broadcast this weekend on Channel 7.

V8 Utes Weekend Timetable
Friday- 5.00pm, Race 1
Saturday- 9.20am, Race 2*
Sunday- 7.50am, Race 3*

*TV telecast on Channel 7 this weekend during the coverage of the Supercheap Autos Bathurst 1000.

For more information live from Bathurst, visit www.wilsonbrothersracing.com.

Wilson Brothers Racing’s Lee Castle emerged victorious from the opening hour long mini enduro at Symmons Plains today for the Australian Manufacturers Championship.

Castle dominated the race, and overcame a strong event long challenge from Mitsubishi Lancer Evo driver Des Wall to take a narrow victory in his Subaru WRX Sti, before rain started to fall once again on the circuit.

Earlier in the day Castle qualified second on a soaking wet circuit, being beaten to the top spot by the Mazda 3 MPS of fellow Queenslander Jake Camilleri.

The race start saw Castle bunched with the cars of Camilleri, Wall and the Steve Briffa/Chris Delfsma Falcon.

Castle soon charged through to lead the battle pack, and soon overcame the slower class cars, with Wall in hot pursuit.

With 18 minutes to go in the hour long race, both of the Class A cars pitted for their compulsory pit stop, with Castle heading into the pits with a five second advantage over veteran racer Wall, which was overturned by a narrow margin during the stop.

Castle however made an opportunistic move stick on the lap out of the pits, to retake the lead, and charge through to a narrow win in the remaining lap.

Castle was ecstatic to take his first production car win in his first season of circuit racing.

“Once again we made a good start, but the race was all about being consistent, and lapping at around the 62 second mark throughout the whole hour long race,” said Castle.

“Des Wall was chasing us down, but we managed to keep ahead of him as the gap ebbed and flowed through the lapped traffic.

“Overall, I’m very happy with the win, and it puts us in good stead for tomorrow.”

Wilson Brothers Racing team principal Cameron Wilson was a very satisfied team boss to take the team’s maiden Subaru victory at a national level.

“It’s been a long time coming, and it feels great!” Said Wilson.

“Lee was faultless throughout the race, and I was particularly impressed with the pace, consistency and endurance of the Subaru over the hour long race.

“We are really looking forward to the sprint races tomorrow, and of course we could not have done this without the work done by Benn Wilson and the whole WBR team in the pits.”

Sunday action commences with a ten minute warm up before a pair of handicap 18 lap races.

Turbulence Promotions opened tenders today for the 2009 series AMC.
This strong and experienced series offers a fantastic opportunity for national companies to enter a loyal demographic and with the help of Turbulence Promotions build brand awareness and staff morale.
An exciting year ahead for production based motor racing in Australia.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

The Australian Manufacturers Cahmpionship heads across the straight to Symmons Plains in Tasmania.

Symmons Plains International Raceway is located on Midland Highway some 30km south of Launceston.

The track is known for several interesting features including its very long back straight with a kink, its extremely tight hairpin bend at the end of the front straight and the unusual placement of the original start/finish line and grid that was on a curve.

Symmons Plains International Raceway opened in 1960 and after the closure of the Longford road circuit quickly established its own reputation as Tasmania’s home of touring car and championship motor racing.

Names like Bob Jane, Allan Moffatt, Norm Beechey, Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan, Jim McKeown, John Harvey, Peter Brock, Colin Bond, Allan Grice, Jim Richards, Alan Jones, George Fury, Larry Perkins, Tony Longhurst, Glenn Seton, John Bowe, Mark Scaife and Craig Lowndes, to name but a few.

Jake Camilleri of Brisbane takes on round 2 in his Grand Prix Mazda sponsored Mazda 3 MPS.

A successful weekend for Jake Camilleri as his Grand Prix Mazda sponsored Mazda 3 MPS took on the domination of the Mitsubishi EVO entries. After battling engine management issues on Friday the Mazda 3 was in great form.

Race 1 on Saturday, Jake finished 7^th outright just 3 second behind the race winner. Slippery conditions were no threat on Sunday to the Turbo Mazda 3 as Jake took 3^rd outright on race 2 and race winner on the final race of the day.

Jake thanked the efforts of his team and the support of his main sponsors Grand Prix Mazda and Castrol during presentations. After a strong finish at Phillip Island for round 1 of the Australian Manufacturers Championship, Jake Camilleri will be one to watch at the upcoming Symmons Plains challenge in September, and is in strong contention for the Drivers Championship.