The Central RC and Food Process Engineering

The 2011 ORRCA Vic Drivers series was kicked off in style in March with the running of the 2011 Keilor Cup.

Just under 80 entries were received for the event, held at the Keilor club (now celebrating its 25th year). Racers travelled from as far away as Perth, Wodonga and Mildura to compete. The club did a great job in preparing a track which had a bit of everything - flowing corners, off cambers, technical chicanes, elevation changes and plenty of jumps. This was one of the most challenging layouts ever seen at the track and running clean for 5 minutes proved very difficult, especially in mod where full throttle could only be used in a few places. Rain overnight left the surface damp for the start of qualifying, but by the time finals rolled around the track had a sticky blue groove making tyre choice, driving line and setup critical all day.

In the modified classes, Ray Munday and Ben Sterling continued their close rivalry over from the 2010 season but with Leigh Cheeseman, Ash Peeler and Mark Polistena all practicing hard, the result was wide open. Ben, Leigh and Ash are all competing at the world titles in Finland later in 2011 and were keen to get as much race time in as possible. The field in mod was more diverse than in previous years, with Ray running Team Associated, Ben Kyosho, Leigh Kyosho (4wd) and Losi 22 (2wd), Ash Tamiya and Shumacher represented by Mark Polistena.

In stock, Mick 'The Doctor' Salis is the man to beat at Keilor in 2wd with his well sorted X-6, recently cleaning up at the stock shootout. Many of the A final was filled by mid motor cars (X-6 and Cougars). Mick had also pulled his X-5 out of retirement for 4wd stock but would be challenged by Glenn Wilson, John Caval, Marcel Morton for the title of Keilor Cup stock winner.

A strong field of stock truck was entered, and SCT showed it has arrived with a full A-final including many of the new XXX-SCT Losi trucks.

Special thanks to the clubs primary sponsors, Central RC and FOod Process Engineering for their ongoing support.

Qualifiers: (Format: 3 rounds, IFMAR style)

2W Modified

As qualifying started, the track was wet and heavy after overnight rain. For round 2, a line started to appear and by round 3, the blue groove had started to form. 2wd qualifying was a clean sweep for Kyosho driver Ben Sterling, with Ray right on his hammer but suffering some technical issues (including a spectatcularly smoky ESC failure in Q1 with 2 corners to go). Mark Polistena was a popular 3rd on the grid, showing good speed with his Schumacher Cougar, from Ash Peeler (Tamiya) and Grant Soerono (Shumacher).

4W Modified

4wd was a reversal of 2wd, with Ray putting his B44 on pole after taking out the first 2 qualifiers. Leigh Cheeseman placed his brand new ZX5 FS2 2nd on the grid with Ben Sterling (also Zx5) in 3rd after a costly DNF on the tough track. Bens time in Q3 was the fastest of the three qualifiers, showing he would be tough to beat in the finals. Mark Polistenas good form continued with 4th for his Schumacher from Ash Peeler (Tamiya).

Mains: (Format: 3 Finals)

2W Modified Mains

With the sun now shining, everyone was rushing for sunscreen and the track had a high grip blue groove for the finals. Combined with a bumpy surface, getting the right tyre choice and setup was critical, and careful driving was required to avoid traction rolling. In A1, Ray and Ben had a race long battle with Ray taking the win after several lead changes. In A2, Ben took the win after an early crash from Ray put him back in the pack. With the result down the 3rd final, the two bolted away from the pack with the lead swapping several times. Ray had the lead with a few laps to go before a small mistake from Ben put the result beyond doubt, A3 producing the FTD (10/5:11). Ben finished 2nd overall with Grant Soerono a well deserved 3rd, Mark Poli 4th and Logan Symes a strong 5th.

4W Modified Mains

4wd also went down to the final main after a tough series of races. In A1, Ray got away to an early lead and never relinquished it, putting down the FTD (11/5:21) as the Bar Codes gripped up on the grooved track. Mark Polistena shadowed Ray for the first few laps and come home an excellent 2nd. A2 was a mirror of 2wd, with Ray making an early mistake and Ben romping off to the win with his ZX5. It was all down to the 3rd final and Ray used his TQ position to good advantage, winning the race despite immense pressure from Ben who was unlucky not to come home with a win. Mark Polistena also finished a very popular 3rd in 4wd in what many considered was the standout drive for the day! Ash Peeler came home 4th with Leigh Cheeseman finished 5th after some bad luck in the finals.

2wd Stock

In 2wd stock, local hotshot Mick 'The Doctor' Salis took TQ with his X6 and converted that to an overall victory taking out A1 and A2. He was closely followed by Marcel Morton (Cougar) and John Caval (XXX). Keri MacDonald, who had made the long trip from Perth with his Cougar, finished a fine 4th to back up his strong showing at the Stock Shootout.

4wd Stock

4wd stock saw some of the most amazing racing of the day with TQ John Caval (XXX4), Glenn Wilson (FS2) and Mick Salis (X-5) swapping the lead many times through all 3 finals and the final result not clear until the very last corner . All 3 deserved the win but in the end it was Glenn 1st, Mick 2nd and John rounding out the podium.

2wd 540

Matt West and Matt Evans were the dominant drivers in this class, both showing improved form. Matt West (B4) eventually took TQ and 1st, Evans 2nd and John Wiggins a fine 3rd.

Short Course Truck

A full field of SCTs showed that the class is well and truly growing in Australia with a diverse mix of chassis. Shannon Fitzsimmons showed a clean pair of heels to take out the class from Nathan Burge and Mr Valve Amp Neil Kovacs, with many new faces enjoying their first taste of competitive racing! Mick and Darren from Central RC were also in on the fun with their Losi trucks.

Stock Truck

Stock truck is one of the most hotly contested classes in Victoria. 2010 Vic State Champion Andre Morton took TQ with his custom mid motor XXXT, and in the finals he dominated. Finishing 2nd was Mildura's Nigel Spokes with his T4, Simon Atkins (X-60) 3rd. Andre got 10 laps in every race of the day, with John Watkins the only other person to do so. Unfortunately John had bad luck in A1 and A2, but in A3 the race came down to the wire, Andre taking the win by the narrowest of margins (0.2s)!

The fun continued after the event with Matt West winning the raffle prize (Losi XXX-SCT) thanks to Central RC.

Thanks to the Keilor club for putting on a great event and see you all at Rd 2 'The Mallee Madness' in Mildura in June!

Photo Gallery

Results

A summary of the fastest times of the day are included in the table below:

Click here to view the complete results.