Peter Ward has emerged as the leader of the RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes racing championship after the opening round held at Hampton Downs over the weekend.
There had been two different winners in Saturday’s 2 races, so it was all down to Sunday’s racing at the Speedworks Event at Hampton Downs to decide the RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes racing championship Round One.
Brad Kroef and Greg Kroef lined up on the front row for Race 3 on a wet track. It was so slippery, Peter Ward spun on the formation lap but was able to accelerate through both Kroefs to snatch the lead by turn 1.
On lap 2, Ward was stretching his lead but he wasn’t shaking off Brad Kroef. Meanwhile an all-nighter working on the blue Timber World Holden was paying dividends as Shane Dias posted the fastest lap. He snuck past Greg Kroef and charged off in pursuit of the front runners. By lap six he’d passed Brad Kroef leaving Peter Ward as his next target.
On the seventh lap, Dias ducked underneath Ward on Turn 2 and snatched the lead on a drying track. Ward wasn’t done, ducking and weaving until he found a way back into the lead. Dias took it back on lap eight, but their duel had allowed the traffic behind to catch up. But in their exuberance, the chasing pack of Phil Ross and the Kroefs locked up and ran wide onto the grass on Turn 6, leaving Shane unchallenged for the chequered flag.
That meant it was down to Race 4 to decide the weekend’s winner. On a dry track, Brad Kroef lined up alongside Peter Ward on the front row, but it was Ward with the better start, while Shane Dias sprinted into second . As Ward extended his lead, Dias couldn’t shake off the tag team of Brad and Greg Kroef.
By lap 3, Ward was well ahead, but Brad Kroef was breathing down the neck of Shane Dias, setting up a classic Holden Ford battle. Then coming into the sweeper on Lap 6, Brad Kroef ran around the outside of Dias to steal 2nd. With several laps remaining, there was plenty of time, but Kroef had plenty of speed and consolidated his second place all the way to the chequered flag.
With so many lead changes over the weekend, no single driver had achieved a knock-out punch to win Round One. That meant it was down to a points decision with Peter Ward taking out a hard-earned win. .
Round One of the RYCO 24.7 V8 Utes racing championship:
1/ #69 Peter Ward Holden 132 points
2/ #06 Brad Kroef Ford 112 points
3/ #18 Shane Dias Holden 104 points
4/ #700 Phil Ross Holden 96 points
5/ #23 Greg Kroef Ford 89 points
6/ #99 Stu Monteith Holden 83 points
7/ #54 Simon Ussher Ford 79 points
8/ # 82 David Lowe Holden 77 points
9/ #57 Paul Fougere Holden 75 points
10/ #45 Bruce McRae Holden 67 points
11/ #24 Daniel Ludlam Ford 62 points
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