McCASHNEY TRIUMPHS IN CHAOTIC END TO AUSSIE RACING CARS SEASON
20 October 2007

Ben McCashney scored an impressive Aussie Racing Cars round victory at Gold Coast’s Indy Street Circuit today after dominating Race 3 while Brad Ward was crowned Series champion after chaos reigned on at the front of the pack.

A nail-biting end to the year for Ward saw his main rivals, brother James and Paul Kemal, slip out of contention in the final race of the year giving Brad his first Aussie Racing Car title.

It was consistency over the seven rounds that gave Ward the win after coming so close in 2005.

“It is so hard to win a race in this category, let alone the series,” Ward said.

“I have come so close before but missed out in the late part of the season.

“The feeling is amazing,” he said.

A series of unbelievable incidents unraveled the series for both James Ward and Paul Kemal after Ward spun while dicing for the lead and broken suspension put an end to Kemal’s race.

Once McCashney found the lead in the race and had a clear track in front he reeled off blistering lap times, breaking the lap record on the final lap. There was no catching him as he went on to score his second successive round win.

“What a fantastic weekend!” McCashney said.

“And to win two rounds in a row is the best way possible to end the year.

“It was tough work at the front, but once I had a clear track I was able to push hard and make a race winning break.”

V8 Supercar driver Paul Morris ran out of steam towards the end of the race as the hot conditions took its toll on his engine, but fifth place in Race 3 was enough to see him finish second overall.

“This is the category in Australia to race in,” Morris said.

“They make V8 Supercars look boring and I couldn’t have had more fun at this circuit.

 “To finish second overall is great,” he said.

A strong meeting for BOC Falcon driver Nick Lowe ended with a solid third place in Race 3, a result that earned him third overall for his second podium for the year.

“Third place is awesome, it is my second podium in a row and to do it at such a place as Indy is amazing,” Lowe said.

“It is a fantastic track and the racing is just awesome with passing everywhere.”

Chaos emerged as a flurry of incident unraveled, starting with a heavy collision between Glenn McNamara and debutant Dylan Thomas which brought out the safety car. Leading driver James Ward then spun racing resumed leaving Kemal to seeming walk it in for the Series win. Kemal was running in second when he clipped part of the wall down the back-straight and broke a rose joint in the suspension which ended his series title aspiration.

Peter Carr’s consistency earned him a solid sixth place overall while recovering from a mechanical set-back David Lawrence climbed to sixth in the final race after running as high as third in Race 1. Richie Rapa also made his way through the pack in his first outing at the track and stormed from the rear of the field in the opening race to finish inside the top 10 in the final.

Tom Vececivic won the Masters Cup round in sensational style, overcoming a close dual with experienced runner Shane Wolki in the dying stages of the final race while an emphatic Steve MacGregor won the Masters Cup title after a turbulent year.

Vececivic appeared to have the round wrapped up, but a mistake where he locked his brakes put him back into the clutches of Wolki, fortunately he was able to hold on and clinched his first round victory of the year.

“I was looking in the mirrors towards the end of the race keeping an eye on Wolki and was so glad when the six laps were up,” Vececivic said.

“It is a great feeling to win a Masters Cup round, it is something I have wanted to do for a long time.”

A sensational year for the Queensland based MacGregor has seen him win back-to-back Masters Cup titles. MacGregor also ended the year with nine Masters Cup race wins proving he was the man to beat for season 2007.

Wolki was the ‘Stirling Moss’ of the Masters Cup, finishing as round runner up four times during the year and as runner up in the title chase. Mark Tarrant returned in fine form after missing Sandown and finished the year on a high with third overall at the glamorous Indy street circuit.

Indy proved the perfect way to end another successful and spectacular Aussie Racing Cars Series.

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