CARATTI IS FAST BUT DENYER IS TRIUMPHANT
Grant Denyer is the winner of Round Four of the 2009 MINI Challenge - delivered by Pizza Capers - at Sandown Motor Raceway.
The driver of the #95 DecoRug JCW was consistent all weekend in setting the fastest time in qualifying and finishing second in both events to the flying Nathan Caratti. Though Caratti crossed the line first in the final race (and won the other race of the weekend) it was Denyer who emerged with the race and the round win due to Caratti's team being deemed to have breached a component regulation in his car. The results are currently provisional as Caratti does have the right to appeal the decision.
At the time of writing Sunday night little was known about Caratti's position as to whether he would or had appealed already. "Nobody likes to win that way but I'm happy for Bill Gremos and the DecoRug team to get the Championship points and the win," grinned Denyer.
His win now really throws a cat amongst the pigeons in the Series points battle with team mate Paul Stokell. In the first four rounds the DecoRug drivers have shared two wins apiece. It would now seem that Denyer too will earn himself a 50kg success ballast figure to bring him into line with Stokell. In the 12 lap final at Sandown though Nathan Caratti stormed the #10 Glory Team Construction JCW off the front row and was never headed, despite the efforts of Grant Denyer, Paul Stokell and the ever-improving John Magro. It was a similar story to the second race of the weekend.
Denyer did all he could to run down the West Aussie. "I threw everything at him. If Kochie (David Koch from Seven's SUNRISE program) were here I'd have thrown him at Caratti too. Unfortunately he was too quick in the right places and we couldn't get a look in," he conceded. Paul Stokell was lucky not to have a big moment in turn one when he had to take evasive action and head to the inside grass - the result seeing him drop a few positions and have to put his head down and charge hard back to third. He was lucky not to make contact with the field in a big way coming out of turn one. Scott Bargwanna was a major chance for a top three finish before Stokell edged him out in the dying stages but the ROCK Energy Drinks Sydneysider rewarded his crew for their massive effort in repairing the car (after the huge crash at Townsville) with a consistent Sandown weekend.
North Queensland Mango farmer John Magro was again consistent, and fast on debut. "I really started to enjoy the car," he grinned later, "it was great getting up to the edge of the lead pack, I just wish we had another few races." David Stillwell impressed with a stout sixth place in the BIB Stillwell MINI Garage JCW finishing ahead of stable-mate Geoff Emery in seventh, Grant Sherrin (Sherrin Rentals #7) in eighth, UBER Star driver James Tomkins pushed the Pizza Capers #50 JCW into ninth overall despite a massive lunge by his pursuer Andrew Fisher in the Jesus JCW. Fisher, an established V8 Ute Series star, put the car up on two wheels whilst diving for an inside pass in the last few corners of the final lap. "I had a ball," grinned the triple Olympic Gold Medallist after the last race, "I'd definitely like to do this again. It was fantastic."
Coming home in eleventh was Brendon "BJ" Cook in the ROCK Energy Drinks #97 with determined Queenslander John Modystach's Prosurv #26 twelfth, then Brendan Cook in the Transquip Hire #43 and the hapless Tony Bates who was turned around in the first corner and was never able to regain touch with the pack.
