West Aussie Nathan Caratti and Queenslander Paul Stokell shared a win a piece t at the penultimate round of the 2009 MINI Challenge, delivered by Pizza Capers, at the wide open expanses of Barbagallo.
RACE ONE Nathan Caratti stormed off the front row and was never headed in the Glory Team Construction #10 and he led handsomely until the fall of the chequers over fellow West Aussie Karl Reindler in second and Scott Bargwanna holding on for very life in third.
"I got off to a good start and then settled down to look after the tyres," admitted the winner later, "we're already working on Race Two so we need to stick to the weekend strategy." It was a lonely ride for Reindler in his MINI Challenge debut as he came home in second well ahead of the spirited battle behind him for the last podium spot.
"I love everything about these cars," he admitted, "they do everything predictably and consistently. From a Racecar driver's point of view they are fantastic to drive." The battle for third was a corker between Scott Bargwanna and Chris Alajajian. The two Sydneysiders went at it for lap after lap with Bargs only narrowly holding off the spirited and lake braking advances of "the Chris". "I was holding my lines and he didn't really get too much of a chance to make a pass," conceded Bargwanna, "though he did get pretty close a couple of times. We're fighting it out for a Championship position so I had to put every wheel exactly where it needed to be or Chris was coming through. He's a great driver."
Not unpredictably, Alajajian was pushing it to the limit. "I looked everywhere but there was no room," he lamented, "Scott was pretty good at filling in the gaps and I had no real way of making it past. I gave it all I had." Coming in behind Alajajian in fifth was Paul Stokell ahead of Aaron Caratti, Sean Carter, Grant Denyer, Paul Fiore, Leanne Tander, John Modystach, Brendon "BJ" Cook and Cairns racer Wayne Miles. West Aussie Vaughn Brewer unfortunately had mechanical issues before the event and was unable to start from pit lane.
RACE TWO Paul Stokell was a dominant winner in the DecoRug #27 John Cooper Works cruising away from his rivals and adding towards his points haul as the final round of the 2009 MINI Challenge looms. "I got a good start and looked in the mirror wondering where they all went?" he mused, referring to the incident between Aaron Caratti and Chris Alajajian that happened at the entry to turn four. Caratti narrowly led the battle for second place but the always-aggressive Alajajian asked the question on the inside and the two cars made contact. Caratti's Messages On Hold MINI spun off the circuit and wound up at the rear of the field before charging back through the field late in the event. "I thought the pass was potentially on," admitted Alajajian later, "but obviously the result wasn't good for anyone. Aaron is a friend of mine and I'm disappointed that he ended up crashing out. I explained it to him from my point of view and then I apologised."
MINI Challenge debutant Chris Reindler placed a fine fourth in his #16 Crimsafe entry whilst older brother Karl handled live PA commentary duties with series announcer Wade Aunger. Grant Denyer moved from 8thto 5thplace in his DecoRug #95 John Cooper Works R56 and although the drive was a good one the diminutive Sydneysider conceded that his Championship hopes were all but dashed. "Things just haven't gone our way so far this weekend," he frowned, "and Paul is really fast. I have to admit the Championship is probably over for us."
Scott Bargwanna was again a very stout proposition in his ROCK Energy Drinks #79 with new team-mate and impressive second round racer Sean Carter home behind him in seventh. "We're starting to get the hang of it," admitted the Porsche 944 racer from Victoria, "each time I go out I get more and more confident and I understand the cars a bit better. We're getting quicker each lap." Eighth home and a major improvement was John Modystach who is relishing having the set up duties handled by Melbourne Performance Centre. Aaron Caratti got back to ninth from the rear whilst Iron Man and stunt driver Guy Andrews enjoyed his run to finish tenth in the Pizza Capers UBER Star he is sharing with Leanne Tander for the weekend. "I'm having a ball," he grinned, "I even got her up on two wheels a few times like the stunt car!"
"You can tell he's a stunt man," grinned Brendon "BJ" Cook, "he went past me into the first corner sideways!" Cook's Red Angus Pilsener #97 car trailed Andrews home in eleventh ahead of Brendan Cook's Transquip Hire #43 and Wayne Miles' East Coast Traffic Solutions #88.
Final car home was the West Coast Training #24 of West Aussie Vaughn Brewer who also continues to improve with each outing and has gained the respect of the paddock with his raw enthusiasm.
