Race 2 of the Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers has seen a fresh pair of rookies take the top-two spots with Peter McNiven claiming his first MINI victory in a final turn hair-raiser with V8 Supercar veteran Dean Canto.
"It was amazing how close the race was between Dean [Canto] and I and I’m thrilled to take victory in only my second race in the MINI. Supercharge Batteries and Nulon have done a lot to get us here so it’s great I can return the favour with a win so soon. The car performed really well and to follow a guy like Canto, and stick with him for the entire race, I was able to learn a lot about driving this track and it felt good too as he is a V8 Champion! Championship points are definitely going to be on my mind come race 3 tomorrow but of course I will have a good go at it." Said McNiven.
An action-packed opening lap of thrills and spills allowed both drivers to scream away from the rest of the pack as they avoided several incidents and set off to battle it out over eight hotly contested laps. Coming into the final turn of the race bumper-to-bumper, Canto had the advantage only to see McNiven dart inside and take victory by a slim 0.83 seconds. The second consecutive MINI Challenge race to be decided by less than a second’s difference.
"That was a great race but the car just cut down on power as I pulled onto the straight from the last corner and Peter [McNiven] flew down the inside. There wasn’t much I could do but hey that’s racing sometimes and I’m still pleased with second in only my second race. Yesterday I felt like a bit of an amateur as the car was a bit down on power but we changed a dirty catyllitic-converter last night and it made the world of difference today. I had a lot more fun and started to get my head around driving the MINI hard. I’ve still got a few more tricks for tomorrow so we’ll see how it goes." Said Canto.
Coming home on the final podium step was 19-year-old speedster Sean Carter in his Plan4Growth/Vivid Computers John Cooper Works R56 MINI. Carter has shown a massive turn of speed this week and was rewarded today with a well earned third place finish.
It wasn’t all smiles however as several crews limped back to the pits with an array of damages to their cars due to various incidents. The first was between Dale Wood and fellow MINI Challenge competitor Brendan Cook who unfortunately didn’t see any racing past the first lap. Wood careered into Cook’s Transquip Hire racing MINI after he become unsteady and spun on the opening chicane after leading the field into the opening set of corners from his number one position on the starting grid.
"I led everyone into the first corner and was pretty aggressive on the first ripple strip chicane. This unsettled the car as I bounced onto the second set of ripple strips, crossed up and the back snapped out which spun me round to the edge of the gravel trap. I thought I was going to be right to reverse up and get going again because everyone managed to avoid me, except for the last car coming through. I know I shouldn’t have been in that position on the track but it’s just a shame we had to finish the weekend this way." Said Cook.
A remarkable effort by 2009 stars Chris Alajajian and Paul Stokell saw the pair immediately move through the pack and begin their trade-mark duelling to finish 4th and 5th respectively. Their tight locked racing however saw Alajajian unable to avoid a speedy Robbie Maddison who was hit by the Standox Paints driver and was forced to retire from the race in spectacular fashion as he sailed down pit straight with the front left wheel facing the grandstands due to a broken strut.
After today’s race Alajajian still remains the current Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers series leader with Stokell remaining in second. McNiven’s win sees him race up the ladder to third while Carter rounds off the top-four Championship front runners.
Race three commences tomorrow morning at 8.15am and is sure to thrill crowds after two fantastic opening rounds to this year’s series.
PROVISIONAL Race 2 Results – Clipsal 500
1st Peter McNiven
2nd Dean Canto +0.8
3rd Sean Carter +3.8
4th Chris Alajajian +4.6
5th Paul Stokell +5.3
6th Scott McLaughlin +9.1
7th Scott Manson +10.1
8th Gavin Yortt +11.1
DNF Robbie Maddison
DNF Brendan Cook
DNF Dale Wood
