Warren Luff qualified on pole with a 1m22.69s.

Paul Stokell won race 1 after starting second on the grid.

Race 2 went to series leader Chris Alajajian despite starting from the back of the grid for race 1.Alajajian was penalised to the back of the grid for race 1 after a post-qualifying infringement.

To compliment his pole win Luff finished races 1 and 2 in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Kiwi Gavin Yortt steered his Squawking Magpie Wines entry to a best result of 6th in race 2

Pizza Capers UberStar driver Steven Bradbury kicked off his campaign with a solid 12th in race 2.

19-year-old Sean Carter continues to impress with a race 2 result of 4th.

Round 3 of Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers sees Paul Stokell take a three point advantage over V8 Superstar Warren Luff after qualifying and two races, today at the City of Ipswich 300.

Qualifying honours went to Luff with Stokell picking up victory for the opening race. After receiving a penalty during qualifying which put him at the rear of race 1 grid, Chris Alajajian put in a sterling drive to take the win in race 2 with Stokell and Luff filling the rostrum.

Race 1 was an all-V8 affair with Stokell over Luff over the stuntdrivingschool.com.au spectacle of Dean Canto and Luke Youlden who finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Race 1 also saw an impressive feat as Alajajian moved 10 positions to climb from the back of the grid to sixth position by race end.

Chris Wootton showed improvement with two top-10 finishes after qualifying in 11th while new-comer John Magro put in a pair of 8th places in his just4wd.com.au entry. Despite a huge shunt in practice yesterday, Sarah Harley jumped back behind the wheel of the McElrea Racing MINI R56 and drove home to a super 11th finish in just her first ever MINI Challenge race this morning.

Unfortunately for DecoRug driver Matt MacKelden, his excursion at turn 6 resulted in he and CXC Global man Stephen Butcher becoming sidelined for race 2 after MacKelden careered into the Formula Vee legend. Fortunately the pair will return to action tomorrow and will look to be in amongst the MINI action.

MINI Challenge Driver Paul Stokell said:“Race 1 I had a brilliant start despite the 35kg ballast from qualifying and had Luffy from the line so I was able to get away and maintain the gap until the end. I had things going well in Race 2 until I saw Chris [Alajajian] flying up behind me and with 50kg added to my racecar, I just played it safe and allowed him by. Especially with Luff right behind him; I didn’t want to take any big risks because we have a good lead for the round and I have 39 points on Chris after these three sessions which is a big gain for my championship push.”

MINI Challenge Series Leader Chris Alajajian said:“The miscommunication from Qualifying set me back and from that I was fuming and just wanted to get out there and finish race 1. The first race the car was not too stable so we didn’t have much grip but I pushed and progressed through the grid to finish sixth which isn’t so bad from the final spot on the grid and with 20kg success ballast. This put me in a good position to give it my all for race 2 and we managed to pull off the victory. Championship points are critical and after the qualifying situation I really need to make up for lost points tomorrow and, at least, maintain, if not try and extend, my series lead. I’ll have 50kg ballast tomorrow so things are only half smiles at the moment but if I can come away with a podium by the end of the round it will be smiles all round.”

Tomorrow sees the final two races of this 4-race MINI challenge format. Race 3 commences at 08.50 while the final race in the City of Ipswich 300 event takes place at 11.25. 

Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers is the most exciting, premium single-make series in the world. The seven round series runs as an official support category of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Race 1 Results – City of Ipswich 300

1    DecoRug Racing                         Paul Stokell (QLD   2    Clipper Motor Yachts         Warren Luff (QLD)                3     Bib Stillwell MINI Garage          Dean Canto (SA)4     Kickass Racing                         Luke Youlden (VIC)        5     Plan4Growth/Sales Link Austral     Sean Carter (VIC)        6     Jack Hillermans Smash Repairs   Chris Alajajian (NSW)   7     Squawking Magpie Wines             Gavin Yortt (NZ)          8     just4wd.com.au                        John Magro (QLD)           9     www.thesupporterclub.com          Chris Wootton (QLD)     10   Supercharge Batteries            Peter McNiven (VIC)       11  McElrea Racing            Sarah Harley (QLD)12     just4wd.com.au                            Kain Magro (QLD) 13   Transquip Hire/ABC Autogear   Brendan Cook (QLD)       14   Pizza Capers                         Steven Bradbury (VIC)          DNF DecoRug Racing              Matt MacKelden (QLD)           DNF   CXC                                    Stephen Butcher (NSW)

Race 2 Results – City of Ipswich 300

1  Jack Hillermans Smash Repairs  Chris Alajajian(NSW)     2    DecoRug Racing                         Paul Stokell (QLD   3    Clipper Motor Yachts         Warren Luff (QLD)                4     Plan4Growth/Sales Link Austral     Sean Carter (VIC)        5     Bib Stillwell MINI Garage          Dean Canto (SA)6     Squawking Magpie Wines             Gavin Yortt (NZ)          7   Supercharge Batteries            Peter McNiven (VIC)       8     just4wd.com.au                        John Magro (QLD)           9     Kickass Racing                         Luke Youlden (VIC)        10   .thesupporterclub.com      Chris Wootton (QLD)       11   Transquip Hire/ABC Autogear   Brendan Cook (QLD)        12   Pizza Capers                         Steven Bradbury (VIC)          13  McElrea Racing            Sarah Harley (QLD)MINI Challenge Points