If pace and momentum have any influence on results, then Nulon Oil’s David Sieders will be looking to continue his recent form when the Yokohama V8 Ute Series – protected by Armor All hits the streets of Surfer’s Paradise for Round 7 of the competition this weekend, 22-24th October.
Fresh off his Bathurst Round win just over a week ago, David “Sideways” Sieders leads the charge for the three cars prepared by his family-run Sieders Racing Team, strongly supported by Ben “Dunny” Dunn and Andrew “Fishtail” Fisher, who have also recorded solid performances in recent rounds.
“All three cars are sensational at the moment, and the results speak for themselves,” said Sieders, “it’s a massive boost of confidence to both the crew, in putting together a great race package, and to the drivers, in their confidence and comfort within the cars.”
“Personally, I’ve been able to finish inside the Top 5, on the track, for seven of the last nine races, including two race wins,” said Sieders, “and, as a team we have 22 Top 5 results and 16 Top 10’s this season…all three drivers have race wins, and there’s only been eight different race winners all season”.
As the team and equipment arrives at the Gold Coast’s Mantra Suncity today, the results from Bathurst have been all the more vital to a good preparation for this coming weekend.
“One of the greatest things about the strong performances at Bathurst, apart from the overall results, is the fact that all three cars came back with barely a scratch,” said Sieders Racing Team Manager, Luke Sieders.
“It’s not only an achievement when you consider how tough Bathurst can be, and there was plenty of carnage there last weekend, but we also only had eight days to unload, prepare, load and send the cars up to the Gold Coast, so it helped not having to use that time concentrating on repairs.”
This round will be the first time that there have been V8 Utes on the Gold Coast since 2007, and, with changes to the track this year, everyone will need to be at maximum concentration.
“I’m a big fan of street circuits,” said David Sieders, “they’re really big tests for drivers, as there is no room for error, in fact there’s not really room for anything between the concrete”.
“The Utes haven’t been up here for a few years, and they’ve shortened the track this year anyway, so it will definitely be a real test for everyone.”
Sieders remains in fourth position in the Championship, however, he has reduced the gap to the Championship lead of Grant “Grunta” Johnson to 111 points, sitting 40 points behind second-placed Jack “The Hustler” Elsgood and 14 points behind stable-mate Andrew Fisher in third.
“We had a great result at Bathurst, and to be just over a race-win’s points out of second is going to make these last two rounds interesting…It’s going to take a lot to bridge the gap to Grant, but if the team can get two of the top three spots it’d be an awesome achievement.”
The Utes will hit the track on Friday, 22nd October, for Practice and Qualifying, with Race 1 on Saturday, 23rd October, televised live at 11am on the Seven Network, and the final two races on Sunday, 24th October, with Race 2 also televised on the Seven Network at 11am on the day.
“With only one practice session before Qualifying, the guys who succeed this weekend will be the ones who can learn the limits of their cars, and the track, the quickest…without putting it in the wall.”
