Ryal The Kid Harris who currently leads the ENZED Drivers Championship in the Auto One V8 Ute Racing Seriesprotected by Armor All, is keen to reclaim his Gold Coast title next weekend around the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Harris has just come off a round win at Bathurst and having won the round on the Gold Coast last year with a clean-sweep (Qualifying, Race1, Race 2 & Race 3), is feeling extremely confident.
I love this round, its my home track and home crowd and I just love the atmosphere. To win there last year was such a great feeling. Im in the same situation I was last year coming off a Bathurst win and also in the lead of the Series Im feeling really confident. I cant wait to hit the track, he said.
Bundaberg Racings Cameron McConville will be looking for another podium after placing 3rd overall at Bathurst and second at the Gold Coast round last year.
We were really happy with our result at Bathurst and it will be great to stand on the podium again - even better if its for the outright position this time around, said McConville.
Jesus Racings Andrew Fisher is running 4th in the series, chasing down David Sieders (3rd) Nathan Pretty (2nd) and Ryal Harris. He currently holds the lap record at the event and is looking forward to hitting the track.
We always love racing on the Gold Coast and we are really happy with where were placed in the Championship. The ute is very fast and we were definitely on the pace at Bathurst, which was evident in Race 2. Were just looking to stay consistent for the remainder of the year, keep putting some solid points on the board and a few wins in the process would be great, said Fisher.
Female drivers Hayley Swanson and Amber Anderson will be back for another round. The two had a coming together at the Bathurst round. Swansons Holden tapped the V8 Nights Ford sending Anderson airborne. For the V8 Supercar Safety Car driver, Anderson this will be only her second round in the Series and shes looking for a better result.
I loved my first round of the V8 Ute Series; I am always up for a bit of biff-and-barge, so I was certainly not disappointed. Although getting airborne and having your brand new Ute torn up in Race 1 was not ideal I must add!
I hope to continue to improve on my times and get more comfortable in the car. Now I know the car a little better, and also have a sense of who I am racing with, and which ones I should stay away from! she added.
Returning to the Series for this round is local Rohan Barry who will steer the Gary MacDonald/Yanis Derums Ford FG run by Sieders Racing; another local hitting the track is Benn Wilson who will drive with Big Gun Racing.
Williams Race Tech will introduce another driver to the Series in Michael Hector who will replace Layton Barker in Derums second car. Hector presently competes in the V8 Supercar Development Series and will race alongside fellow Supercar competitor George Miedecke who will steer the Auto One Wildcard Ute.
The V8 Utes will hit the Surfers Paradise street circuit for the first time on Friday, 19th October for practice. See below full schedule for the weekend.
Friday, 19th October 8:20am PracticeFriday, 19th October 1pm QualifyingSaturday, 20th October 8:25am Race 1Sunday, 21st October 8:45am Race 2Sunday, 21st October 12:30pm Race 3
