Dave Sideways Sieders has had a dominating Round 6 victory in the Auto One V8 Ute Seriesprotected by Armor All on the streets of Surfers Paradise this weekend, 19-21 October 2012.
The 2011 Series Runner-Up walked away with 132 points, out of a maximum 140, having taken out Pole Position and two race wins on the way to his first round win of 2012.
We were so close in Darwin, said Sieders, we were equal points with Ryal [Harris], but ended up second on count-back, so I was determined not to let that happen this time around.
I dont think you can get a much better venue or weather than this, and to come away with our first round win here and for this year has been great.
Sieders was seemingly unstoppable throughout the weekend, and not only set the fastest time in every single session this weekend, but has walked away with the new lap record for the third round in a row, with the new Gold Coast Ute benchmark at 1:26.2513 set in the final laps of Race 3.
Our pace this year has been an absolute credit to the tireless work that the crew have been doing, said Sieders, we always go out with the goal to be the fastest Ford, but to keep lowering those records has just been unreal.
The points haul has also moved Sieders into real Championship contention, with the 28 year old from Londonderry in Sydneys West sitting in second place, and only 38 points away from current leader Ryal Harris.
Weve had a couple of bogey rounds this year, so Im happy were coming on really strong at this point of the season, said Sieders, were now just over one sessions worth of points away from Harris, and hopefully I can get that into the low 20s at Winton, and then really apply the pressure for the final round on our home track at Homebush in December.
Having bagged the maximum points from Qualifying and Race 1 on Friday and Saturday, Sieders was keen to keep the momentum going as he headed into Sundays double header, and was able to make some gains in Race 2, despite a lack of cool air costing him horsepower.
The car was handling pretty well in Race 2, but we suffered a little on the straight with the engine temps getting too high stuck behind in the train, said Sieders, we were pretty much bunched up all race, but I was happy to move up from 12th to 6th.
In the final race, a three way tie for the front of the grid was determined by qualifying results, with Sieders Friday Pole paying dividends a second time and, with a clean start, he was able to pull away from the field with Chris Pither and Cameron McConville right from the start.
I got a really good start in Race 3, said Sieders, I could see Pither creeping up on the run to turn one, but I got through there and just kept my eyes forward and concentrated on the job that needed to be done.
The top three cars had minor battles all race, with Sieders lead yo-yoing from 0.2s out to 1.2s throughout the race, but no one could get close enough to him, as he set went on to claim his second race win of the weekend.
There was a real bungee cord affect at the front, said Sieders, at times I would see a pretty big gap, and other times I had Pither right on my tail.
I had my front tyres fall off pretty quick, and the rears suffered towards the end, but I managed to maintain pretty good control, as I was really determined to get another win under the belt.
The Auto One V8 Ute Series will next compete at Winton Motor Raceway 16-18 November, and Sieders is determined to keep his strong form going.
Ive spent quite a lot of time at Winton over the years, but last time we had engine problems and didnt really perform as well as I know I can, so I will be looking to make amends this time around.
