A look back on the Sydney Sundown

Images: MPix

The sun has well and truly set on Sydney Sundown, the second round of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at Sydney Motorsport Park.

It was a weekend full of firsts, and we saw records set both on and off the track across the two days of competition on May 30-31.

One of the major records broken by the Super Series in Sydney was the number of categories on the schedule.

A record nine categories contested races, in total 38 races were staged, from short 15-minute sprint races to two-hour enduros and everything in between.

On-track action took place from 8.30am until after 10pm on both days, with a lot of racing occurring under lights.

Nearly 200 drivers entered across the nine categories, creating a great atmosphere in the paddock.

Across the nine Hi-Tec Oils Super Series categories, eight were national categories and the other a state series.

TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series Presented by Maritimo

Super-sub Tim Brook was super in every regard at Sydney Motorsport Park taking a clean-sweep, four race wins across the course of the weekend.

He was challenged in some affairs, while in others he dominated proceedings. Brook stepped into the #118 Chevrolet Camaro usually driven by series leader Jarrod Hughes.

Brook scored the maximum 240 points which will be added to Hughes’ series tally.

Ben Gomersall was his biggest threat on Saturday, in the opener the Super2 Series driver applied maximum pressure on the tail of Gomersall, but would eventually come up 0.5s shy.

Gomersall finished second in Race 2, however was handed a 15s penalty for spinning Brad Garther, demoting him to third behind Josh Thomas.

That momentum for Thomas continued into Saturday, bagging his first front row start.

Thomas came home second in Race 3 ahead of debutant Brock Paine who won the Formula RX8 Series last year. Gomersall failed to finish due to a gearbox issue.

Race 4 saw a chaotic start in which Paine was able to take the race lead on the opening lap. He held onto the lead until the closing laps when Brook was able to sneak by. Diesel Thomas finished third ahead of Josh Thomas.

Brook won the round from Josh and Diesel Thomas.

TFH Hire Legend Cars Australia

The five Legend Cars Australia races produced four different winners, Dylan Thomas was the only multi-time victor across the weekend.

Despite winning two races he did not take the round win, that honour went the way of young Askr Sendall who never finished outside of the top four places.

Thomas’ costly 10th place finish in the opener cost him dearly at the end of the round, he was in the fight for the win until his car briefly cut out after an off-track excursion.

That first race went the way of Sendall, Race 2 and Race 5 saw Thomas prevail, while Race 3 went to Shane Tate and Race 4 Aiden Williams.

Sendall took the round honours from Thomas, Williams and Tate.

Australian Super Tin Tops

Super Tin Tops was a battle of the BMWs, with the German marques iconic E36s locking out the round podium positions. An impressive 27 cars entered, 13 of which were brand new entries to the series.

Championship leader Mark Tracey did not have things his own way at SMP, with Matthew Sims more than taking the fight to him. Sims won the first race from Tracey and Stephen Chilby.

Race 2 saw Tracey spin from the lead early, Sims won convincingly from Benny Tran who came from the back of the field ahead of the recovering Tracey.

Race 3 saw Sims from Chilby and Tracey, however for the final Tracey threw new tyres on the car and it worked wonders.

Tracey and Sims traded lap records, but it was Tracey that took victory from Sims and Tran. With three wins Sims took the round honours.

Hankook Australian Drivers’ Championship

The fourth round of the Australian Drivers’ Championship was dominated by local Hayden Crossland. The youngster was peerless in all four races, never challenged at any point, while the racing behind was scintillating.

Championship leader Damon Sterling suffered damage after an off-track excursion at the end of lap 1 in the first race. He was classified in 14th, while Crossland beat home Masters competitor Hamish Leighton and Dean Crooke.

Crossland again saw the chequered flag first in Race 2, while Sterling came from 14th to finish second ahead of Leighton. The order was replicated in Race 3.

The final saw Crossland win from Sterling, with former Trans Am racer Kyle Gurton in third.

For the round it was Crossland, Leighton and Sterling.

Australian Production Cars

David took on and beat goliath in the opening Australian Production Cars round of the season.

For one reason or another all the rivals of the Jarvis’ Polo GTi, were unable to capitalise with superior car pace.

Both the A2 class Mustangs suffered mechanical issues throughout the weekend’s action.

The one Mustang of Tyler Mecklam took the honours in Race 1, but that was where the luck ran out.

The Jarvis’ stayed out of trouble and won the double points enduro from Holden Astra HSV VXR and the Mercedes AMG A45.

The final race saw that Mercedes A45 prevail, as for the second race running Supercars star Bryce Fullwood broke down in the closing laps.

Australian Formula Vee

Over the course of the two days, a five-way fight at the front of the Formula Vee field could not be separated and produced some memorable photo finishes.

Alex Macdonald only led the final few hundred metres, pipping Craig Sparke by just 0.1s in Race 1, but closer margins were to come.

Race 2 saw Daniel Reynolds get the better of the pack, he was victorious from Michael Kinsella and MacDonald. Race 3 saw Reynolds beat home MacDonald by 0.15s, with Kinsella third.

Race 4 was an all time classic, Reynolds came out of the final corner in second but got the tow and stole victory on the line by 0.001s. Kinsella was a disappointed second from Sparke.

The final saw cars spread three wide across the finish line, incredibly MacDonald came out the last corner in third but moved ahead of both Reynolds and Sparke before the line. The trio crossed the line within 0.04s.

Reynolds, Macdonald and Kinsella was the round order.

Replica Tourers

Queensland category Replica Tourers ran a race meeting outside of the sunshine state for the very first time, and with over 30 cars, it was clearly a success.

Hadrian Morrall scored the win in the opener ahead of the old school VK Commodore of Daniel Ridley, with Simon Anthonisz third.

Jason Grimmold prevailed in Race 2, taking the lead for the first time on the final lap of the race. Shane Stewart in a BMW 135i was second with Race 1 runner-up Ridley third. Stuart won Saturday’s opener from Grimmond and Ridley.

Grimmond got the better of Stuart in Race 4, while Daniel Ross in the RX8 was third. Grimmond won the final race from Rex Scoles, while Ridley again rounded out the top three.

Innovation Race Cars

Innovation Race cars held two sprint races and two 50-minute enduros as part of their first enduro series round, which yielded three different winners.

Geoff Emery took a clean sweep on Friday, he won the sprint race by 10s from Danny Stutterd and John Holinger. Stutterd pushed Emery hard under lights in the enduro, missing out on the win by just 4s.

Saturday’s race wins were split between Stutterd and Hollinger, Emery suffered mechanical issues in both of the affairs.

Race 3 saw Hollinger hunt Stutterd down late on, but it was not enough, Stutterd held on by 0.4s. In the enduro Hollinger made his way past and went on to take the win.

All of the Formula Ford Stars and Renegades race reports can be found here.

The next round, 2 Days of Thunder takes place at Queensland Raceway from June 27-29.