Photo: Mike TurleyAucklander Mike Turley has won the second round of the 2010/11 Suzuki Swift Sport Cup which ran at the Powerbuilt Tools Raceway outside Christchurch this weekend.
Turley, from Coatesville, Auckland, maintained the momentum from winning the first Suzuki round at Pukekohe earlier in November after winning two of that rounds’ three races and taking the early championship lead. Despite a time penalty in the third Christchurch race for hitting another competitor, Turley’s second duo of race wins puts the Aucklander at the top of the points-table.
“That’s what we’re after – points in the bank,” said Turley. “Now we’re looking forward to the next round near Invercargill. We struggled a little there last year but I think we’re able to put that behind us for the New Year.”
Turley kept the pressure on fellow Suzuki competitors by securing pole position during Saturday’s qualifying and going on to win in the weekend’s first 8-lap race. He lined up on pole for the second 8-lap race on Sunday morning in overcast, hot and humid conditions.
Fellow front row-sitter AJ Lauder got a better start off the line than Turley, but the 16-year-old from Turua couldn’t establish enough of a lead to get the inside line advantage into turn one ahead of Turley. Mark Gibson, who started in row two behind Turley, stayed tucked his Taupo Motor Company Suzuki in behind the leader while Lauder and the Toll Racing Suzuki got pushed back to fourth. Mid-field, a concertina effect ejected Shaun Lawrence from turn one with the Hamilton driver needing to make a pit stop at the end of the lap to remove gravel from the car’s front bumper.
Turley continued to lead but his advantage narrowed as the chasing drivers closed into a line-astern pack for several laps. LG Motorsport’s Jamie Gaskin made it past Dane Fisher to take third, leaving Fisher to duel with Rangiora’s Chris Cox to eventually hold fourth. Turley romped home for his fourth win from the first five races run this season.
The weekend’s third and final race sees the starting grid formed by adding the points each driver has earned in the first two races, then reversing the order. This saw Wellington’s Grant Ryan on pole, and Karaka’s Amy Vincent on the front row beside him. Turley, as the winner of races one and two, started right at the back of the 18-strong field for the 10-lap challenge as the track temperature soared into the 40s.
Despite drivers jostling for position, two and three-wide, Ryan made a clean break at the start. By the fourth lap Lawrence, in the Liquorland Suzuki, was trying to reduce Ryan’s lead when Turley made contact with Lauder and bounced Lauder’s car across the kerbing. Lauder recovered to rejoin a place back, while Turley was later issued a penalty by officials, to drop him down the final results to 16th.
Ryan held on for a solid win in the Betta Auto Parts Suzuki with Lawrence second, and Brad Lauder – AJ’s older brother – third. Gaskin took his second fourth place of the weekend and the round win while another rookie driver Rex McCutcheon, from Waiuku, was fifth for his best result of the season.
Ryan was delighted with his final race victory. “It’s absolutely brilliant. The boys have worked very hard over the weekend for us to get through that one. It was very hot in the car – it was showing 52 degrees on the temperature gauge! In the end I was getting a lot of radio talk telling me Shaun was coming in, that I had to get going, so it really helped with my concentration and to keep it up there as I was starting to fade in the heat. I’m getting a bit old – not like the other guys!”
Suzuki New Zealand motorsport manager Darren Stevens commented: “It’s great to see Grant Ryan and Shaun Lawrence finish first and second after the accident which involved them both at the opening round at Pukekohe – we’re delighted to see them back on form.
“For Brad Lauder to hold his ground and achieve third, that’s a fantastic position to finish in for the last race, and it’s great to see he’s pretty excited.
“The heat and conditions of the track I think the boys held up pretty well really as it’s the first time the class has been in that sort of environment. It’s a bit different for the karting guys – the windows and doors trap the heat – so it won’t be something they’ve experienced before.”
Championship co-ordinator Paul Burbourough singled out Jamie Gaskin for his weekend effort: “Finally, our warm congratulations to 15-year-old Jamie Gaskin. That’s an outstanding effort for the teenager from Upper Hutt with a very consistent set of results – third and two fourths to win the weekend. Great work for the LG Motorsport Suzuki team.”
For the round, Turley earned 170 points with one of the youngest drivers in the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup, Jamie Gaskin from Upper Hutt, in second with 168 points and AJ Lauder third with 154 points.
Suzuki Swift Sport Cup competitors have a break over Christmas before returning to competition with back-to-back weekends of racing at Teretonga Park outside Invercargill from 14 to 16 January, and then Timaru International Raceway from 20 to 23 January. The Teretonga meeting will mark the halfway point of the six-round championship.
Race 2 of Round 2, 2010/11 Suzuki Swift Sport Cup (8 laps)
1, Mike Turley, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport, 14:07.057
2, Mark Gibson, Taupo, Suzuki Swift Sport, +0.846
3, Jamie Gaskin, Upper Hutt, Suzuki Swift Sport, +1.028
4, Chris Cox, Rangiora, Suzuki Swift Sport, +2.551
5, Dane Fisher, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport, +3.936
6, AJ Lauder, Turua, Suzuki Swift Sport, +4.079
7, Daniel Liemburg, Timaru, Suzuki Swift Sport, +7.986
8, Rex McCutcheon, Waiuku, Suzuki Swift Sport, +8.738
9, Marc Spring, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport, +11.972
10, Sam Barry, Takapau, Suzuki Swift Sport, +13.528
11, Brad Lauder, Turua, Suzuki Swift Sport, +13.843
12, Ben Erickson, Christchurch, Suzuki Swift Sport, +14.098
13, Allan Jarvis, Brisbane, Suzuki Swift Sport, +17.118
14, Rob Gibson, Taupo, Suzuki Swift Sport, +18.983
15, Tom Barker, Christchurch, Suzuki Swift Sport, +23.351
16, Amy Vincent, Papakura, Suzuki Swift Sport, +36.590
17, Shaun Lawrence, Hamilton, Suzuki Swift Sport, +1:41.463
DNF, Grant Ryan, Lower Hutt, Suzuki Swift Sport
Race 3 of Round 2, 2010/11 Suzuki Swift Sport Cup (full reverse grid, 10 laps)
1, Grant Ryan, Lower Hutt, Suzuki Swift Sport 17:49.686
2, Shaun Lawrence, Hamilton, Suzuki Swift Sport, +0.958
3, Brad Lauder, Turua, Suzuki Swift Sport, +9.803
4, Jamie Gaskin, Upper Hutt, Suzuki Swift Sport, +9.991
5, Rex McCutcheon, Waiuku, Suzuki Swift Sport, +10.336
6, Allan Jarvis, Brisbane, Suzuki Swift Sport, +11.443
7, AJ Lauder, Turua, Suzuki Swift Sport, +17.535
8, Marc Spring, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport, +18.768
9, Tom Barker, Christchurch, Suzuki Swift Sport, +19.077
10, Daniel Liemburg, Timaru, Suzuki Swift Sport, +19.470
11, Ben Erickson, Christchurch, Suzuki Swift Sport, +19.637
12, Rob Gibson, Taupo, Suzuki Swift Sport, +23.101
13, Amy Vincent, Papakura, Suzuki Swift Sport, +37.347
14, Mark Gibson, Taupo, Suzuki Swift Sport, +39.305
15, Sam Barry, Takapau, Suzuki Swift Sport, +47.793
16, Mike Turley, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport, +1:07.788
17, Chris Cox, Rangiora, Suzuki Swift Sport, +1:49.926
DNF, Dane Fisher, Auckland, Suzuki Swift Sport
Suzuki Swift Sporting Cup points – after round two of six (provisional).
1 6 Mike Turley Auckland 369
2 87 A.J. Lauder Turua 327
3 35 Mark Gibson Taupo 302
4 41 Jamie Gaskin Upper Hutt 291
5 91 Dane Fisher Auckland 283
6 11 Grant Ryan Lower Hutt 256
7 5 Rex McCutcheon Waiuku 233
8 89 Marc Spring Auckland 221
9 23 Daniel Liemburg Timaru 210
10 14 Shaun Lawrence Hamilton 209
11 12 Chris Cox Rangiora 197
12 4 Tom Barker Christchurch 170
13 15 Brad Lauder Turua 168
14 71 Sam Barry Takapau 166
15 27 Allan Jarvis Brisbane 149
16 34 Rob Gibson Taupo 138
17 22 Amy Vincent Papakura 136
18 7 Ryan Bailey Auckland 135
19 10 Ben Erickson Christchurch 80
