In two races Geoff Taunton and Emery clashed in their IRC GT racers. The first occasion was in Race 3 when contact at the first turn resulted in Taunton spinning off into the gravel trap.
The second was in Race 4 – and far more spectacular. Again vying for the lead, they made side-by-side contact at Turn 5, which shot Emery off the track and over a raised access road (Watch footage of the moment below).
The car came down heavily, dislodged bodywork, and broke the front suspension. Taunton also had damage to the lower control arm.
“Geoff [Taunton] came in a little hot there at Turns 4 and 5,” said Emery.
“I wasn’t sure if he was staying on or going off, and obviously I received a hit in the right front there and it broke my steering.
“I found out there was a little ditch in the middle of the track with a big drain on it. I think my head hit the roof. I don’t think I have been that high in a race car before.”
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The round consisted of two sprints and two enduros with the option of second drivers. The Kiwis won overall in their IRC GT ahead of Axel Donaldson in his MARC II. Third went to Adrian Flack and Damien Flack, also in an IRC GT.
Race 1, the first single driver contest, was won by Emery (IRC GT) from Adrian Flack, Geoff Taunton, John Goodacre and series leader John Holinger – all in IRC GTs.
The first enduro, Race 2, went to Taunton ahead of Emery, the Flacks and Parker/Jilesen.
Jilesen won the second sprint, Race 3, ahead of Emery and Donaldson before he teamed up with Parker to take the second enduro, Race 4, over Donaldson and Holinger.
Among the other categories on the AASA-sanctioned series was the Aussie Tin Tops. Points leader Brent Edwards in his Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo increased his margin.
He won the first two races, the first ahead of Peter Ryder (Nissan Silvia) and the second from Stephen Chilby after gremlins put the BMW E36 out of the first. Chilby went on to win the remaining races ahead of Edwards and Corey Gillett (Nissan Silvia) who finished second overall.
With three wins out of four in Formula Vee Australia, Michael Kinsella (Jacer) won overall from Daniel Reynolds (Checkmate), Curtis Porter (Sabre), Alexander Hedemann (Rapier) and Alex Beswick (Sabre). First race winner Alex Macdonald (Jacer) was a chance to take the round until his early last race DNF.
There were also two local categories on the program. Shane Stuart (BMW E46) was the overall winner in the QLD Touring Cars despite just the one race win. Trent Rub (Holden Commodore) won three races but missed the second outing altogether due to electrical gremlins.
The first Superkart race was red-flagged before it resumed with Ewen Burg the winner. The second was also stopped but it was rerun after another category raced with Burg again victorious. However, he retired from Race 3 and didn’t start the last. They were both won by Gareth Crisp over Tim Weier.
Round 5 of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series will be at Malla Motorsport Park on September 26-28.
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