Tony Ricciardello has dominated Round 2 of the 2011 Kerrick Sports Sedan Series at Winton Motor Raceway’s Shannons Nationals event.
The Red Rooster Alfa-Chevrolet driver won all three races to extend his series points lead.
“That was a nice result in the end,” said Ricciardello.
“It was hard work though, it’s not easy to back off and keep focussed and Winton is pretty physical.
“In the end we broke the lap record, which was nice, and really put the data we gained from Mallala to good use.”
Darren Hossack (Auto Union Deutche Audi-Chev) finished second in the opening two encounters, having briefly led Race 2, but was just fifth for the round after a gearshift link failure forced the 2008 champion driver into retirement.
Hossack’s demise allowed Chris Muscat (Centreline Suspension Mazda RX-7) to take second overall, after taking two thirds and a fourth from the three races.
The Under 3.5 litre class contender was especially pleased with his weekend having had to recover from an off at the start of Race 2.
“I’m really surprised,” said Muscat.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Winton, so to come away with a result like this is fantastic.”
Dean Camm had a consistent weekend in his Five Star Fencing Chev Corvette to take the final podium spot, ahead of the Aston Air Camaro of Shane Bradford.
A second place in the final race allowed Butler (Steve Toyshop Camaro) to finish the round sixth overall, ahead of Michael Robinson (Bell Real Estate Holden Monaro), Anthony Macready (Bohler Nissan 300ZX), Ian Rice (Esjay Commodore) and Bob McLaughlin (Marinelli’s Mechanical and Performance Commodore).
The much anticipated Shannons Nationals debut of Neil Bryson’s 2010 Mustang Trans-Am ended early in race one after running off on coolant at turn three, putting him into the gravel trap and bringing out the Safety Car.
Bryson returned to take 10th place finishes in the final two races.
The Winton Shannons Nationals event also featured Round 2 of the 2011 Australian Saloon Car Series, which saw South Australians Shawn Jamieson (Bowden Homes Commodore), Matt Lovell (Batteries Direct Falcon) and Sam Milton (Nippy’s Falcon) sweep the round podium.
Lovell trailed Jamieson home in all three races, while Milton recorded two thirds and a fourth after being topped by Kumho V8 Touring Cars regular Tony Evangelou in the final.
The Radical Australia Cup was dominated by Peter Opie (Radical Australia), with the reigning series winner taking out all three races. Two thirds and a second gave Glyn Edis (Interior Developments) second overall, while Simon Haggarty (Haggarty Racing Team) completed the podium.
Former Formula Ford racer Jesse Dixon (Ice Break) was awarded the round victory in the Australian Swift Sport Series thanks to finishing ahead of Rex McCutcheon (Rex McCutcheon Racing) in the final race, after the pair tied on 109 points for the weekend.
Allan Jarvis (Toasted Motorsport), Ryan McLeod (Trans Tasman Motorsport) and Morgan Haber (Haber Racing Team) rounded out the top five.
The next round of the Shannons Nationals will take place at Eastern Creek on July 15-17.
