Will Power (indyCar Series), Scott Pruett (Grand-Am) and Tiago Moneteiro (WTCC) have all enjoyed winning weekends at the office, with the Armor All Gold Coast 600 entrants all taking wins in their respective categories at the weekend. Gold Coast bound racers locked out the winners' podium at Watkins Glen in the IndyCar series, with Power (who will race with Ford Performance Racing at the October 22-24 event) converting his pole position into his second win of the season, ahead of Ryan Briscoe (2nd – Toll Holden Racing Team) and Dario Franchitti (3rd – Jim Beam Racing).
Briscoe and Franchitti, as well as fellow Gold Coast entrant Scott Dixon (Jack Daniel’s Racing) led during the 60 lap stanza before Power – the championship leader and the only multiple race winner for the series this season - held on for the win. Dixon finished eighth and Alex Tagliani (Kelly Racing) was 17th.
“I wanted it really bad; I really wanted to win,” said Power.
“I can’t stand when you’re the quickest in qualifying and then you have a bad race. Honestly, it was the first race that I pushed on every single lap.
“We had to get the fuel number the whole race so I had to push really hard while saving fuel. I had to get the lap time while saving fuel. It was just a difficult race, but it was great. I loved it.”
At Daytona International Speedway, Scott Pruett (Lucas Dumbrell Racing) and team-mate Memo Rojas took yet another victory for the season, adding to their record win totals and championship lead in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ leading division.
Pruett took the lead with one hour remaining and led all but one of the remaining laps, beating Ryan Dalziel to the checkered flag by 24.304 seconds.
"It's great for our team to win the 100th DP race - that's incredible," said Pruett.
"That says a lot for GRAND-AM for what they've achieved and where it's going. It's a special mark for our team.
“Today we didn't have the fastest race car, but we raced smart and we raced clean and we did what we had to do. Good things happen to good people."
In Portugal, the World Touring Car Championship saw Gold Coast bound racer Tiago Monteiro (Centaur Racing) break through for his first win of this season in race one, leading home fellow October entrant Yvan Muller (Paul Morris Motorsports). As a bonus for Monteiro, the win was in front of his home crowd.
“It was a tough race but we knew it would be,” said Monteiro.
“It was very hot but we had good pace at the start to get a gap. I then made a few mistakes which allowed Yvan (Muller) to put the pressure on and I also tried to be a bit safe on my tyres for a couple of laps.
“The end result couldn’t be better though with pole and victory. Home races seem to work for me as my last WTCC victory was at Estoril two years ago.”
In race two, Muller again took home the runner-up position, ahead of Alain Menu (who will race with Brad Jones Racing on the Gold Coast) who was elevated to third following a post-race enquiry into Robert Huff who originally stood on the third step of the podium.
Andy Priaulx (TeamVodafone) came through from 19th to fifth before being elevated to fifth following Huff's race two exclusion, with his great fight through the pack coming after he endured contact in race one that saw he and his BMW limp back to the pits for repairs, putting him out of contention. Monteiro was seventh in race two.
Following the weekend’s event, Muller continues to lead the championship with Priaulx in third, Monteiro in fifth and Menu in sixth.
All of the international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600 are set to arrive on the Gold Coast on the Sunday before the event and will be involved in a week of activity, including a full-day test at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday, October 20.
The Armor All Gold Coast 600 will include two 300km races on Saturday and Sunday of the event, with the international drivers required to complete a minimum of 30% of each of the races.
Tickets are now on sale for the Armor All Gold Coast 600, with Friday admission tickets starting from just $49 and three day passes from just $136, with each ticket providing admission to not only the day’s racing but also the same night’s entertainment line-up at 600 Sounds. Visit ticketek.com.au or call 132 849 for more information or to purchase.
International Drivers
Please see below for a full list of the 18 international drivers for the Armor All Gold Coast 600. For the two-car teams with one international driver, expect confirmation of which car the international will compete in following the Bathurst endurance event over October 7-10.
- Sebastien Bourdais – France – Dick Johnson Racing
- David Brabham – Australia – IRWIN Racing
- Ryan Briscoe – Australia – Toll Holden Racing Team
- Scott Dixon – NZ – Jack Daniel’s Racing
- Dario Franchitti – Scotland – Jim Beam Racing
- Heinz-Harald Frentzen – Germany – Wilson Security Racing
- Fabrizio Giovanardi – Italy – Brad Jones Racing
- Patrick Long – USA – Fujitsu Racing
- Alain Menu – Switzerland –Brad Jones Racing
- Tiago Monteiro – Portugal – Centaur Racing
- Gianni Morbidelli – Italy – Triple F Racing
- Yvan Muller – France – Paul Morris Motorsport
- Will Power – Australia – Ford Performance Racing
- Andy Priaulx – UK – TeamVodafone
- Scott Pruett – USA – Lucas Dumbrell Racing
- Mika Salo – Finland – Bundaberg Red Racing Team
- Alex Tagliani – Canada – Kelly Racing
- Jacques Villeneuve – Canada – The Bottle-O Racing Team
