The Aussie Racing Car Super Series will have its own brand of interstate rivalry at Victoria’s Winton Motor Raceway this weekend, when it makes its debut with the Shannons Nationals.
New South Wales leads Queensland and Tasmania at the top of the standings in the popular Aussie Racing Cars, among six categories racing in the fifth round of the 2009 Shannons Nationals.
Warrnambool youngster Tyler Owen will fly the flag for Victoria, with five states and the A.C.T. represented among a big field of 31 pocket rockets.
Having finished on the podium in all six races to date this year, Sydney driver Kyle Clews leads the 2009 standings.
Clews, who finished sixth in the 2008 series, won the 2009 season opener at the Clipsal 500 and finished second in the Australian Grand Prix support races.
“It’s been a good start to the year,” Clews said.
“We’ve had a couple of months since we last raced, so I’m eager to get back out there and hopefully continue our run of form.
“I like racing at Winton, we finished fourth last year even though we struggled a bit for engine power.
“We’ve done some work on the engine since the Grand Prix which should stand us in good stead this weekend.”
Clews heads the New South Wales charge, with the state occupying seven of the Top 10 places in the series standings.
Queenslander David Lawrence and Tasmanian Adam Gowans head to Winton second and third in the standings respectively, the same positions they finished in the 2008 series.
Lawrence had a busy 2008, winning the Queensland Formula Ford Championship and conducting a driver evaluation test with V8 Supercar outfit Garry Rogers Motorsport.
Gowans, meanwhile, drives a Toyota Aurion, the newest of five body shapes in Aussie Racing Car competition.
In his first full season of competition, Warrnambool teenager Tyler Owen sits ninth in the standings and will fly the local flag at Winton.
Owen, 18, is the only Victorian driver inside the Top 10 and one of just four in this weekend’s field.
“We’re outnumbered by the interstate drivers, but we’ll be giving it everything,” Owen said.
“I’m pretty happy with how the season has gone so far, we’ve exceeded our expectations.
“At Clipsal we were running in the Top Five but I hit the wall in the last race, it put a dampener on things but then we were consistently inside the Top 10 at the Grand Prix.
“Winton is our test track and it’s perfect for these cars, with the tight and twisty layout.
“Our times in testing at Winton have been pretty good recently, we’ll be looking to be right on the pace this weekend.”
Aussie Racing Cars will be joined by the Commodore Cup Endurance Challenge, Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Shannons V8 Touring Cars, Kumho Saloon Cars and the final round of the Formula Vee National Series at Winton this weekend.
On-track activity starts at 8:30am on Saturday, with racing from 2:30pm, before a full day of racing on Sunday.
Tickets are great value at $20 on Saturday, $35 on Sunday or $45 for the weekend, with kids under 14 and pit paddock access free.
For more information about the 2009 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit www.thenationals.com.au.
