Feature Story - ProSport Race Cars

Our first feature story was posted late last year, but may have slipped under the radar for some visitors. The article profiles the ProSport Race Cars manufacturer, particularly featuring the outstanding ProSport Evolution.

To read the full article, please click here.

To access the Feature Story page, please click here, or use the "Feature Stories" button above.

To submit an idea (or your car/company) for a feature story, please Contact Us here.

Onboard Action

Le Mans Sports racer, Scott Bingham, has provided some excellent onboard footage from Oran Park.

Round One Entries Open

Entries are open for Round One of the 2009 Independent Race Series.

All entry forms for 2009 will be available to complete online. (We'll still need competitors to sign a printout of the data you entered during your scrutineering administration at the circuit, but this will be provided for you.) Those who prefer the old method will still be able to use a hardcopy form for mailing or faxing in.

Entrants who use the online system will have the option of paying by cheque/money order (by post), credit card (by fax, telephone or post) or via the secure online PayPal system.

The Online Entry Form for Round One is available by clicking here.

The old-school PDF for printing and posting/faxing is available here.

As always, all of our forms and administration are available from the Admin page of the site - irace.net.au/admin

Rewards Available

As a celebration of our brand new sytem, and to encourage competitors to get their entries in early, we also have another exciting announcement: the person who submits the first paid entry for each round will receive half price entry for the following round. (There are a couple of conditions: 1) each competitor may only win once during the year, 2) the half price entry is only available at the following round - ie; the first paid entrant for round 1 will be eligible for entry at half price for round 2 only.)

Small Request

Entries have already started rolling in, so if you haven't entered for Round One yet, you'll have to wait for the opening of Round Two entries to be in the running for your shot at a half price entry.

To those competitors who have already submitted their entry via the online system, we've had a very small glitch. Any forms that were submitted that were not 100% complete did not make it through. It seems that you would have still received the "Success" message, but unfortunately the entry has not been transmitted to the database. The problem has now been corrected, but if you submitted an entry at the beginning of the week, and you think this may be you, please either complete the form again (we'll delete any duplicates), or get in touch via email to check if we've received your entry. Our iRace robot apologises for the inconvenience!

Round One of the Independent Race Series will be held at Morgan Park, QLD, 20-22 March 2009.

Oran Park 2008 Video Online

Video footage from the Oran Park round 11 October 2008.

This is a raw cut, not quite the polished product you can expect for 2009, but uploaded so you all get to see it asap, there's no commentary as yet. We've been considering running a competition... Best user-contributed commentary gets added to the video. Contact us here to find out how to send your commentary in.

Le Mans Sports Series Joins with Minetti to Present Drive Opportunity

The Le Mans Sports Series has joined with Minetti Sports Cars to offer the opportunity to test drive a Minetti SS-V1.

The SS-V1 is an Australian-made, high performance sports car, that represents and excellent way to test your skill, and evaluate the possibility of entering the series.

The test day includes driver instruction, and participating drivers will receive their iRace Circuit Racing Licence at the completion of the day.

Further information on this opportunity is available in this Information Kit.

Oran Park Video Highlights

Below is a short iRace highlights video from the Oran Park round. The video features all the categories that competed at the round, including Le Mans Sports - check back in the new year for a full package on the Le Mans Sports versus Formula Tasman battle.

Steer Wins the Round for WEST

Aaron Steer has won the exciting opening round of the Le Mans Sports Series at Sydney's Oran Park.

Mark Laucke (Laucke Flour WEST) looked like the dominant force early in the round, setting the pole position time in qualifying. Steer had telegraphed his intentions early though - fastest in the morning practice session. Next quickest behind the WEST-mounted pair was Scott Bingham in the Minetti, followed by Greg Steer, Rick Otten, Bruce Burchett and Bob Townsend.

The first race was a standing start affair, and Aaron Steer managed to get ahead of Laucke in the early laps. Laucke took the lead back on the fourth lap, and retained it until the finish at the end of lap 8. The pair crossing the line only a second apart. Bingham took out third place, ahead of Burchett, Greg Steer, Rick Otten and Bob Townsend.

The second race was a rolling start, and this time Laucke retained his lead, managing to keep steer behind for the entire 15 lap distance, although this time the pair were separated by just 2 tenths of a second as they took the chequered flag! In third this time it was Greg Steer, followed by Burchett, Otten, Bingham and Townsend.

The third and final race was a 24 lap affair, but it was held in two parts due to a mid-race red flag. The extended distance saw a number of retirements (some no doubt due to "fuel pressure" problems ie; not quite enough fuel in the tank to cover the additional laps associated with the red flag). Retirements included Mark Laucke, Greg Steer, Bruce Burchett and Bob Townsend.

This left Aaron Steer effectively unchallenged to take the race win. He finished nearly 30 second ahead of Scott Bingham, with Rick Otten in third.

The final race win was enough to give Steer the round win. Laucke had done enough in the first two races to secure second place outright, and Scott Bingham took third.

Class winners were: Oxygen - Aaron Steer, Radon - Scott Bingham, Neon - Rick Otten.

For full results from this round, click here.

For the full photo gallery from the round, click here.

The next round of the Le Mans Sports Series will be held at Queensland's Morgan Park, 15-16 November, where Mark Laucke is bound to be aiming to redress the result from Oran Park.