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.

Anonimo Announced as Official Timekeepers for Le Mans Sports

Italian watchmakers Anonimo Firenze have been appointed as the official timekeepers of the Le Mans Sports Series.

Anonimo are continuing their proud tradition of supporting motorsport with quality and precision timepieces. Anonimo was founded in 1997, and has very quickly gained a reputation for producing extremely attractive and functional watches. More information on Anonimo can be found at the official website: www.anonimo.com.au

The Le Mans Sports Series fires into action this weekend at Sydney's Oran Park Raceway, with three races to be held on Saturday 11 October. As a demonstration of their commitment to the category, Anonimo are offering a 25% discount on their entire range to all Le Mans Sports Series VIP guests.

Aussie Drewer Wins for WEST in USA

Australia’s Tom Drewer wins 2008 IMSA Lites L2 Championship at Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta in USA.

Young rising Australian driver, Tom Drewer has won the 2008 IMSA Lites L2 Championship with a clean sweep at Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Drewer, driving his Daily Planet Racing WEST, won both Round 9 (yesterday) and Round 10 (today) of the Championship taking maximum points, and clinching the title prior to the season finale at Laguna Seca in California in two weeks time.

Drewer’s North American Championship VICTORY has come after race wins at Sebring (Florida), Miller Motorsport Park (Salt Lake City, Utah), Lime Rock (Connecticut), and Mosport (Toronto, Canada) in his first year racing overseas.

The Adelaide born driver who won last year’s Thundersports Australian Championship has graduated from karting, through Formula Vee, Saloon Cars, and a one-off drive last year in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series before moving to the USA to drive for the factory WEST race team.

His Championship winning event at Road Atlanta was virtually perfect, setting the fastest L2 time in qualifying for pole with a new qualifying lap record and then breaking the Road Atlanta race lap record in race 1 and lowering that time again in race 2 with a time of 1 minute 22.03 seconds. His average speed around the undulating 4 kilometre circuit was 180kph.
“Leading into this weekend we knew we should be able to clinch the title but its motor racing and anything can happen. My Daily Planet WEST has been fantastic all year and I want to thank everyone at WEST Race Cars, especially my engineer Jake Randels, for all their hard work.

Then yesterday something went wrong with the shift mechanism half way through race 1 and I was having a lot of trouble going up through the gearbox. It was nothing we could have prevented. The team put in a lot of effort to solve the problem and in the end we replaced the entire electronic shift module and actuator. Today the car was back to its best and we just set about having a clean, trouble free race to bring the Championship home.

It really was a case of keeping it clean. There was chaos on a re-start in race 2 when the field checked up, and crashed into each other, and it was a shame that my team mate Eric’s (Vassian) race really ended there. I avoided that and the incident that caused the safety car in the first place.

I set about achieving a good pace early on, but kept it well within the limits. In the end though we closed the gap to the top L1s and I think it really shows again just how fast these WEST’s are given how much extra horsepower and torque the L1s have.

I showed a little emotion on the podium today. This is a long way from my home-town Adelaide, in Australia. There has been so much effort behind the scenes this year. I really wish both my father Mike and mother Jacquie could have been over here to see this. They have sacrificed a great deal so that I could achieve this.

I also truly want to thank John Trimble and the Daily Planet for all their support this year.

I want to also thank each and everyone who has helped me to get to this point. Terry Little for having so much faith in me, Randy Aust (race engineer), Greg Steer from WEST Race Cars Australia, everyone at WEST Race Cars America and everyone who has put their names and messages on the rear bodywork of my car. I’ve been racing for all of you. Thanks for being a part of the team. This Championship is for you too, Dad, Terry, John, everyone, we did it!

I’m just looking forward to driving Laguna Seca now, and I hope that my performance and consistency this year can lead onto bigger and better things next season. We have already had some exciting offers and testing opportunities present themselves and I’m hoping we can get the backing for the right option to race in America again next year.”

Gibson Racing Team Update

Since racing at Calder in April, the Gibson Racing Team has been working hard to repair and improve the engine after retiring from the last race with difficulties.

Driver Michael Gibson says the engine is undergoing a complete rebuild and is confident that it will produce more horse power and reliability. The team has also made a lot of small improvements in the car since its debut meeting.

The Gibson Racing Team is planning to run at Morgan Park this year followed by a hectic test program over the off season ready for next year’s LeMans Sport Championship.

Gibson Racing Team is also pleased to announce that they have gained a new sponsor in Deniliquin InfoTech Solutions. Both Michael and InfoTech Solutions are wrapped in the deal and very excited about the season ahead.