From WSS
Toowoomba, AU — Robbie Farr has signalled he will be the man to beat in World Series Sprintcars this summer after claiming round two at Charlton Raceway in Toowoomba on Saturday night.
On the strength of his win in Brisbane seven days earlier Farr won this time from the hard-charging Cameron Gessner and Matthew Reed.
Farr started on the outside of the front row, next to polesitter David Murcott and stamped his authority on the race early, holding off several challenges to make it two from two.
It was a different handling car for the East Coast Pipelines racer this time around after wrestling major front-end damage in the series opener, but on the podium he admitted the team had struggled with a fuel problem in qualifying, only managing 10th in the 27-car field.
“This team, we win together and we lose together,” Farr said.
“These guys have just done an awesome job over the last two weeks.”
While he is leading the points Farr said he was enjoying the series for what it was.
“Hopefully a good start will make the difference in the end.”
He sent a message to defending series champion Brooke Tatnell who is still in America as is Jason Johnson, with race commitments.
“Get on a plane mate and come and play.”
Farr said he was looking forward to mixing with the extra drivers when Speedweek started in Adelaide on Boxing Day but in the short-term was focused on Tasmania, saying it had been a happy hunting ground.
Gessner started out of six and pulled off some impressive high-line moves as he moved forward.
On the podium he said he had a really fast car and was strong in turns one and two.
“Everyone just kind of left it open at the start…luckily enough I had a great car to roll around there,” Gessner said.
“We come up a bit short, but we are getting closer…it was really good and I am really proud we did it in front of our home fans.”
Reed said he was shown the quicker way around by Gessner but was still happy with the podium finish.
“This is a real good quality team, that’s probably why Jason wins a lot of races with a good team around.”
There was plenty of drama in the 30-lapper which saw Steven Lines spin around at the start as Trevor Green hooked onto the back of McFadden like a tow truck, forcing both of them to the rear.
Matthew Butler and Ricky Maiolo were the next casualties and the following caution was caused by when Peter Lack and Tyler Walker came together on the back straight, buckling Lack’s right rear.
And this was all with only two laps in the book.
Walker who started from 16th after making the transfer from the B Main continued to make up serious ground until the Q36 biked and returned to the ground hard before the car came to a rest on its side, forcing an open red light session.
At this stage Gessner was still in third but after a couple of challenges made his move to second.
Tasmanian Shaun Dobson, who suffered major chassis damage in the first round in Brisbane, was mounting a strong recovery before having a big crash.
“I am ok, just don’t think the car is too well,” Dobson said, saying he was looking forward to racing the next two rounds in Tasmania.
There were some sensational moves on the slick track in the last 10 laps as everyone jostled for the points.
Polesitter Murcott held on for fourth while American Jason Sides (who started out of eight in the Krikke Motorsport entry) finished fifth.
They were followed over the line from Ian Madsen, James McFadden, Andrew Scheuerle, Steven Lines, Grant Anderson, Danny Reidy, Trevor Green, Ricky Maiolo, Bryan Mann, Matthew Butler, Wayne Rowett and Brodie Tulloch.
Reed was the quickest in qualifying with an 11.586-second lap, edging out Murcott’s 11.607 and Mann’s 11.791.
Wayne Rowett was again fast in Toowoomba, being fourth in 11.808.
Heat wins went the way of Dobson, Lambert (two each), Butler and Maiolo.
Butler won the B Main from Walker, Rowett, Lack, Anderson and Maiolo who all made the transfer.
Murcott earned his pole position after progressing through the Bronze and Silver Dashes.
“That’s where we need to be,” Murcott said.
One of the biggest omissions from the main event was Valvoline pilot Max Dumesny who was going to start out of 12th in the B Main but was out at the start with a flat front tire.
Qualifying: Matthew Reed 11.586, David Murcott 11.607, Bryan Mann 11.791, Wayne Rowett 11.808, Steven Lines 11.833, Tyler Walker 11.907, Jason Sides 11.917, Ian Madsen 11.917, Cameron Gessner 11.936, Robbie Farr 11.940, Trevor Green 11.976, James McFadden 12.027, Andrew Wright 12.050, Richard Morgan 12.057, Max Dumesny 12.090, Danny Reidy 12.092, Brodie Tulloch 12.098, Grant Anderson 12.111, Peter Lack 12.192, Brent Kratzmann 12.243, Andrew Scheuerle 12.265, Shaun Dobson 12.391, Matthew Butler 12.455, Paul Morris 12.568, Ricky Maiolo 12.590, Steve Johnson 12.857, Anthony Lambert 12.942.
Heat 1: 1st Shaun Dobson, 2nd Ricky Maiolo, 3rd Peter Lack, 4th Danny Reidy, 5th Robbie Farr, 6th Jason Sides, 7th Andrew Wright, 8th Matthew Reed. DNF: Wayne Rowett.
Heat 2: 1st Matthew Butler, 2nd Steve Johnson, 3rd Brodie Tulloch, 4th Trevor Green, 5th Steven lines, 6th Brent Kratzmann, 7th Ian Madsen, 8th David Murcott, 9th Richard Morgan.
Heat 3: 1st Anthony Lambert, 2nd Andrew Scheuerle, 3rd Paul Morris, 4th Grant Anderson, 5th Cameron Gessner, 6th James McFadden, 7th Max Dumesny, 8th Bryan Mann. DNF: Tyler Walker.
Heat 4: 1st Shaun Dobson, 2nd Steven Johnson, 3rd Danny Reidy, 4th Robbie Farr, 5th Richard Morgan, 6th Ian Madsen, 7th Brent Krantzmann, 8th David Murcott, 9th Wayne Rowett.
Heat 5: 1st Ricky Maiolo, 2nd Paul Morris, 3rd James McFadden, 4th Peter Lack, 5th Grant Anderson, 6th Matthew Reed, 7th Jason Sides, 8th Andrew Wright.
Heat 6: 1st Anthony Lambert, 2nd Andrew Scheuerle, 3rd Matthew Butler, 4th Brodie Tulloch, 5th Cameron Gessner, 6th Trevor Green, 7th Steven Lines, 8th Max Dumesny, 9th Bryan Mann.
Bronze Shootout: David Murcott 11.781, Trevor Green 11.794, James McFadden 11.978, Jason Sides 11.994.
Silver Shootout: Robbie Farr 11.622, David Murcott 11.853, Trevor Green 11.904, Cameron Gessner 11.906.
Gold Shootout: David Murcott 11.638, Robbie Farr 11.734, Matthew Reed 11.843, Steven Lines 11.992.
B Main: 1st Matthew Butler, 2nd Tyler Walker, 3rd Wayne Rowett, 4th Peter Lack, 5th Grant Anderson, 6th Ricky Maiolo, 7th Paul Morris, 8th Brent Kratzmann. DNF: Richard Morgan, Max Dumesny, Andrew Wright and Steve Johnson.
A Main: 1st Robbie Farr, 2nd Cameron Gessner, 3rd Matthew Reed, 4th David Murcott, 5th Jason Sides, 6th Ian Madsen, 7th James McFadden, 8th Andrew Scheuerle, 9th Steven Lines, 10th Grant Anderson, 11th Danny Reidy, 12th Trevor Green, 13th Ricky Maiolo, 14th Bryan Mann, 15th Matthew Butler, 16th Wayne Rowett, 17th Brodie Tulloch. DNF: Shaun Dobson, Tyler Walker, Peter Lack.
The series: Round 1 – Brisbane (November 20), Round 2 – Toowoomba (November 27), Round 3 – Hobart (December 4), Round 4 – Latrobe (December 11), Round 5 – Adelaide (December 26), Round 6 – Murray Bridge (December 27), Round 7 – Mt Gambier (December 28), Round 8 – Avalon (December 30), Round 9 – Warrnambool (January 1), Round 10 – Brisbane (January 7-8), Round 11 – Murray Bridge (January 14), Round 12 – Adelaide (January 15), Round 13 – Kalgoorlie (February 9), Round 14 – Bunbury (February 11-12), Round 15 – Manjimup (February 16), Round 16 and Grand Final – Perth Motorplex (February 18-19).