By Daniel Powell
With the motivation of the disappointment of crashing out from the previous race meeting, Ben Ellement over the weekend at the Perth Motorplex scored a dominating feature race victory.
In what was maiden feature race success of the 2010/11 season, Ellement, who had the race meeting before at the Perth Motorplex crashed out while comfortably leading due to a coming together with a lapped car, was in top form throughout the night by virtue of qualifying for the on pole position for the feature race and then leading the entire distance to defeat Mark Wells and AGH Series leader Jamie Maiolo.
“I was determined to bounce back from the race meeting before, as I made a mistake with a lapped car and consequently crashed out, but full credit must go to my team for all their work on the night and also leading up to the weekend, as they had spent many nights repairing the damage from that crash,” said Ellement after what was regarded as the best feature race victory of his career. “We’ve had a bit of an up and down season, as we’ve always been quick, but a lot of the time we didn’t really have anything to show for it, results wise, due to some bad luck.”
Apart from the satisfaction of winning his maiden feature race for the season, Ellement’s victory was made even more special due to the fact that it was in front of the guests from his major sponsor, J&S Drilling.
“Johnno from J&S Drilling puts a lot into our team and it was great to get into victory lane in front of all his staff and guests,” expressed the WA # 44 J&S Drilling supported Cool driver. “Everyone was over the moon with our performance and Johnno was rapt that I was able to rise to the occasion and pick up a victory, as it’s the best possible way for me to thank him for all of his wonderful support.”
Another addition to the team on the night was Glenno Inglis, who was a guest crew chief and his presence certainly made a difference and that contributed to Ellement landing in victory lane.
“For most of the season, although we’ve had good speed, we’ve struggled a bit in the setup area, so that was why we brought in the experience of Glenno in order to give us a bit of a hand in that area,” Ellement commented, who sits sixth in the current AHG Series point standings. “Glenno really made a big difference with the whole vibe of the team, as he just goes about his business in such a clam manner and that certainly rubbed off on the team, along with me as a driver – especially when it came to dealing with lapped traffic, and that played a big part in our successful night.”
Ellement will have his final run of the 2010/11 season on Saturday night, April 16 at the Perth Motorplex for the AHG Series Grand Finale and with his confidence high he is aiming to add another feature race victory to the list.
“I’m looking to finish the season with another victory and I’m confident of achieving that,” Ellement said. “We’ll also be making our debut with a new car at this meeting and we’re all looking forward to seeing how it’ll perform, but we’re optimistic that it’s going to serve us well from the outset.”
For the 2010/11 season Ellement is proudly sponsored by: J&S Drilling, Stingaz, Rogers Concrete Pty Ltd, Ellement Produce, Flex Fitness, South West Earthmoving and Cool Chassis.