From Redline Media
The Victorian Title is one of the most prestigious events on the Victorian calendar for Sprintcars. For Tim Van Ginneken, last weekend at Avalon Raceway for the 2012–13 season running of the event it brought him a career–best result.
In only his second season in Sprintcars, Van Ginneken managed to qualify on pole position for the Victorian Title deciding feature race, then lead the feature race field for 20 of the 30 laps, before being passed by eventual winner Darren Mollenoyux, and ending up with a second–place finish on the podium.
“We’ve had a mix run of results this season, so to record a podium finish in the Victorian Title is an outstanding result and great for our team’s confidence,” expressed the 26-year-old racer from Warrnambool, Victoria. “I was feeling confident out in front of the feature race field, but struggled a bit towards the end there in lapped traffic, which allowed Darren [Mollenoyux] to make a pass on me for the lead. To be honest, if I was going to finish second to anyone, I’m glad it’s to Molly [Darren Mollenoyux]; as he’s not only a good mate of mine but someone who has helped me a lot with my step into Sprintcars.”
Earlier in the night, the Vic # 86 Lowes Auto Repairs and Meehan Race Engines supported QT driver qualified eighth in time trials, followed by a hard charging win in his heat race after starting from the third row, and then earned his right to start from pole position in the feature race by winning the dash.
Van Ginneken performed double duties on the night by stepping into the Colin Barker owned Vic # 69 Eagle to contest the Victorian Title for 360 Sprintcars. Van Ginneken qualified fourth in time trials, then finished fifth in his heat race, and started the feature race from position 10. In the feature race, he was running strongly inside the top 10 only to have a car spin in front of him on the fourth lap and have nowhere to go and crashed into him. This collision caused enough damage to rule him out of the race.
“It was the first time I had driven both cars on the same night, which was a fun experience and I feel that it helped me get a lot of track time,” explained Van Ginneken. “I’d like to thank Colin Barker and his team for allowing me to drive their car. It was just a shame that we couldn’t bring home a good result in order to repay them for the opportunity to drive for them.”
The next event for Van Ginneken is set to be the seventh and penultimate round of the All Stars 360 Sprintcar Series on Saturday night, February 23 at Blue Ribbon Raceway in Horsham, Victoria.
Van Ginneken is proudly supported by the following businesses in the 2012–13 season: Lowes Auto Repairs, VG Build, Meehan Race Engines, Dahlsens in Warrnambool, Joe Gibbs Driven, Lethal Race Wings, Thomo’s Race Graphix, Adzweld Fabrication, Rick’s Handy Man Service, Williams Graphix, Special Operation Parts & Accessories, Anthony Clark Electrical, CRB, Tyrepower in Warrnambool, DM & FE Bell Painting Contractor, West Pest, Warrnambool Plaster, BVG Photography, and BVG Spray Tanning.