Round 1 - MDS Performance
 2 Litre Sports Sedan Championship

Winton Raceway 
March 7th and 8th 2015

Saturday
Qualifying

Qualifying Timesheet

Race 1

The first race of the session was eagerly anticipated with both Hadyn Clark and Lee Uhlhorn both completing upgrades to their respective cars over the summer break.
Lee lead from the start followed by Hadyn, Stevo and Daniel. By lap 4 Hadyn encountered mechanical issues (later identified as a fuel line problem)  and after setting a fastest lap Lee also succumbed to mechanical gremlins. 
Stevo and Daniel battled hard the rest of the race with some really close racing and despite all attempts he could not pass Steve who was the race winner.  

Daniel Zandt driving hard all day.                                                               Hadyn Clarke.
Championship leader at the end of the weekend.
 

Race 1 Timesheet

Sunday
Race 2

An early start greeted the Sports Sedan competitors on Sunday, drawing the short straw with race 2
starting at 8.40 and the second last race in the afternoon.

 

Lee, in the always beautifully presented RX7 & Haydn in the immaculate Maddat 1600 were both back
on track after their DNFs in race 1 on Saturday. In the first race Lee had had an engine gremlin that after
quite a bit of checking on Saturday night  was deemed to be in the past while Haydn had the fuel filter
blocked with fuel tank foam after a recent change to E85.
 
Steve in the Lightening Locksmiths Corolla led off the line with Lee & Haydn starting from the rear and
jumping to 2nd & 3rd respectively before turn one. At turn seven (the tank) on the first lap both
Lee & Haydn went inside Steve to head the field while Daniel copied the move on lap 2. Lee pulled out
a big lead over the next couple of laps, with Haydn able to pull away from Steve & Daniel but unable to
keep up with Lee's pace. Going into turn 3 on lap 4 Lee's engine went off song & he retired on the exit
of the corner which left Haydn to take a comfortable win from Steve & Daniel who were having a great
battle with the positions changing several times over the race with the different strengths & weaknesses
of the cars. At the end of the race they were separated by less that .75 sec & their best lap times were
within .3 sec.

Race 2 Timesheet

 
Race 3
Race 3 held late morning had the track temp getting well up to ensure there would be no fast times set
and Lee's problem in race 2 proved to be terminal.
When Haydn was leaving the garage before the race, a fuel leak was noticed. This was traced to a hose
in the engine bay but it couldn't be repaired in time for the race, so pole position went begging. Steve took
the lead from position 2 & led to turn 7 where Daniel repeated his move from the previous race. The race
was light on for numbers but the entertainment was great with Daniel still getting better and better in the Shepparton Toyota Mini . The two of them had a great race long duel again with several lead changes and 
neither being able to break away, with Steve crossing the line first by a slim margin.

Race 3 Timesheet

 
Race 4
Race 4 in mid afternoon still had high track temps and the longer distance to make the drivers work for
their points.
Haydn had the fuel leak repaired & started from the rear of field behind some bigger engined competitors.
When the lights went out Steve jumped into the lead, & with the inherently slower starting front wheel drive
of the Mini, Haydn was able to jump to second by turn 1. When the cars disappeared out of sight on the run
to turn 3, it looked like Haydn had gone inside Steve but Daniel was having a big look inside Haydn. When
the cars came back into view, Daniel had decided the dirty inside line was not the place to be, and he
resumed his battle with Steve as Haydn drove away, pushing hard and being quite spectacular through
turn 2 as the tyres heated up. The battle between Steve & Daniel was finally resolved in Daniel's favour
on lap 8 when Steve spun at turn 7 with fading brakes. Daniel had been very strong here all day so Steve
was having to defend, but despite his quick recovery, Daniel had the break he needed to claim second
in the race and  first for round 1 of the 2015 MDS performance 2 Litre sports sedan club championship.

Race 4 Timesheet