Showing posts with label Highlands 101. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Highlands 101. Show all posts

Monday, December 1, 2014

Australian GT: Salmon claims maiden GT crown in New Zealand‏

  Monday, December 01, 2014      

Melbourne Performance Centre Press Release

 Salmon claims maiden GT crown in New Zealand
Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS GT3
2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, New Zealand (7-9 November)

Coming into the final round of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand, two-time Bathurst 12-Hour champion Rod Salmon was in the box seat to claim his maiden Australian GT crown, but despite his comfortable points lead heading into the final two 40-minute races of the season, his title chances hung in the balance all the way to the chequered flag in race two..

“I have to say it has been a year that has gone really well for us up until the final race of the season” Salmon admitted. “I must admit it was a tough way to close out the season and I was reflecting on that when someone reminded me that we had won the championship even though this final round has been a complete disaster..”

After a tough run in race one which saw the #6 Skwirk.com.au Audi spinning at turn four after contact with local driver Inky Tulloch - dropping Salmon and regular co-driver Nathan Antunes to just 32 points clear of rivals Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow - the Skwirk Audi duo suffered more problems in race two, but despite rising engine temperatures and the threat the ECU would shut the engine down completely, they held on for fifth place and Salmon’s maiden GT title.

“In race two we were running around with the engine temperature up over 120 degrees and running in ‘limp’ mode, yet despite that we were able to stroke it home.


“I’m very proud that we’ve won this championship, it’s actually feels better than last year’s third place in the outright championship because it was very competitive all the way through. If you put one foot wrong this year, you suddenly dropped down the leaderboard. Really for us it was Townsville where we had the clean sweep - that elevated us up to where we were leading the championship and we didn’t relinquish it from there.”
The weekend had started strongly for the Salmon/Antunes combination with Antunes setting some of the fastest Trophy Class times of the weekend in amongst the Championship Class cars which included a list of drivers like Craig Lowndes, Shane Van Gisbergen, Garth Tander, Steve Richards and Craig Baird.

By qualifying Antunes continued to hold the upper hand over title rivals Equity-One Motorsport, but by race one - despite a strong start - the advantage soon switched back to their rivals.

“I was just taking it easy,” Salmon admitted reflecting on his strong race start. “I played it safe into the bus-stop chicane, and then followed the big Camaro through Southern Loop and down towards turn four. He moved very wide on the way in, so I took a run down the inside. The door was open, but he clearly hadn’t seen me because by the time I got up to his rear wheel, he turned in and that was that - I was already committed.”

Unfortunately for the Audi driver, he was given a drive-through penalty to add to his pain, and despite working his way back through the field to pit within sight of the Trophy Class leaders, an accident that claimed the Ascari of Trophy class rival Keith Kassulke just after Antunes stepped into the car effectively ended the race as it was immediately brought under Safety Car conditions, the field ultimately shown the chequered flag three minutes early as a result.

For race two over-heating issues plagued the duo from the drop of the flag, yet despite this, they held on to finish fifth, and despite their rivals claiming the round victory, Salmon was crowned champion by just 15 points..


“Trophy Class was a real ‘Pro-Am’ affair this year and I think that was really good,” Salmon admitted. “As an ‘Am’ with a ‘Pro’ next to you, you really push yourself. I pace myself to Nathan [Antunes] - obviously I can’t do Nathan’s times and I don’t expect to be able to do that - but I give myself an acceptable margin for what I am - a part-time driver - and have someone teach you and educate you to help improve you at certain parts of the track and improve your performance in the race car, I think is excellent - it’s a great formula.

“So far as the title race was concerned with Dean [Koutsoumidis] and James [Winslow], with the performance of the Audi team this year, it was always likely we were going to go into the final round battling for the championship with our MPC team-mates..

“There were some moments in the data room where we were thinking ‘why are we sharing data’.. the championship is actually reliant on how well the cars are set up and we were - I think - the best at setting the car up. I think Rik Kemp as our engineer did a fantastic job, Nathan, myself and Rik worked in perfect synergy all year without any issues.”

Sadly for the Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC] run team, there was little time to rest, as the Highlands 101 event was scheduled for the following day, Salmon and Antunes teaming up once more, although this time, behind the wheel of the Skwirk/Beechwood 2014 Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra.

“This was the car we were hoping to contest the 2014 Australian Championship in,” Salmon confirmed. “Sadly though it was written off during qualifying for the 2014 Bathurst 12-Hour and couldn’t be repaired in time for the opening round, so we leased Peter Conroy’s LMS GT3 for the season and elected to rebuild the Bathurst Audi in 2014-spec ahead of next year’s 12-Hour.”


It was quick too, Antunes during practice for the 101 setting the fastest practice time of the weekend, well under the standing lap record and faster than all the V8 Supercar stars..

They weren’t able to duplicate that pace during qualifying - although like their five MPC stable-mates, they were playing the ‘strategy’ game..

“There’s no real benefit starting from the front of the field when you have a three hour race ahead of you,” Salmon shrugged.

That saw the stunning new Skwirk/Beechwood #5 car start from the eleventh row (P21) but with a much reduced compulsory pit stop [CPS] penalty over their rivals who qualified further towards the front, bringing the 2013 ‘101’ podium finishing team right back into the equation..

Salmon once more started the car, and the newly crowned Trophy Class champion was right in the thick of the action, holding down a place well inside the top ten ahead of his exit from the car allowing Antunes to charge through the field over the closing stages of the race.

Comfortably third ahead of the final lap, the MPC team had fashioned back-to-back ‘101’ podiums for Salmon, but just metres out from the finish, that third became second as the leading Erebus Mercedes of Richard Muscat rolled to a stop out of fuel..

“I couldn’t believe it,” Antunes admitted post-race.. “I was happy that we’d gotten Rod back onto the podium, and wasn’t expecting any more than that, but second is a real bonus and great reward for the effort of the team through 2014.”

For Salmon it’s now on to 2015, and one more crack at the Bathurst 12-Hour..

“We have a few exciting things planned for next year,” Salmon explained. “Obviously Nathan and I will be back in the Skwirk/Beechwood car, but we have an exciting announcement about our third driver for Bathurst very soon. We’ve proven the car is more than capable, and despite the success of some of the other marques up there over the last couple of years, Audi has been the endurance racing benchmark again in 2014, so we’re expecting a strong showing. I can’t wait!!”

The 2015 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli will kick off at the popular Clipsal 500 in late February, but three weeks prior, more than 40 of the world’s best GT3 cars will be at Mount Panorama in Bathurst for the annual Bathurst 12-Hour.


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A one-hour AGT/Highlands 101 television package will go to air in Australia on OneHD on 21 December at 5:00pm. Stay tuned to www.facebook.com/MelbournePerformance for more news on the Skwirk.com.au team ahead of the 2015 season.

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Rnd#6 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ 

 Qualifying (7 November)
1. Tony Quinn/Garth Tander (GT - Aston Martin Vantage GT3) - 1:31.855
2. Richard Muscat (GT - Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) - 1:32.097
3. Justin McMillan/Steve Richards (GT - Interlloy Gallardo FL2 GT3) - 1:32.954
4. Jono Lester (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 1:33.365
5. John Bowe (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 1:33.832
6. Klark Quinn/Shane Van Gisbergen (GT - Mosler MT900 GT3) - 1:34.043
7. Inky Tulloch/Craig Lowndes (GT - Chevrolet Camaro GT3) - 1:34.131
8. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT - Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:34.741
9. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 1:35.521
10. Andrew Macpherson/Ben Porter (GT - Porsche 997 GT3-R) - 1:35.561

Race#1 (40-minutes - 8 November, 2014)
1. Richard Muscat (GT - Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) - 19-laps
2. John Bowe (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
3. Garth Tander/Tony Quinn (GT - Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
4. Ryan Millier/Jim Manolios (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
5. Shane Van Gisbergen/Klark Quinn (GT - McLaren MP4-12C)
6. Jono Lester (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
7. Peter Fitzgerald (GT - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
8. Peter Edwards (GT - Bentley Continental GT3)
9. John Magro/Ockert Fourie (GTT - Audi R8 LMS GT3)
10. James Winslow/Dean Koutsoumidis (GTT - Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 18-laps
21. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT - Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 18-laps

Race#2 (40-minutes - 8 November, 2014)
1. Richard Muscat (GT - Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) - 22-laps
2. Garth Tander/Tony Quinn (GT - Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
3. John Bowe (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
4. Shane Van Gisbergen/Klark Quinn (GT - McLaren MP4-12C)
5. Peter Edwards (GT - Bentley Continental GT3)
6. Justin McMillan/Steve Richards (GT - Interlloy Gallardo FL2 GT3)
7. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (GTT - Lamborghini Gallardo LP560)
8. Craig Lowndes/Inky Tulloch (GT - Chevrolet Camaro GT3)
9. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
10. Peter Fitzgerald (GT - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
16. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT - Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 22-laps

Highlands 101 (101-laps - 9 November, 2014)
1. Garth Tander/Tony Quinn (GT - Aston Martin Vantage GT3) - 101-laps
2. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GT - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
3. Justin McMillan/Steven Richards (GT - Interlloy Gallardo FL2 GT3)
4. Peter Fitzgerald/Michael Almond (GT - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra) - 99-laps
5. Craig Lowndes/Inky Tulloch (GT - Chevrolet Camaro GT3)
6. Steve McLaughlan/Warren Luff (GT - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
7. Ross Lilley/Paul Kelly (GT - Gallardo FL2 GT3) - 97-laps
8. Michael Hovey/Matty Campbell (GTT - Porsche Cup Car) - 96-laps
9. Adrian Deitz/Cameron McConville (GT - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
10. Simon Ellingham/Andre Heimgartner (GTT - Porsche Cup Car) - 95-laps

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2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli

GT Trophy points (after round six of six)
1. Rod Salmon (566-points)
2. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (551)
3. Nathan Antunes (498)
4. Michael Hovey (374)
5. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (356)
6. Theo Koundouris (265)
7. Simon Ellingham (249)
8. Matt Campbell (235)
9. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (174)
10. Indiran Padayachee (136)

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2015 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Rnd#1 - 26 February-1 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA**
Rnd#2 - 22-24 May, Phillip Island, Victoria*
Rnd#3 - 10-12 July, Townsville, Queensland**
Rnd#4 - 21-23 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW**
Rnd#5 - 11-13 September, Sandown 500, Melbourne, Victoria**
Rnd#6 - 6-8 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ (TBC)
(* with the Shannons Nationals, ** with V8 Supercars)

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The Skwirk.com.au Audi team is proudly supported by Skwirk.com.au, One World Bar, Melbourne Performance Centre, Beechwood Homes, Asset Link and Wrap my Ride.

For more information on the  Skwirk.com.au/Beechwood team, please contact Sean Henshelwood at Signature Series Group [SSG] via sean@signatureseries.com.au

www.facebook.com/MelbournePerformance
www.melbourneperformance.com

Photo credit: Melbourne Performance Centre



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Highlands 101: Podium for Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes MPC Audi R8 LMS ultra in New Zealand

  Sunday, November 09, 2014      

By Johan Laubscher

The Highlands 101 endurance race was held alongside the Australian GT Championship finale at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand this weekend.

The 101-lap endurance race was held on Sunday, following two very exciting Australian GT races on Saturday.


Melbourne Performance Centre was out in full force this weekend. They fielded a total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars, which all took part in the Highlands 101 endurance race.

Qualifying for the race saw the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond in eighth place overall, the highest Audi on the grid. It was also the #2 Audi crew that scored the highest placed overall finishes for an Audi during the two Australian GT races on Saturday.


Ockert Fourie and John Magro in the #72 Audi R8 LMS, the duo that won their class in race one of the Australian GT on Saturday, qualified twelve overall taking third in the GT Trophy class. They were followed by the #71 Audi R8 LMS in fourteenth, the #75 and #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in positions twenty and twenty-one and the #6 R8 LMS in twenty-fifth.

The 101-lap race saw very strong performances from the three Audi R8 LMS ultra entries, with all three finishing within the overall top six.


It was a podium result for the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes, who piloted their entry to second place, less than thirteen seconds behind the race winning Aston Martin of Tony Quinn and Garth Tander. This rounded out an excellent weekend for Salmon who clinched the Australian GT Trophy class title yesterday. The duo had been running third, but the race leading Mercedes-Benz of Richard Muscat ran out of fuel on the final lap and thus promoted the #5 Audi to second.

Rounding out the top four was Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond in the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. It was a very strong debut weekend for the #2 Audi squad. The #75 R8 LMS ultra finished sixth with Steve McLaughlan and Warren Luff.


The first of the GT Trophy class Audi R8 LMS entries was the #72 of Ockert Fourie and John Magro. They finished twelve overall and third in class. The #6 R8 LMS of Mark Griffith and Dale Patterson finished seventeenth.

Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow had lead the GT Trophy class for twenty-six laps, but their race ended with steering issues and a fire onboard their #71 Audi R8 LMS.


It was a very exciting weekend of racing in New Zealand, highlighted by the Australian GT Trophy title won by Rod Salmon on Saturday.

Photo credit:
Highlands Motorsport Park [Euan Cameron, Simon Darby & John Morris]
Australian GT [John Morris - mpix]
Melbourne Performance Centre

 

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Australian GT: Rod Salmon wins GT Trophy championship at New Zealand finale

  Saturday, November 08, 2014      

By Johan Laubscher

The final round of the 2014 Australian GT Championship was held at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand on Saturday.

Melbourne Performance Centre was out in full force this weekend with a total of six Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, five of which were entered for the Australian GT Championship finale.


The big Audi news of the weekend was the title fight for the GT Trophy class, where Rod Salmon was leading the points with his MPC teammates, Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow, close behind him in the standings.

Practice saw a heavy impact for the #71 R8 LMS of Koutsoumidis and Winslow. They may have missed qualifying, but the MPC team worked brilliantly in order to repair the car for the first race.


In the overall standings of the first race on Saturday it was the debuting #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond that was the first Audi across the line in seventh. Ockert Fourie and John Magro finished ninth overall in the #72 R8 LMS and took victory within the GT Trophy class. They were followed home by the #71 R8 LMS of class title contenders Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow in tenth overall, who started from the back of the field and raced to second position in class, collecting valuable points ensuring that the title battle would come down to the final race. Rod Salmon unfortunately received a drive-through penalty for contact and eventually finished twenty-first overall. Steven McLaughlan finished thirteenth overall in the #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra.


The final race of the season was held on Saturday afternoon. The GT Trophy title was decided in favour of Rod Salmon, who finished fourth in class and sixteenth overall with the #6 Audi R8 LMS that he shared with Nathan Antunes. The #71 R8 LMS of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winlsow finished second in class, eleventh overall and took the runner-up spot in the GT Trophy class championship standings.


It was again the #2 R8 LMS ultra of Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond that was registered as the highest placed Audi at the finish, with a tenth place overall. Steven McLaughlan again finished thirteenth, followed by Ockert Fourie and John Magro in seventeenth.

Many of the Australian GT competitors, including all six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars from MPC, will be taking part in the special Highlands 101 endurance race tomorrow.


Photo credit:
Highlands Motorsport Park [Euan Cameron & John Morris]
Australian GT [John Morris - mpix]
Melbourne Performance Centre


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Australian GT: Army of MPC Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars in New Zealand

  Thursday, November 06, 2014      

By Johan Laubscher

Melbourne Performance Centre is out in full force in New Zealand this weekend. The Australian GT Championship is hosting its final round at Highlands Motorsport Park on Saturday this weekend, followed by the special Highlands 101, a 101-lap endurance race on Sunday.

The Australian Audi Sport customer racing squad arrived in New Zealand with six Audi GT3 machines for their customers, three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars and three Audi R8 LMS cars. A set of team photos were published on Friday and the six-strong Audi line-up looks extremely impressive.

Five of these have been entered for the Australian GT races. The GT Championship class for newer GT3 specification cars will see two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from MPC. Steve McLaughlan will be sharing his #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra with Warren Luff. The second Audi R8 LMS ultra is the #2 debuting entry of Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond.

 
The GT Trophy class will see the championship battle being decided this weekend. Rod Salmon currently leads the points chase in the #6 Audi R8 LMS with a total of 507 points. The Equity-One Motorsport squad of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow in the #71 Audi R8 LMS are lying second in the points, 32 points behind Salmon. The third R8 LMS entry is the OLOF Racing #72 Audi with Ockert Fourie John Magro.

The Highlands 101 will be taking place on Sunday and all six of the MPC Audis will be lining up at the start. Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes will be behind the wheel of the recently repaired #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra and vacant #6 Audi R8 LMS will be driven by Mark Griffith and Dale Patterson. The remaining four entries from MPC will be the same as seen in the Australian GT races on Saturday.


Audi entries at Highlands Motorsport Park:

GT Championship class
#2 Evolve Technik Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec) - Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond *
#5 Skwirk/Beechwood Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes ***
#75 JAMEC PEM - Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Steve McLaughlan and Warren Luff *

GT Trophy class
#6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS - Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes **
#6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS - Mark Griffith and Dale Patterson ***
#71 Equity-One Audi R8 LMS - Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow *
#72 OLOF Racing Audi R8 LMS - Ockert Fourie and John Magro *

*Entered for both Australian GT and Highlands 101
**Only entered for Australian GT
***Only entered for Highlands 101


We wish the best of luck to Melbourne Performance Centre and all of their customers and drivers.

Photo credit: 
Melbourne Performance Centre
Michael Almond
Warren Luff


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Highlands 101: Rod Salmon Audi R8 LMS ultra repaired and new livery

  Wednesday, October 29, 2014      

By Johan Laubscher

Rod Salmon will have a new look at the Highlands 101 in New Zealand. His Melbourne Performance Centre run Audi R8 LMS ultra has been repaired and has also received a new-look livery.

His Audi R8 LMS ultra was heavily damaged in February, when Jason Bright suffered a heavy crash during qualifying for the Bathurst 12 Hour. The car was sent back to Germany for repairs and Salmon then leased the Peter Conroy Motorsport Audi R8 LMS for the rest of the Australian GT Championship season, in which he and his teammates performed very well. Salmon is currently leading the Trophy class points standings.


His Audi R8 LMS ultra subsequently arrived back in Australia and Melbourne Performance Centre completed the rebuild and also added a stunning new livery. The car has also been upgraded to the 2013 R8 LMS ultra specification and will be seen at the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour and in the Australian GT Championship next year.

The Highlands 101 will be taking place from 7-9 November. The weekend consists of the Australian GT season finale and the special 101 lap endurance event. The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra will only be taking part in the Highlands 101 endurance event, whilst Salmon will again be seen in the #6 R8 LMS for the Australian GT races.

Rod Salmon will be joined by Nathan Antunes for both the Australian GT races and the Highlands 101 endurance race.

Photo credit: Melbourne Performance Centre

 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Monday, November 11, 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Highlands 101: MPC make surprise driver announcement ahead of NZ

  Tuesday, November 05, 2013      

Melbourne Performance Centre Press Release

MPC make surprise driver announcement ahead of NZ
Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS ultra
Rnd#6 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ (November 8-10)

Saturday, November 2, 2013

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