MORGAN PARK DELIGHTS FOR QPC COMPETITORS

Round four of the 2023 Queensland Production Cars season has been lauded by competitors for its fast and fair racing, resulting in plenty of smiles at Morgan Park Raceway on the weekend.

Four races were held across the weekend, with two on Saturday (please click here for a wrap-up of Saturday’s racing) and two on Sunday – with Sunday’s races broadcast far and wide thanks to live streaming on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series and Speedcafe Facebook pages and also TV coverage on SBS as well as Fox/Kayo.

When all was said and done, it was Roman Miller in the #28 LKV Flooring BMW M2 which took out the outright and class X honours for the weekend, in only his second QPC event and his first ‘solo’ event with the category.

Paul Buccini in the #71 Team Buccini Racing BMW M140i was second outright – just six points adrift of Miller – and also claimed the A1 class win for the weekend.

Third outright and first for A2 was Tony Levitt in the #16 AMG Spares Mercedes-Benz C63. Levitt tied for outright points with C class winner Jake Camilleri (#36 Grand Prix Mazda Caboolture Mazda 3 MPS) but was awarded third place thanks to his race four outright victory.

Taking the round win for class B1 and rounding out the top five outright for the weekend overall was Trent Allen (#84 ABC Building Products Subaru WRX STi).

Tim McDonald (#69 Corona Cabinets BMW M240i) and Mark Bailey (#22 JAX Tyres and Auto Toyota GR Yaris) were second and third for the A1 class, and sixth and seventh outright.

Murray Dowsett took out the Class D victory (and was 8th outright) in the #11 Lone Star Racing Toyota 86, while the B2 class win went to Richard Shinkfield (9th outright) in the #19 Axis Surveys BMW E92 M3. Liam Moyse (10th outright) and Nick Winsor (11th outright) were 2nd and 3rd for Class D for the weekend in the #97 GenFit Training/Butler Vehicles Toyota 86 and #85 Duke Racing Subaru BRZ respectively.

Also standing on the end of weekend podiums was C class runner-up, Jason Alexander (#46 Skunk Ape Wheels and Tyres Renault Megane) and Class E winner, Adam Talbert (#37 PXR Group Racing Mazda 6).

Sunday’s racing opened with race three for the weekend at 9.50am, with Miller taking the outright and class X win over Levitt (1st for A2) and Buccini (1st for A1), with McDonald (2nd for A1) and Allen (1st for B1) rounding out the top five.

Camilleri took out the C class win from 6th outright, followed by D class winner Dowsett, who crossed the line ahead of D class runner-up, Ashton ‘AJ’ Gealy (#17 Coastal Fasteners/Phat Restorations Toyota 86GTS).

Rounding out the top ten outright were B2 winner Shinkfield and 3rd for D class, Moyse. Second for C class was taken by Alexander from 13th outright, while the E class victory went to Talbert from 15th outright. Failing to finish the race was Bailey, with a gear box failure bringing to a premature close what had been a highly successful weekend to that point with two outright and class wins on Saturday.

In the fourth and final race, Levitt broke through for his first outright victory of the weekend, and his third A2 class race win.

Levitt took the victory over Miller (1st in X class) and Buccini (1st for A1), with B1 and C class winners Allen and Camilleri crossing the line fourth and fifth outright respectively.

McDonald was second for A1 from sixth on the road, while B2 winner Shinkfield was seventh outright ahead of D class winner, Moyse, and D class runner-up, Dowsett (9th outright), with Dowsett’s result coming after he recovered from a lap one spin following contact from Gealy, for which Gealy was disqualified from the race.

Rounding out the top ten outright and also taking third in D class was Winsor. Second for C class was Alexander in 12th outright, while the E class win was again claimed by Talbert in 14th outright. Bailey was unable to front for race four, due to the gear box failure he suffered in race three.

Round five of the Queensland Production Cars, the penultimate round of the 2023 season, will be held at Queensland Raceway across September 22-24. For event and category information, visit www.qldproductioncars.com.au or contact membership@qldproductioncars.com.au

QUOTEBOARD: 2023 QPC ROUND FOUR EVENT WINNERS

Roman Miller – #28 LKV Flooring BMW M2 – 1st outright and Class X winner

“I honestly didn’t expect that result. My goal was to at least get one podium across the four races, but it worked out to be a bit more than that and I am really stoked with the result, it is amazing actually. That was my second QPC event and my first weekend by myself, because in the first weekend when I joined QPC I shared the car with Justin Anthony, so this was my first full weekend by myself. So, this is a big result and a big achievement for me. It is unbelievable. Racing with Paul Buccini we had good side by side racing and I gained so much experience from him. The QPC has great guys, great cars and a great community, and I am really happy that I have decided to join the QPC, and I will continue racing with them as this is the best in Queensland. I am really happy. Winning the round is just way beyond my expectations and just amazing. I just don’t have the words.”

Paul Buccini – #71 Team Buccini Racing BMW M140i – A1 class winner, 2nd outright

“To get an outright result in my class is not easy so I was over the moon with second outright and obviously also the first in class. The racing was fantastic, it was door to door with Roman on pretty much every race there for a while. It is hard to explain but I have actually put it down as one of the best battles I have had for a long time. I had to work very, very hard to keep Roman off my back and it was just great how we could race so close while looking out for each other and making sure we didn’t rub any panels. In that back sweeper for example, you can’t go side by side through there unless you trust the other person and we were able to do that this weekend. It was a great weekend. The new track surface caught us out a little bit as the grip wasn’t like we were used to, but you just rebalance the car and get it to work for you. Thank you to the QPC committee, the guys that were there did a really good job making sure things happened, also to the AASA who are fantastic with how they run the events and thank you to all of my sponsors and especially Dave at KirksWorks who spent the whole Friday and Friday night sorting the car out for me.

Tony Levitt – #16 AMG Spares Mercedes-Benz C63 – A2 class winner, 3rd outright

“The racing was really good, and it was good to have Roman there in only his second ever event at door to door racing. We did the whole weekend on used tyres, it was a total budget weekend for us. It was good racing and a good round overall, everyone got on really well and there were no issues outside of the one car to car contact. It was a rather strategic weekend for us with used tyres, but it was great, and really good and clean racing as well. The race four win was my first win at Morgan Park since 2019, so I was stoked. So far, I have trophies for every round this year, so I am definitely not complaining.”

Trent Allen – #84 ABC Building Products Subaru WRX STi – Class B1 winner

“That was probably the best weekend of competitive racing I have had all season. I feel like I had some really good battles with Camilleri, McDonald and Buccini. The BMWs just have too much straight line speed and more HP, but I definitely gave them all I had through the corners. I think I had the most fun at the weekend that I have had racing; the guys I was racing with gave each other room and we were able to go two wide through the sweeper and stuff like that without bumping doors and we all had fun without anyone getting their car bent. Special thanks to ABC Building Products and also Flat Four.”

Richard Shinkfield – #19 Axis Surveys BMW E92 M3 – Class B2 winner

“I was pretty happy with the results of the weekend, I was setting personal best times for me out there at Morgan Park, so it went pretty well apart from a little off and not finishing the second race. It was a great weekend, a little cold, but the racing was great, and I had some really good stoushes with all the other guys around me and we all raced fairly, and it was a really, really good weekend. I thought the coverage was excellent for the weekend as well, with the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series team and the TV coverage as well. It was great and they put on a good show. Thank you again to the club for providing lunch on both days also, that was excellent as well.”

Jake Camilleri – #36 Grand Prix Mazda Caboolture Mazda 3 MPS – Class C winner

“I was really happy with qualifying actually because it was the fastest lap time the car has ever done. Not by much, but it was its fastest time ever in qualifying in the history of the car which was a good start to the weekend. It was good also to have the different format with the sprint races, the car went really well and while in the last couple of races we had a few issues with the tyres and not many spares which saw us running on old tyres with not much grip, the car performed really well, and it was a really fun weekend.”

Murray Dowsett – #11 Lone Star Racing Toyota 86 – Class D winner

“I would say it was a weekend of highs for us. We came out of the round at Queensland Raceway with a few issues with the car, but thankfully they were sorted, and we managed to put personal best times down in almost every session that we were out in the car. So, to come away with the win and also personal bests even on the last lap was an outstanding feeling. There was really tight racing, especially in the first three races, and it was nice and clean. It was unfortunate of course in the last race where one of the other drivers turned me around but thankfully, I was able to get the car going again and the damage wasn’t too bad, so I managed to claw back to second place in class for that race. As always, thank you to Kristie and my family for their support.

Adam Talbert – #37 PXR Group Racing Mazda 6 – Class E winner

“The car went well, I was just running around the back and having fun and enjoying driving again really, as the car hasn’t been out for about two years, it was good to get out and race my car again. It was a good event; I am very happy with the category of QPC and also the Super Series and the opportunity to race on TV live was pretty good as well. It was a good event overall and I want to thank the committee for the QPC and also the Super Series.”