| The popular Tankworld Australian Supertruck Nationals will return to Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway next weekend, 30-31 August, in Round Seven of the Shannons Nationals.With 900kW of turbo-diesel power and tipping the scales at five-tonnes, the Supertrucks are far from average racing machines, and are ready to bring their unique brand of frenetic racing to Oran Park.
After three rounds, series returnee John Falk sits atop the big rig standings in his Tankworld GMC White. Falk took the series lead at Western Australia’s Barbagallo Raceway last month, after Bob Middleton struck trouble. Aiming for four-consecutive Australian titles, Middleton blew a turbo in one race and spun out of another aboard the iconic CAT Freightliner. With two rounds remaining, Falk holds a slender 14-point advantage, with the likes of Steve Zammit and Ben Rose also within striking distance. “I can’t wait to get to Oran Park,” Falk said. “We only picked up our truck about six weeks before the first round of the series, so to have been winning races and now leading the series is really satisfying. “Bob’s a tough challenger, he had some bad luck at Barbagallo but he’ll be giving it everything to try and bounce back, so we’ll need to be on our game.” While Falk won two of the four races when the 2008 series kicked off at Oran Park in April, consistency got Middleton across the line to take the round win. The Western Sydney circuit has been the scene of championship victories for Middleton in recent years and will play a pivotal role in his title challenge this year. “Barbagallo was a tough weekend, but that sort of thing can happen to anyone in racing,” he said. “We’ll just have to put it behind us, we’ve had good speed this year and I know we can fight back and give John a run for his money.” Wollondilly Shire resident Steve Coulter will be looking to extend an amazing run of Light Truck domination, and is aiming for his 14th-consecutive round win at Oran Park. Punching well above his weight, Coulter mixes it with the outright trucks in his comparatively diminutive 400kW, three-tonne Continental Tyres Isuzu, even beating them to win the Superprix at Mallala in May. “We’ve had a great run over the last couple of years,” Coulter, who is looking for a hat-trick of Light Truck titles, said. “Consistency has been our strong point, even when we’ve had problems, we’ve been able to keep the points ticking over and be there at the end of the weekend. “It’s always good fun mixing it with the big trucks and beating them, hopefully we can do plenty of that next weekend.” The Supertrucks are part of a big weekend of racing at Oran Park, the Shannons Nationals’ third and final visit to Sydney for 2008. Also on the card is the Australian Manufacturers Championship for Production Cars, the thundering Kerrick Sports Sedan National Series, a capacity grid for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and Porsche 944 races, Don Green Engineering HQs and CXC Global Formula Vee. Racing kicks off next Saturday afternoon after practice and qualifying, ahead of a full day of racing on Sunday. Tickets are just $15 on Saturday and $35 on Sunday, or $45 for a weekend pass. Child (11-16 years) tickets are $10 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday, with kids 10 and under free all weekend. For more information about the 2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit www.thenationals.com.au. |
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