2012 Historic Sandown

November 10-11 2012

Pics courtesy Phil Wisewould & James Smith. Words Darren Knight

Nb Under 4500 cc/Nc Under 2000cc

Spencer Rice (Alfa) leapt out to an early lead over Russell Pilven (Datsun) as South Aussie Ian Pringle (Mini) found himself in a spirited dice with Chris Ralph (BMW). The baby blue 2002 was making its debut and showing good form, taking the place of the orange version that was totally destroyed in a violent rollover at Winton a few seasons ago. Rice took the win from Pilven who still managed to post fastest lap with the EH Holdens of Phil Shepherd and Richard Fairlam third and fourth respectively. Ralph was next from Pringle and Paul Girt (Mini) who held off the wily Ted Brewster (Mini) followed by Quentin Ferry (EH) with John Luxmoore (Cortina) rounding out the top ten.

Pilven made a shocker of a start in race two allowing Shepherd into second briefly before the reigning Club Champ retook the place. Tony Pejkovic (EH) looked to be having a much stronger run after missing out in the opener, pressuring Pringle until the Holden let go in a big way. Ralph had retired earlier after the oil cap blew off with Girt also out early. The Minis of Michael Holloway and son James were never more than a mudflap (grrrr) apart as Rice posted another win from Pilven and Shepherd with Eddie Dobbs bringing the famous ex Blanchard FE home in eighth. Rice again got the jump to lead in the final and was never headed. Pilven had made ground through the corners but could not stay with the Alfa on the straights and had to settle for another second with Fairlam third after Shepherd posted a DNF.

Nb Over 4500/Nc Over 2000cc

Fraser Ross would not take up his pole position after a big accident in qualifying. The ex Marget/Turner/Richards Mustang lost braking at turn one with Ross having to back the car into the fence after it had missed the tyre barriers at high speed. Ross was shaken but unhurt whilst the Ford suffered heavy damage to the rear. Making his Sandown Historic debut in a Grant Wilson-built Camaro Dean Neville made a great start to lead early as Daryl Hansen (Mustang) and Kevin Stoopman (Kingswood) diced hard for second place before they both went past Neville. The stunning Hugger Orange Camaro of Roger Oliver moved up to third as Angelo Taranto relinquished a spot in the top ten (and first Torana) after retiring. Hansen just held on to win over Stoopman who finally had a good run after several frustrating meetings in the HQ. Oliver was third from Rod Hotchkin (Falcon) who copped a post-race penalty dropping him to sixth behind Neville in fourth and John Talbot (ex Bye Mustang) in fifth. Stu Barnes (Mustang) was seventh from Greg Toepfer (HQ), Michael Bugelly (Mustang) and Brent Trengrove (Mustang), who just held out rear of grid starter Tony Hubbard (Camaro).

Hansen’s weekend came to a premature end after he blew a clutch line going to the dummy grid and so did Hubbard’s with the Chev discovered to have blown a head gasket during the opening race. Stoopman jumped into an early lead in race two until Oliver blasted past on the back straight. Neville came in early as did Michael Hibbert (Charger) after the Mopar threw a fan belt, having blown a head gasket in race one. Mark Jewell took over as the leading Torana runner after Taranto’s non-appearance with Mark Brewster’s pursuit of the Sandgroper foiled by gearbox issues in his Torrie. Oliver took the win from Stoopman and Hotchkin with former Pantera Group S fast man Perry Spiridis seventh in his first meeting in a very neat Fastback Mustang. Denis O`Brien (in Michael Moylan’s 427 Galaxie) produced a stunning drive from the rear of grid to just edge out Brian Potts (Monaro) for tenth.

The final saw Oliver launch into the lead over Stoopman and Hotchkin as Darren Smith (Falcon) burst into the top ten for the first time until the big XY stopped just off the circuit at Dandenong Road, bringing out the Safety Car. O`Brien had another strong run going until smoke began to trail from the big Ford which soon brought out the dreaded “meatball” flag. Stoopman pushed hard, particularly through the corners as he tried to keep the 308-powered HQ on the boil, but did not have enough in the locker to prevent Oliver taking out the final race win in his Camaro that rarely looked out of shape. Hotchkin was not far away at all in third with Toepfer close behind in fourth. Hibbert finally had a solid run to finish tenth.