Eight is still great

Victorian State Circuit Racing Championship R3 Phillip Island 14-15 May

Report by Jim Collins. Pics by ???

Eight Group N cars competed at the third round of the VSCRC at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. Andrew Lane was a late scratching due to a wiring loom fault on the Friday during private practice, the fault later found to be due to a broken alternator bracket. The Group N competitors were combined with twelve HQ Holden competitors for the race schedule.

The schedule had been changed for a format of qualifying and two races on Saturday and then one race on Sunday. The Group N and HQ Holden competitors would have separate qualifying sessions but race together with separate grid positions.

Qualifying was run in cool, windy and overcast weather conditions. Quickest time was set by Darren Collins (Chev Camaro, 1.48.4) followed by Glenn Miles (Valiant Charger, 1.52.9) with Peter Meuleman (Nb Ford Mustang, 1.55.3) third and Bill Trengrove fourth, only separated by 0.054 second.

Race 1 Heavy rain an hour before the first outing of 6 laps left the track still wet but drying out.

Glenn Miles got a great start and headed off Darren Collins into turn 1. Darren eventually used the extra power of the Camaro and lead for all five laps with Glenn second (scoring fastest lap) and Peter Meuleman third.

Race 2 of 5 laps was last race of the day. Weather was cool, overcast and the track now dry. Glenn Miles again got a great start and led for a lap before Darren Collins took the lead and finished in first with Glenn second, setting a PB of 1.52.3. A great dice for third spot between Bill Trengrove Falcon Sprint, Peter Meuleman Ford Mustang and Wayne Rogerson Mazda RX2 saw Bill Trengrove eventually finish third. This trio followed by Geoff Munday (Chev Camaro), Justin Brown (BMW 2002ti) and James McNiven (Mazda RX2).

Race 3 on Sunday was a 10-lap event and weather was now fine, cool and windy. Justin Brown did not start due to a brake caliper issue. Glenn Miles started really well and led the race for the first three laps. There was some close racing at the front from Glenn Miles and Darren Collins with the cars side by side through Honda and MG corners. On lap four Darren took the lead and finished in first place followed by Glenn in second.

There was some spirited driving between the next three cars of Wayne Rogerson, Peter Meuleman and Bill Trengrove with Wayne eventually securing third position. Peter Meuleman finished just 0.04 seconds ahead of Bill Trengrove to finish fourth. Next to finish were Geoff Munday and James McNiven.