The 2010 Australian GP On-Road National Championships were held at Littlehampton Raceway on the 29th September - October Sunday 3rd 2010. Team XRAY was there hoping for a solid performance. Newly signed XRAY Australia driver Jesse Davis was looking to back up his S.A State Championchip win. Derrick Miller, Adam Bailey and John Germanous had their NT1's flying all making the A-Main final. XRAY NT1's filling 4 out of the 10 Positions, most of any manufacturer in the A-Main.
Here's what each of them had to say about the weekend.
John Germanous:
I got to the track Thursday morning and spent the first half of the day learning the track and sorting out my engine and clutch setup.
The grip was good as most drivers had been there practising from earlier during the week so i spent the afternoon trying different car setups to try and battle the bumpy low grip surface. Setup is critical at this track as all the corners are off camber with a mixture of low and high speed corners, different elevation changes and a challenging fast chicane.
Qualifying started friday and with 3 rounds of qualifying completed by the afternoon and 3 rounds completed saturday i managed to qualify 12th which was good enough to start me 4th on the grid for the semi final. I knew it was going to be a long 30 minute race and due to the high tire wear i had started the race with full size rear tires and slightly smaller fronts to last the race. I had to keep the car smooth at the start to be careful not to chunk any tires and as the tires wore in i was able to push the car battling between 2nd and 3rd place then finishing 3rd which then put me 9th on the grip in the main final.
I had a good start in the final, jumping to 5th in the first lap however i calmed my driving down to prepare for a long 45 minute final with a schedule pit stop planned at the 30 minute mark. I had a good clean race and finished in 7th place. The NT1 was consistent all week with no failures which kept my confidence high in the car and gave me my first finals position at a National Level.
(click to enlarge)
Adam Bailey and Derrick Miller:
After a strong finish in the 2010 South Australian State titles held here in May, both myself Adam Bailey& Derrick Miller where hoping to be very strong contenders here again. After the 6 rounds of qualifying heats we were in 17th and 9th positions respectively. With both of us still chasing setup issues and trying to overcome the massive tyre wear, we were the only two NT1 drivers in our 30 minute semi final B.
Derrick was starting from 3rd and myself from 7th position on the grid. Derrick had a stella start and a fantastic trouble free run as he jumped to the number 1 position in the first corner, staying in the lead for the entire race. Needless to say he came off the stand with a great big smile on his face. I also had a great run but had to fight my way through the field and was extremely happy finishing in 3rd. These finishing positions put myself and Derrick up into the A main final to be held that afternoon, where we joined the only other 2 Xray NT1 drivers at the meet, fellow Victorian Jesse Davis and John Germanous from New South Wales.
With 4 Xray NT1â™s on the grid for the grueling 45min A main final, the race started off well with all drivers getting away cleanly, however I only made it through the first corner pulling over with carburetor linkage issues. Even with my pitman working frantically to get me back on track, I was sidelined for approximately 8 laps and unfortunately out of the hunt from the get go. I was still happy to finish the 45min race where I started, in 10th position.
Derrick had a great start and was on the lead lap keeping with the front runners for most of the race, at times fighting for 3rd position. Due to the severe rear tyre wear he opted for a tyre change during a fuel stop around the 35min mark. This did not work as planned and he slowly drifted back through the field finishing in 8th position. We were extremely happy with our result in the star studded field and would like to give special thanks to you Ari and all the team at Hei International. I would also like to thank Derrick for painting my car bodies as his fantastic airbrushing skills won me the Concourse trophy for the competition.
Final results:
1. Peter Jovanovic
2. Steven Jovanovic
3. Jeff Hamon
4. Phillip Woodbury 5. Jesse Davis XRAY NT1
6. Andrew Bardetta 7. John Germanous XRAY NT1
8. Derrick Miller XRAY NT1
9. Paul Pattison 10. Adam Bayley XRAY NT1
