Maturity Continues to Shine Bright in Stormy 2013 Shannons Supercar Showdown

SYDNEY – Sept 23, 2013. 31-year-old Formula Three driver Tim Macrow and 33-year-old V8 Ute racer Craig Dontas used their superior skills and experience to overcome atrocious conditions in the second exciting week of the Shannons Super Showdown on 7mate last Saturday.

The week one winners gave their younger rivals another lesson in high performance driving under maximum pressure, by emerging as top point scorers from a pair of new challenges featuring go karts and wet tracks that tested the eight V8 rookies to the limit.

Under the show’s new format, Macrow and Dontas again scored maximum points for their respective teams, each comprising four rookies headed by Ford Performance Racing’s V8 Supercar drivers and team captains Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison.

The eight contestants face more challenges in coming weeks as they compete for the ultimate prize - a testing contract with FPR plus a drive in the Dunlop Series in a Shannons-sponsored V8 Supercar.

Under dark and threatening skies, Saturday’s showdown commenced with a Go Karting Challenge at the Go Kart Club of Victoria’s demanding Port Melbourne track.

Each rookie was given two flying laps against the clock to try and set the fastest time, driving an Arrow Kart that could reach speeds of 100 km/h.

Prior to this challenge the rookies were told that the fastest driver would receive a $500 Adrenalin gift voucher. What they were not told was that the winner would also earn a crucial bonus point.

Tim Macrow proved his supreme performance in the first week was no fluke by clocking the fastest time - but it was a close call. The youngest driver in the competition, 16-year-old Todd Hazelwood, finished runner-up by a mere 0.02 of a second.

The competition then switched to base camp at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway for the Wet Track Challenge, which required the rookies to strap into the Ford Fastrack Racing Challenge Car to test their wet weather driving skills against the clock on a tricky course that was half dry, half wet.

10-second time penalties applied for spinning out, hitting a marker cone or not stopping in the designated zone. However, the entire course was soon engulfed by torrential rain when a violent thunderstorm erupted over Calder Park.

Age and experience again shone through the gloom though as the eldest contestants - Macrow and Dontas – again put in fast and faultless drives in the slippery conditions to each score maximum points.

Team Davison’s Macrow now leads the competition by a single point from Team Winterbottom’s Dontas, leaving their six younger rivals hungrier than ever to try and level the score when they face their next round of challenges in episode three.