Austalian GTP: FITZGERALD BLASTS WAY TO VICTORY
12 July 1999
CENTURY BATTERIES AUSTRALIAN GT PRODUCTION CAR CHAMPIONSHIP QUEENSLAND RACE ONE Peter Fitzgerald's barnstorming form at the new Queensland Raceway continued with a stunning opening win in round five of the Century Batteries Australian GT Production Car Championship Sunday. The polesitter blasted away to lead the opening lap with Championship leader Jim Richards in his mirrors driving a similar Porsche 911 RSCS. Richards' chances for success were blunted by an electrical problem which eventually fordced him to drop back to fourth place at the completion of the event. Geoff Morgan finished in third place while Domenic Beninca moved from ninth place on the grid to fifth aboard the Ferrari F355 Challenge. The win by Fitzgerald was his first visit to victory lane since his dramatic Phillip Island crash earlier this year. "The car has been really strong all weekend and I am really pleased to come away with the win," Fitzgerald said. "The changes we have made to the car have really worked well and it allowed me to really open up a gap at the start." Richards was disappointed with the result, believing the electrical problem may be a by-product of his clash with Beninca at Sandown. "Every time I went round a corner, the engine would start to cut out," Richards said. Local Queenslander Beric Lynton took sixth place abord his BMW M3R while veteran Murray Carter also came away with his best result this season with a 7th aboard the highly popular Chevrolet Corvette C5 while Paula Elstrek suffered a turbo failure aboard the Maserati Ghibli after only two laps. Geoff Full's winning run has now been extended to an amazing 12 straight races aboard his Class B Subaru Impreza WRX which includes the Adelaide non championship race. Bob Hughes took second in his Mazda RX7 with Peter Boylan's Subaru Impreza WRX in third place. David Ratcliff's Toyota Camry CSi took advantage of the heavy brake wear of his V8-powered opponents to take the Class C lead and eventual victory with three laps to go. Ryan McLeod took second place aboard his Ford Falcon XR8. Michael Simpson (BMW 323i) was victorious in Class S after Ric Shaw suffered damage in an early incident aboard his Toyota MR2 Bathurst. Colin Osborne was second while Dean Wanless drove an impressive race aboard a Mazda MX5 to finish third in class. GTP LIGHTS Phil Kirkham was again victorious in the GTP Lights Class D brigade with his Mazda 626. Carol Jackson was impressive to take second in the Honda Civic VTiR ahead of fellow female racer Melinda Price in the Holden Vectra 2.2 GL. Kosi Kalaitzidis bounced back into the winner's circle in his Proton M21 Coupe. Kalaitzidis took the lead from Nathan Thomas' Suzuki Swift GTi on lap seven and held the front running position until the chequered flag. RESULTS RACE ONE - 16 LAPS 1. - Peter Fitzgerald, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 22:23.481 2. - Ed Aitken, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 22:25.235 3. - Geoff Morgan, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 22:29.632 4. - Jim Richards, Porsche 911 RSCS (A) 22:30.514 Class B - Geoff Full, Subaru Impreza WRX 23:48.835 Class C - David Ratcliff, Toyota Camry CSi -1 lap Class D - Phil Kirkham, Mazda 626 -2 laps Class E - Kosi Kalaitzidis, Proton M21 Coupe -2 laps Class S - Michael Simpson, BMW 323i -1 lap