MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 31 2006

BEAU STEALS THE SHOW AT EASTERN CREEK

Robbie Bolger and Beau Yates battle it out in the final at Eastern Creek. Image available for media use. Click for high-res, please credit Nathan Wong.

They call him ‘The Show’, and that was certainly what Beau Yates stole in Round 3 of the Toyo Drift Australia Series at Eastern Creek Raceway.

The battle for supremacy went right down to the wire and again ended with a Japanese pocket rocket up against thumping Australian muscle, as Yates in his Toyota Sprinter went up against Robbie Bolger’s 900hp Holden Monaro in the final.

In a fitting way to end the sensational weekend of drifting, it took three re-runs for judges to separate the pair, before a Bolger spin saw Yates emerge victorious.

Yates took maximum points from the weekend and moves up from fifth to third in the series standings. The Sydney resident became the third different winner in three rounds, and continued the trend of each round going to a local driver.

“To win here in Sydney is fantastic,” Yates enthused. “We had some great battles during the day and it was pressure cooker stuff in the final with Robbie, but we were able to get the win.

“It really helps us in the Championship, too. Last year I was second and this year I want to go one better. We’re up to third now with some really good momentum going into the last two rounds.”

While Bolger couldn’t make it two wins in succession, he showed again that Australian invasion in the sport long dominated by Japanese cars is well on track. His second place finish also helps further close the gap to Championship points leader Leighton Fine from South Australia, who was sixth in his Toyota Sprinter.

“We proved Queensland wasn’t a fluke,” said Bolger. “The V8s are coming and the Japanese cars had better watch out.

“I’m sandwiched between the two little Toyota’s on the ladder at the moment but there’s still plenty of time to overtake Leighton and win the Championship. It’s game on.”

In the semi-final round of battles, Yates, who finished 2nd in the 2005 Drift Australia Series, defeated the man who beat him to the title; team-mate Darren Appleton (Nissan 180SX) from Queensland.

Bouncing back from bad luck in the opening two rounds, Appleton finished fourth in Sydney, with South Australia’s James Mardle (Nissan S13) winning the third place battle in a strong performance.

While both drivers shot up the standings, South Australian pair Kelly McKinnon (Nissan Skyline) and Danny Vahoumis (Nissan Silvia) were surprisingly early exits, having entered the weekend third and fourth respectively in the standings.

In addition to Yates’ success, a number of NSW drivers had strong weekends. Nathan Weissel (Nissan Skyline) and 2005 Formula Drift Champion Fernando Wiehrl (Nissan 180SX) both recorded their first Top 8 finish for the year to move inside the Championship Top 10.

Of the other drifting action at Eastern Creek, South Australia’s Lynden Reynolds maintained his Super Drift points lead with another win, while Team Delirium continued their dominance of the Xtreme Team Drifting comp.

With two rounds remaining in the 2006 Toyo Drift Australia Series, the championship battle is heating up.

The first three rounds have all gone to drivers with home track knowledge, but Round 4 will be held on neutral territory in Tasmania. The Toyo Drift Australia is getting set for its first visit to the Apple Isle, with Symmons Plains Raceway to host the hottest drifting action in the land on August 19-20.

Between now and then, the action from Eastern Creek will be broadcast on Speedweek, SBS, at Midday on Sunday August 13.

For more about the Toyo Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au

Eastern Creek Top 8;
1. Beau Yates (NSW, Toyota Sprinter)
2. Robbie Bolger (QLD, Holden Monaro)
3. James Mardle (SA, Nissan S13)
4. Darren Appleton (QLD, Nissan 180SX)
5. Nathan Weissel (NSW, Nissan Skyline)
6. Leighton Fine (SA, Toyota Sprinter)
7. Eugene Arendsen (QLD, Nissan 180SX)
8. Fernando Wiehrl (NSW, Nissan 180SX)

Championship points, after three of five rounds;
1. Leighton Fine (SA, Toyota Sprinter) 1334
2. Robbie Bolger (QLD, Holden Monaro) 1283
3. Beau Yates (NSW, Toyota Sprinter) 1233
4. Kelly McKinnon (SA, Nissan Skyline) 1119
5. Danny Vahoumis (SA, Nissan Silvia) 1068
6. Eugene Arendsen (QLD, Nissan 180SX) 1063
7. Nathan Weissel (NSW, Nissan Skyline) 1042
8. Mark Phillips (SA, Nissan Skyline) 1040
9. Darren Appleton (QLD, Nissan 180SX) 1037
10. Fernando Wiehrl (NSW, Nissan 180SX) 1023

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