MEDIA RELEASE- For Immediate Release, March 5

RUSSELL STARTS THE SEASON WITH A WAKEFIELD WIN

It was a winning start to the motorsport season for Newcastle teenager Drew Russell in round one of the Shannons Australian Production Car Championship at Wakefield Park Raceway.

Russell, who was the Class A Champion and second in the outright standings in 2005, made his presence felt, despite a relatively late decision to contest the round.

The warning signs for the opposition were present immediately from the outset of the round. Despite battling oversteer in the Go-Karts-Go Honda S2000, Russell set the third fastest laptime in practice and then qualified on the front row of the grid for the scratch race.

Off the line in the scratch race - the opening race of the weekend - the diminutive Honda was swamped by the bigger and more powerful cars, costing him time and positions in the early part of the race. The 17-year old charged back, though, to finish in second place, just half a second behind the race winner David Ryan.

On Sunday, Russell put in a flawless performance in the series’ familiar reverse-class-handicap format races.

Driving with a potent blend of speed and maturity, Russell won the opening race by seven seconds, then backed it up with a five and a half second race win in the final race. In each of the weekends three races, Russell recorded the fastest laptime by a comfortable margin.

The commanding performance saw him win the round.

“We did a lot of setup work on Saturday, playing with bits and pieces everywhere, but once we sorted that out, the car was pretty quick,” said Russell.

“In the handicap races, it was just a matter of picking my way through the slower cars, and once we had the lead in each race we backed it off a bit.

“The tyres were a bit mushy in the second race, but the car was pretty good all weekend, allowing me to push hard and get through the field.

“Once again, my team did a great job. The guys gave me a good car and a reliable car, which is what you need.”

At the end of the successful weekend, Russell holds the lead in both the outright and Class A Championship points standings.

“It was a lot better than last years Wakefield round [where Russell’s chance of a round win was hampered by a mechanical failure],” he said of the result. “The car ran faultlessly all weekend.

“We go from here with the lead in the outright and class championships, so I’ve gotta be happy with that.

“It’s pretty much a perfect weekend to start off the year.”

A number of options are currently being assessed for the remainder of Drew Russell’s 2006 motorsport activities. The next round of the Australian Production Car Championship is at Symmons Plains Raceway on April 8-9.

In the meantime, coverage from this weekends racing can be seen on SBS’ popular Speedweek program on Sunday March 12 at 12pm.

Global Racing Industries thanks the support of Go-Karts Go, MC Racing Group, Oran Park Raceway, Kloster Honda, Koala Glass and Bells Radiators.

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Media Resources (copyright-free for media use, click for high-res) ::

Drew Russell was the big winner in the opening round of the Shannons Australian Production Car Championship at Wakefield Park.
Drew Russell leads the outright and Class A points in the Shannons Australian Production Car Championship.

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