MEDIA RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, NOVEMBER 26 2006

DREW RUSSELL - 2006 GTP PRIVATEERS CUP CHAMPION

The final round of the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway was a golden weekend for Drew Russell, the Newcastle teenager wrapping up the Ferntree Gully Holden Privateers Cup Championship.

Since making his debut in the Championship at Round 2, Russell had taken eight class wins from 11 starts leading up to the season finale. It meant he held a 49 point class lead over HSV driver Mark Cohen, with 93 available.

In qualifying, Russell added another three points to his advantage, when he topped the class aboard the Go Karts Go Mazda RX7. The prime Race 1 starting position wasn’t wasted, with Russell taking control at the head of the pack early in the 12-lap encounter.

The 18 year-old was never troubled and led the Privateers Cup field home in ninth place outright to seal the title in style.

“It’s great to win the Championship,” enthused Russell. “We entered the season late and missed the first round, but since then we’ve had an excellent year, and it’s a credit to all of our crew. I have to thank them for their hard work.

“This weekend is the first time I’ve driven this car here, so we had a little bit of chasing to do with the setup during practice on Saturday. But since then the car has been spot-on and we were able to set some good lap times.

“There was a little bit of chaos on the first lap, but I was able to avoid that, get to the front of the class and make sure we brought the car home.”

With the Privateers Cup title beyond doubt, Russell was again in fine form in Race 2. He led early, but a fuel surge meant he eventually finished eighth outright and third in class.

“It would have been awesome to end the year with two wins here this weekend, but unfortunately we had a fuel surge late in the race and couldn’t capitalise on our pace,” said Russell.

“We started strongly, our pit stop was good and the car was looking after it’s tyres, but as the fuel load went down, the surge started costing us time.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t always go your way in motorsport, but we were still able to get a good result and wrap up the Championship.

“I certainly can’t complain about the way our season has gone.”

The weekend concludes Russell’s 2006 racing season. Details about his exciting 2007 racing campaign will be announced in the coming months.

Global Racing Industries thanks the support of Go Karts Go, Ric Shaw Performance, Oran Park Raceway, The Kloster Group, Koala Glass and Bells Radiators.

-end-

Media Resources (click for high-res) ::

The final round of the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway was a golden weekend for Drew Russell, the Newcastle teenager wrapping up the Ferntree Gully Holden Privateers Cup Championship. (Nathan Wong/Global Racing Industries photo)
Drew Russell ended his season in the STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship with the Privateers Cup victory in Race 1. (Nathan Wong/Global Racing Industries photo)

High resolution photos for media use and other resources can be found at www.tokencameo.com/resources/global/