Ravage Racing Media Release

MEDIA RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, NOVEMBER 12 2006

LILLIE AND LPGAS1 RACING IN THE GTP WINNERS CIRCLE AT TASMANIA

LPGAS1 Racing’s Dean Lillie has broken through for his first win in GTP competition, in the penultimate round of the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship at Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania.

Having been quick but luckless on numerous occasions earlier in 2006, it all came together for Lillie in Race 1. Reaping the benefits of a test day at Calder Park last month, his first aboard the car, the Victorian was on the money straight away.

He was third in both practice sessions, and maintained the position in qualifying. Lillie bided his time early, and capitalised on mechanical problems for front-row qualifiers James Philip and Barrie Nesbitt, to take the win, having also set the fastest lap of the race.

“My first win in GTP, and it was pretty easy in the end,” said Lillie. “We really just cruised around in practice, so our pace in those sessions was pleasing.

“Then in the race, I had a pretty good start. Nesbitt and Philip were up ahead, but then they had their problems and I was suddenly in the lead, miles away from everyone, and from there it was about bringing it home.”

The win wasn’t entirely smooth sailing, though. Early in the race, engine oil pressure in the LPGAS1 HSV GTS dropped, requiring a conservative run to the chequered flag, and an engine change before Race 2.

“After about three laps, the car was low on oil pressure,” he explained. “So for most of the race I was short-shifting to try and make it live. On Saturday night, Adam Beechey gave us access to his workshop, Ian Beechey Service Centre, and Monaro Performance Centre leant us some bits, so we could fit our spare engine.”

The overnight efforts almost paid off in the second of three races. Lillie controlled proceedings from pole position, and set the fastest race lap en-route to a 10-second lead in the greasy conditions, before a cracked engine sump led to an oil leak.

“I was a second a lap quicker than anyone for the first half of the race, and was leading by about 10 seconds,” he said. “Then I had a bit of smoke coming into the cabin, and I could the oil slick on the track.

“I backed it off a little bit but kept going, until the start of the last lap when I got a mechanical black flag. So instead of being able to cross the finish line, take the win and then pull over, I had to come into the pits and crawl down pitlane to the finish line which dropped me to sixth.”

After replacing the damaged sump, Lillie moved up to fourth place in the early stages of Race 3, later improving to third. While he was passed on the final lap and returned to fourth - barely a second shy of race winner Steve Cramp - it was enough to secure third place for the weekend and maintain fifth in the Championship standings.

“It was a massive effort by the boys to fit a new sump between races,” Lillie said. “It’s a big job on a GTS, but they got stuck right into it and Monaro Performance Centre helped us again with their spare sump, which saved us having to get it off of our old engine.

“I was in third for most of the race, trying to get past Graham Alexander, but unfortunately the spare engine just didn’t have the grunt in a straight line. His brakes seemed like they were going off, so I was able to close in, but Peter Floyd caught us both up and got past me on the last lap.

“It’s been a good weekend for us. The car has never handled as well as it did this weekend. Koni loaned us a set of shocks and it was awesome, I’ve never had such good drive out of corners. We had a good all-round package, too. We spent a bit of time before the round working with Melbourne Performance Centre on the engine it showed with the results and pace we had.”

LPGAS1 Racing’s 2006 racing season concludes at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway on November 24-26, where Lillie will compete in the final round of both the STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship and the Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series.

LPGAS1 Racing thanks LPGAS1, Sprintgas, Melbourne Performance Centre, Martini Racing, A&P Plaster, Oz Bore Directional Drilling, EFI Dynamics, Holden Motorsport, Pirelli, Toperformance Koni and Knight Windscreen Repairs - Eastern for their support.

For more information about Ravage Racing, visit www.ravageracing.com.au

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Media Resources (click for high-res) ::

A Race 1 victory at Symmons Plains helped LPGAS1 Racing's Dean Lillie finish on the podium in the penultimate round of the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship.
(Ravage Racing / Dirk Klynsmith Photo)