MEDIA RELEASE- For Immediate Release, May 30 2006

RAVAGE RACING START 2006 ON A STRONG NOTE

The 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship has started on a strong note for Ravage Racing, with Dean Lillie sitting inside the Championship top five after the first two rounds.

It was a campaign that came together late in the piece. Having committed to a new program for 2006 with backing from Victorian gas conversion company LPGAS1, Lillie’s car from 2005 was sold. However, logistics curtailed the original plans and less than a fortnight before the season opener, the Melbournian was car-less.

“We’re really grateful to have LPGAS1 onboard for the year, it’s great to have their support,” Lillie enthused.

“When the other car I was going to drive this year wasn’t finished on time, I knew Craig Dontas had his HSV GTS, so we went back to LPGAS1 and suggested that we run that car.

“We picked it up from Craig on ANZAC day and had just enough time to paint it, put stickers on it and turn up at Oran Park.”

Despite the quick turnaround, the season opener was a successful outing. In the immaculately presented LPGAS1 HSV GTS, Lillie gained positions in each race; recording race results of seventh, sixth and fourth, to secure third place for the weekend.

“We were over the moon with the result from Oran Park,” he said. “Our performance in the races wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but we didn’t have any problems and got some excellent points.”

Last weekend, the team ventured to Wakefield Park, for Round 2 of the Championship. With the tight and twisty layout not ideally suited to the rear-wheel drive cars, consistency would again be crucial.

Lillie scored sixth place in the opening 24-lap encounter and seventh in Race 2 after race-long battle with three other cars.

“I was really happy with the qualifying laptime,” he said. “It only ended up being sixth position, but I never thought I’d get an HSV to do a ‘five [1:05] around there, so I was pretty happy to see 1:05.6061 come up on the dash.

“Halfway through Race 1 the rear tyres started to go off a little bit, so I couldn’t really make ground on anyone.

“We changed the whole car before the second race - springs, camber, shock settings, everything - and the car felt easier to drive and looked after the tyres a lot better. I wasn’t able to go any quicker, but I was able to race with the bunch I was in, and pick up seventh just before the line.”

After two of seven rounds in the 2006 season, Lillie is a strong fifth in the Championship standings, on 95.5 points.

Leading up to the next round of the STS Australian Performance Car Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway on July 8-9, Ravage Racing will continue to work on the development of the car.

“The last month has been a bit of a rush,” said Lillie. “Now we actually get a chance to spend some time on the car.

“Between Oran Park and Wakefield Park we found a bit more power and did a little bit of suspension work which helped. The new Pirelli tyres we used at Wakefield worked very well, too. They were a taller tyre to what we used at Oran Park which helped out with the gearing of the car.

“The car is good around the corners, but we don’t have the straight-line speed at the moment, so we’ll focus on engine development in particular.

“I love Eastern Creek, I went well there last year in Warren Millett’s car. We missed qualifying and the first race because we had an engine failure, so I went from 20th to sixth in Race 2, only to came in underweight and be excluded, but went from 20th up to sixth again in Race 3.

“I’m really looking forward to going there this year with my own car and my own setup. We had good pace there last year, so if I can qualify well and start somewhere near the front we’ll be looking good for a strong result.”

Ravage Racing thanks LPGAS1, Sprintgas, Martini Racing, A&P Plaster, Oz Bore Directional Drilling, EFI Dynamics, Holden Motorsport, Pirelli and Toperformance Koni for their support.

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

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After a strong start to the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship, Ravage Racing's Dean Lillie sits fifth in the standings. (Ravage Racing / Dirk Klynsmith Photo)

Ravage Racing's Dean Lillie steered the LPGAS1 HSV GTS to third place for the weekend in Round 1 of the STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship at Oran Park Raceway. (Ravage Racing / Dirk Klynsmith Photo)