Super Truck Title on the Line at Winton VMRC Round
The 2022 Hi-Tec Oils Australian Super Truck Championship will be decided at Winton Motor Raceway’s third VMRC (Victorian Motor Racing Championship) race meeting next weekend, with Steven Zammit aiming for a sixth national title.Zammit, who won the opening two rounds of the season at Wakefield Park and Winton, heads into the event with a 12 point advantage over 2019 champion Shannon Smith, with Mack Superliner driver Barry Butwell a further 11 points in arrears.Having overcome some overheating issues in the first round, Zammit is confident of success but knows how quickly things can change.“All it takes is one issue or one mechanical problem to end up on the back foot, so we have to race hard but smart,” he said.The Super Trucks will stage a total of six races over the event, including two Teams Championship races in which the regular pilots hand their trucks over to co-drivers. Both the Teams Championship races, along with the final two Drivers Championship races, will feature a reverse-grid format.The Super Truck Championship is not the only category being decided at Winton, with the 2 Litre Sports Sedan title also up for grabs.With wins in two of the four rounds held so far, BMW Mini Cooper S driver Craig Lindsell leads the standings by 47 points ahead of the experienced Steve Howard (Toyota Corolla) with Linda Devlin third in the points in her Mini.The 2 Litre Sports Sedan category also encompasses the Victorian Pulsar Racing Series, which is led by Ryan Tomsett ahead of Josh Craig and Ben Hamilton.One category that has attracted a lot of new drivers in recent events is the Miniature Race Car Series, which welcomed no less than eight debutants during its previous round at Tailem Bend.The upcoming event at Winton will see another new driver joining the field: 15-year-old Stevie Chant, who has been competing in the Queensland Excel Racing Series along with a wealth of go-kart experience, and will slot into an Aussie Race Car for her MRC debut.Drivers to beat in MRC include points leader Jack Boyd along with Brad Neilson and series organiser David Brewer.Along with the Miniature Race Cars, the other category on the VMRC program for motorcycle-engined vehicles is the Legend Cars Australia Series. Last time out at Winton it was Lachlan Ward who won the round, ahead of Brendan Hourigan and points leader Shane Tate. A total of five Legend Car races will be held during the weekend, with a reverse-grid format for Race 3.The Victorian Excel Racing Series always produces entertainment aplenty at Winton and will once again be divided into two grids for the Trophy (Under 40) and Masters (Over 40) drivers. Toby Waghorn, Hugo Simpson, Brad Vereker and Harry Tomkins can be expected to continue their battles in the Trophy Class while the front-runners in the Masters Class this season have been Glenn Mackenzie, Larry Merifield and Karl Neilson.A busy VMRC program will be rounded out by the Victorian Formula Racing Series, featuring the Jon and Dean Crooke-developed Hyper Racer X1 open-wheelers.
Photo by PDW Photography