Zammit Secures Record Sixth Super Truck Title

Steven Zammit has secured a record sixth Hi-Tec Oils Australian Super Truck Nationals title, wrapping up the 2022 championship with the overall round victory in wet conditions at Winton’s VMRC race meeting on the weekend.After qualifying on pole, Zammit won the weekend’s first two races to open up an 18 point lead over his nearest pursuer, Shannon Smith. At the start of the third race, Smith attempted an overly ambitious move at Turn 2 which resulted in him spinning into the boggy infield and falling off the lead lap; as a result, Zammit only needed to cruise to the chequered flag to wrap up the title with a race to spare, which he did by finishing fourth behind Robbie Fern, Mark Noonan and Barry Butwell.In the final race of the weekend – the 10 lap Super Prix – Butwell fought his way to the front of the field after an intense battle with Noonan and Anthony Tringali, who impressively held the lead for several laps before finally spinning out of proceedings at Turn 1. However, the win for Butwell was not enough for him to overhaul Smith for second in the championship.The trucks were supported by an assortment of other categories.In the Legend Cars Australia Series, Lachlan Ward took the overall round victory, despite only winning one of the five races. However, he was also the only driver to finish in the top three in every race and his consistency paid dividends at the end of the weekend.Arguably the fastest driver in the wet conditions was Jordan Shalala, who won three races but lost valuable points due to a clash with Josh Hourigan in Race 4, Hourigan having started up the front as a result of his win in the reverse-grid Race 3.The final Legend Cars podium position went to Scott Morgan, who improved steadily over the weekend and finished the last two races in the top three.Talented young gun Damon Woods was the Miniature Race Car Series round winner; the highlight of his weekend was a dominant victory in the pouring rain in Race 2, where he lapped around six seconds quicker than everyone else in the field aboard his Aussie Racing Car and took victory by a whopping 56 seconds.Daniel Price was second overall for the weekend, winning Races 3 and 4 in his Future Racer, with Brad Lemon (Aussie Racing Car) completing the podium.Craig Lindsell (Mini Cooper S) secured the Victorian 2 Litre Sports Sedan Championship with wins in three of the four races; the other race victory went to Steve Howard (Toyota Corolla), who managed to finish second overall despite a lowly 10th-place result in Race 2, where he struggled in the wet conditions. Eddie Metz (Datsun 1600) rounded out the podium.The wet weather produced an interesting mix of results in the Super TT class; Andrew Goldman won the round in his Subaru WRX, but the standout performer was Rob Boaden, who took advantage of the conditions to haul his BMW 318i up to second place overall, even taking the lead in Race 2.The NSW Pulsar Series made an appearance at the Winton event, and the interstate visitors produced some of the most cut-throat racing of the weekend. In the end, it was Jamie Craig who took overall honours with a race win and a trio of second-place finishes, while his brother Josh was second for the round, winning the weekend’s final race.The final step on the podium was occupied by Brock Stinson, who provided one of the most spectacular saves of the weekend in Race 3, when he somehow avoided a crash after a hair-raising moment on the exit of Turn 2.As has become customary, the Victorian Excel Racing Series had two separate grids for the Trophy (under 40-year-old) and Masters (over 40-year-old) drivers.Brad Vereker took the round win in the Trophy Class; after qualifying on pole position, he slipped down the order with a slow start in Race 1 and fell to fifth, but was able to recover to third in Race 2 and won Races 3 and 4. Hugo Simpson finished second overall ahead of Harry Tomkins, who won the first two races but fell to ninth in the wet final.In the Masters Class, Glenn Mackenzie prevailed; he may have only won the first race, but his consistency across the rest of the weekend was enough for him to win the round overall ahead of Travis Jones – who won Races 3 and 4 with a couple of exceptional wet-weather drives – and Karl Neilson.Completing the Winton VMRC meeting was the Victorian Formula Racing Series for the bespoke Hyper Racers, which staged two races on the Winton long circuit and two on the short circuit.After former Supercars Championship commentator and renowned driver manager Chris Jewell took a surprise pole position in his category debut (aided by a canny tyre selection decision), it was Dean Crooke who won the first two races before Hamish Leighton won Race 3 and Luke Klaver was victorious in the final.The fourth and final VMRC round will be held on 12-13 November.