| Tyre Woes Ruin Farr's Open Chances | ||||
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Aceways Autogear Racing team driver Robbie Farr led the opening laps of the Titan Garages World Series Sprintcar Open at Brisbane International Speedway on January 13, out-running eventual winner Brooke Tatnell over the first ten laps before a deflating right rear tyre on the #7 Cool ruined his chances late in the race, dropping to eighth at the flag. Team-mate Todd Wanless finished the Open in eleventh position. Farr, who won the B-Dash to set up a front row start alongside Tatnell in the fifty lap Final, led until a stoppage on lap ten bunched the field behind him and Tatnell found a way past on the outside once the race went green again, with Robbie then running second for close to the next thirty laps of the race. During another stoppage, Robbie's tyre began to deflate quickly and despite his best efforts to keep the tyre inflated, the former National Champion struggled to keep pace with the leaders from that point on, losing six places over the last portion of the race to eventually finish in eighth position. Wanless' run in the Final came from a second place finish in the B-Main and a subsequent transfer to the Feature event. Todd moved forward three spots in the opening five laps and battled for most of the race with Americans Jonathan Allard, Mike Carber, Dean Jacobs and World Series regular Danny Reidy, eventually bringing the #61 Maxim home eleventh. Like many of their rivals, the race fitness of Wanless and Farr groomed over a solid summer of racing around the country played a major part in their results. Interestingly, Todd also commented that despite running a Heat race, twenty laps in the B-Main and another fifty in the Feature, it would still be less laps than he would regularly do in the Corporate Racing Experience two seater sprintcar on ride nights at Brisbane International Speedway! American sprintcar driver Brent Kaeding, driving a third team car, failed to make the eighteen car field for the Feature after missing a transfer spot from the B-Main when a flat right front tyre forced the #69 Maxim up against the turn three wall, with Brent rolling to a stop on the infield and out of the event. The Aceways Autogear Racing team head to Sydney this week for the Outlaws Down Under IV event, to be run over three nights at Parramatta City Raceway on January 18/19 and 20. |