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He may not have
raced competitively for well over a year, but Tasmanian
racing icon Greg Crick has proved that he still has all of
his significant driving talent by dominating the 2005 Speed
Energy Drink Australian GT Championship and Porsche Drivers
Challenge one-hour endurance event held at Eastern Creek at the
weekend. Crick, driving his 8-litre V10 Chrysler Viper GTS
ACR, took the lead at the start of the race and disappeared
into a gloomy Sydney evening, eventually winning the
encounter by over
50 seconds after the expected challenge from Allan Simonsen
failed to eventuate thanks to a tough opening stint by the
Ferrari team.
The evening’s one hour endurance event formed part of a
packed Saturday program at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations
Australian event, and was held in front of an enthusiastic
crowd enjoying overcast but mild conditions at the
West-Sydney circuit. Crick started from the front row of the
grid and elected to pit as late as possible (just four
minutes before the compulsory one-minute pit stop window
closed) and used sheer consistency to take the commanding
victory after an early race challenge from the Porsche of
James Koundouris. A strong second position went to the quiet
achievers of the race, the Quarterback Clothing Porsche GT3R
of Mark Eddy and Grant Johnston circulating reliably and
competitively to score the first runner-up position at the
end of the one-hour event. Both drivers set competitive
times after a strong top five qualifying performance, the
two drivers entering the race with proven endurance form
after teaming up for a 12 hour race in Malaysia earlier this
season. Third went to yet another of the strong Porsche
combinations, Carrera Cup regulars James Koundouris and
Stephen Borness teaming up to produce a podium result in
what has been a competitive weekend for the Supabarn Porsche
911 GT3 Cup. Koundouris raced strongly in the early stages
of the race, keeping pace with Crick in a strong second
position before the Viper’s meteoric consistency kicked in,
a solid pit stop seeing the pair sit second for a majority
of the race before being passed by the Eddy / Johnston
Porsche with less than 15 minutes remaining.
The much-hyped return of Allan Simonsen to Australia’s GT
landscape brought mixed results, the Danish driver placing
the Ferrari 360 GT he was sharing with Ted Huglin on pole
position during the morning’s qualifying session. From pole
at the rolling start, Huglin slipped down the field to sit
in 25th position when he pitted to hand over to Simonsen at
the 20-minute mark of the race, the opening of the pit stop
window. What followed was an incredible display of
controlled aggression from the experienced GT driver,
Simonsen cutting his way through the field with a blazing
series of lap times that included a new class lap record of
the 3.9km Eastern Creek circuit. The combination eventually
finished fourth, just 14 seconds off the podium after a
tough hour of racing. “It was really tough out there with
the traffic,” Simonsen explained after the race. “I pushed
as hard as I could but we didn’t quite have enough time in
the race to catch the leaders. It was a lot of fun, though,
and the car was great all race.”
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Other Ferrari drivers'
in Australian GT series action at Eastern Creek
included John Teulan and
Garth Rainsbury |
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Allan Simonsen gave the Ferrari marque their first
win of the 2005 Australian GT Championship during
the weekend's A1 Grand Prix of Nations supporting
event at Eastern Creek |
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A battle for the minor positions in the top ten raged for a
majority of the race before intensifying in the last five
laps, Ash Samadi (Globe Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) and John Teulan
(Industry Central Ferrari 360 Challenge) clashing at turn
two on the race’s penultimate lap. Dicing for a then top
four position, Samadi and Teulan went side-by side into the
corner before Teulan – on the outside – ran into the grass
and spun to an eventual seventh place finish. Samadi
recovered to round out the top five, Simonsen having passed
both cars during the incident.
Simonsen though gave Ferrari their first win of the 2005
Speed Energy Drink Australian GT Championship and Porsche
Drivers Challenge season the next day when he followed up by
taking victory in the final sprint race of this weekend’s
non-championship round, at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations
Australian event at Eastern Creek. The final morning’s
seven-lap sprint race was a head to head encounter between
Simonsen and the Chrysler Viper ACR of Greg Crick, the Viper
driver out for more success after winning the one-hour
endurance event the previous evening in dominating fashion. Crick got the jump
of the line, using all eight litres of the Viper’s torque to
escape to a four-car length lead before turning into turn
one. Starting fourth, Simonsen took the Ferrari 360GT into
second early in the piece after a strong start. From thereon
in it was a classic battle between the two experienced
drivers, Simonsen pressuring the Viper for a number of laps
before slipping by on the third lap. Strangely though, the
Ferrari slowed coming onto the Eastern Creek straight
allowing the Viper back past and into the lead. There didn’t
seem to be any lasting dramas with the Ferrari, however,
Simonsen setting back in pursuit of Crick before passing him
around the outside of turn four and escaping to take a
comfortable three second win.
“It has been a
great weekend for me,” enthused Simonsen after the race.
“Today was really great fun in the battle with the Viper and
it’s great to get a win. This category is really great – I
hope that the series continues to grow because Australia
needs a strong GT category like this one. I also have to
thank Ted Huglin for letting me drive the car this weekend,
because its been great to drive here this weekend."
Crick was just as
enthusiastic about the race – and the series after returning
to the sport especially for this weekend. “This has been a
really good weekend, and I’ve really enjoyed racing in this
series,” he said. “All credit for the results has to go to
my crew who have done a great job to get this car ready this
weekend. I also have to thank the late Barry Jones because
without his work none of this would have been possible.”
With the weekend’s competition being a non-championship
round, focus now turns to Wakefield Park in a week’s time
for the final round of this season’s intensely competitive
Championship season. Absent from the weekend’s activities
due to other commitments, Peter Hackett and Bryce Washington
will go head to head once again to decide the winner.
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