Fink Wins at Mallala, as Fine’s Drift Dominance Ends
Luke Fink won Round Three of the 2008 Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series at Adelaide’s Mallala Motorsport Park today, reigniting the championship battle after runaway series leader Leighton Fine struck mechanical problems.
A former World BMX Champion, Fink (Holford Motors Nissan Silvia) entered the weekend second in the championship, 19 points behind Fine, but now slashes the gap to just 36 with two rounds remaining. Fink, who resides in Melbourne, topped qualifying and advanced through each round of knockout battles to book a place in the final against Beau Yates (Toyota Racing Developments Toyota Sprinter AE86). After a re-run, it was Fink who scored the win, his second in the series having won on debut in 2006.
“Everything fell into place for us this weekend - I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Fink said. “The car was awesome, as it has been all year, to pick up the win and move within striking distance of the championship lead is fantastic. “We’ve got nothing to lose from here, so we’ll be giving it everything.” Second-place is Yates’ best result of the year as he looks to add to his 2006 crown. The Sydneysider moves up to fourth in the championship, ahead of the final two rounds at Eastern Creek and Oran Park.
“We did a lot of work to the car over the off-season, but things didn’t quite go our way in the first two rounds,” Yates said. “Second puts us back in championship contention and the last two rounds are at our home tracks, so we can’t wait.”
While Fink and Yates were celebrating, it was a tough day for the leading two South Australian drivers in-front of a strong home crowd.
First and third in the championship entering the event, Fine (Commercial Truck Sales Nissan 180SX) and Christian Pickering (Senwill Civil Nissan Silvia) were eliminated in the Top 16 after suffering mechanical problems.
“Unfortunately we had some driveshaft problems which put us out for the day,” Fine lamented. “Even with that, we’re leading the championship so hopefully we can bounce back at Eastern Creek.”
Darren Appleton (Peer Industries Nissan Silvia) took third place over Tom Monkhouse (Japanese Motorsport Nissan Silvia), who was the best of the locals and earlier eliminated reigning series champion Robbie Bolger (VIP Petfoods Holden Monaro) in the Top 16.
Eugene Arendsen (Mercury Motorsport Nissan 180SX), Khudar Elhaouli (JDS Auto Imports Nissan Silvia) and Adam May (WheelWorx Nissan Skyline) were joined in the Top Eight by series debutant Simon Podlewski (CMbmx Nissan 180SX). Queenslander Josh Coote (Nissan 180SX) extends his Toyo Tires Super Drift Series points lead with his second-consecutive win, beating local driver Ben Monkhouse (Nissan Silvia) in the final.
Television broadcasts of this weekend’s Mallala action commence next Sunday, 1 June, on SBS’ Speedweek from 1pm. Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway will host Round Four of the 2008 Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series on 28-29 June.
Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series Mallala Motorsport Park Top Eight1. Luke Fink (VIC, Holford Motors Nissan Silvia)2. Beau Yates (NSW, Toyota Racing Developments Toyota AE86 Sprinter)3. Darren Appleton (QLD, Peer Industries Nissan Silvia)4. Tom Monkhouse (SA, Japanese Motorsport Nissan Silvia)5. Eugene Arendsen (QLD, Mercury Motorsport Nissan 180SX)6. Simon Podlewski (SA, CMbmx Nissan 180SX)7. Khudar Elhaouli (VIC, JDS Auto Imports Nissan Silvia)8. Adam May (SA, WheelWorx Nissan Skyline) Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series Standings1. Leighton Fine (SA, Commercial Truck Sales Nissan 180SX) - 13362. Luke Fink (VIC, Holford Motors Nissan Silvia) - 13003. Beau Yates (NSW, Toyota Racing Developments Toyota AE86 Sprinter) - 11724. Christian Pickering (SA, Senwill Civil Nissan Silvia) - 11095. Robbie Bolger (QLD, VIP Petfoods Holden Monaro) - 10716. Adam May (SA, WheelWorx Nissan Skyline) - 1058 7. Tom Monkhouse (SA, Japanese Motorsport Nissan Silvia) - 1051 8. Chris DeJager (VIC, Turtle Wax ICE Nissan Silvia) - 1036.
Technorati Tags: Drift Australia, Australia, D1 GP, Drifting, Mallala Motorsport Park, Asian Motor Sports, F1 Rage!
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