It's been a busy start to the new season for us. A trip to Autosport International in January meant we had to miss the last ever supersprint at Oran Park, so we didn't get a chance to say goodbye to the iconic Sydney circuit. Fortunately Campbell Wilson and Adam Savic were there to fly the MNR flag, gaining valuable race miles in an unusually early, and very hot, start to the season.
Round 2 of the NSW Supersprint Championship was held at Eastern Creek on March 7th . This saw Mark Lowing's recently imported Vortx R1, complete with UK sponsor logos, take to the track in its maiden local event. In the end it was a great result for Mark and Campbell Wilson in their MNR's, finishing 1st and 2nd in the Clubman group.
Mark's 1:42.77 was good enough for 5th outright, but no match for Andrie Tanuwidjaja's phenomenal Radical SR8 which was over ten seconds ahead, winning the day with a stunning 1:30.4. Second and third were the Nissan R35 GTR's of Duncan Forrest (1:41.08) and Marek Tomaszewski (1:42.2) with 4th place Jason Wright's WRX STi only 1/100th quicker than the Vortx with a 1:42.76.
Campbell's 1:46.9 in the 07 R1 powered Vortx was a PB and placed him 13th outright.
Once again the Vortx's punched above their weight, and with the next round at the tight and twisty Wakefield Park in early May, the R35's may not have as big an advantage.