Round 8: No title at Sydney finale, but Ryal is the clear winner

DECEMBER 4, 2011. Ryal Harris had the speed to win the 2011 V8 Ute Racing Series; all he needed was a little more consistency, and a little better luck.

Despite missing out on the title in the final round at Sydney Olympic Park, the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon driver was clearly the winner in the terms of race and qualifying wins (the same points are allocated for qualifying as for a race). He scored maximum points 11 times out of a possible 34 (26 races and eight qualifying sessions). That was two more than the next best driver, second-placed David Sieders, and a whopping eight more than series winner Chris Pither.

But non-finishes at Townsville and Sydney, and a single-digit score at Sandown, cost him dearly in a series that favours placings over pace.

The finale was fairly ordinary by Ryal’s standards. He set a blistering pace in Friday practice, but qualified a disappointing third after failing to find a traffic-free lap on the congested 3.1km street circuit.

In the first race he struggled with handling problems to finish a narrow second. He was leading the second race comfortably when his car’s front suspension became one of many victims to the venue’s abrupt kerbs. In a farcical wet final race, he scythed from 15th on the grid to fourth in the two racing laps conducted.

Nevertheless Ryal salvaged enough points from the round to place third in the series, his best ever result.

Danny Buzadzic, again driving the second V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon in place of Brad Patton, started cautiously but improved rapidly as the race meeting progressed. From being near the tail of the field in practice and qualifying, Buzadzic posted encouraging 19th and 11th results in the first two races. He didn’t fare so well in the third race washout, finishing 25th.

 

PRACTICE & QUALIFYING

Traditionally Ryal has been a few places from the top of the practice session timesheets, usually because he only runs on old tyres, but he blitzed ’em in Sydney. He was fastest by half a second in the morning session, and a whopping nine-tenths clear in the afternoon!

After such a dominant start to the race meeting, his third place in qualifying was something of a let-down. Red flags and traffic – occupational hazards at any racetrack, but particularly common on a constricted street layout – prevented the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon driver from getting a single clear lap in the 20-minute session.

Ryal qualified one place behind Chris Pither, increasing the crucial gap between them by one more point, to 47. That was something Ryal could ill afford, with only 96 more points available from the three remaining races.

“The car was awesome on Friday, but I wasn’t lucky in qualifying,” Ryal said. “As street circuits go, this one’s worse than Adelaide, Townsville or Surfers Paradise in terms of overtaking opportunities. With 32 cars spread around the track in qualifying, you need some luck not to be held up somewhere.”

After practice, the V.I.P. Petfoods team had a scare when the CAMS scrutineers suspected that the number 58 car’s taped-up wiring loom had been tampered with. The team denied all knowledge, asserting that the tape wrapping had been there since the car was purchased.

The scrutineers accepted the team’s assertion, and didn't proceed further with the matter.

Danny Buzadzic took things steadily on Friday in his Sydney Olympic Park debut. Minor car problems didn’t help his cause during qualifying, so the Victorian Commodore Cup racer faced the prospect of continuing his steep learning curve from 25th on the starting grid.

RESULTS

  1. David Sieders (Australian Industrial Supplies / Falcon BF XR8)    1min. 46.5054sec.

  2. Chris Pither (Ice Break Racing / Commodore VE SS)                      1min. 46.7604sec.

  3. Ryal Harris (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                                     1min. 46.7921sec.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25. Danny Buzadzic (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                             1min. 49.8971sec.

Ryal (#58) couldn’t find a traffic-free lap and qualified third; Danny (#72) was 25th due to car problems.

 

RACE 1

Beating Sieders and Pither was always a tall order; one that became taller for Ryal when he found his V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon understeering more than he liked once the first race was underway on Saturday afternoon.

He had his hands full just keeping the errant car from ploughing headlong into the concrete walls lining the Sydney Olympic Park circuit, let alone challenging for the lead. He clung doggedly to the leading pair, all three utes rarely separated by more than a couple of car-lengths.

Then, on lap six Pither’s Commodore slowed with tell-tale smoke coming from the engine bay. Sieders and Ryal flashed by in an instant, as Pither struggled with an obviously ailing car.

That made it a race in two. On lap nine Ryal challenged Sieders at the end of the main straight, and again at the railway station complex, but the door was shut firmly each time. Yellow flags at the complex on the final lap denied him a last-gasp attempt, and he crossed the Finish line a mere three-tenths of a second behind.

Meanwhile Pither dropped more places each lap, and was 13th at the finish. That closed the gap between him and Ryal by 11 points to 36, with 64 available from the final two races.

Difficult, but not impossible.

“I was losing ground through the corners because the car understeered when I put the power down,” he said. “I don’t know what’s causing it, but we’ll check everything before the next race. I was hoping the officials would black-flag Chris because his car was pumping oil onto the track, but obviously they didn’t see it.”

Danny made good progress during the race as he became more familiar with the track layout. From 25th at the start, he benefitted from slip-ups by George Elliott and Jason Gomersall, and the retirements of Ben Dunn, Adam Macrow and Sean Carter. He then overtook Peter Burnitt to finish 19th.

RESULTS – 10 laps/31.0km

  1. David Sieders (Australian Industrial Supplies / Falcon BF XR8)    17min. 59.3789sec.

  2. Ryal Harris (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                                      17min. 59.6873sec.

  3. Kris Walton (Rare Spares / Falcon BF XR8)                                       18min. 01.4887sec.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Danny Buzadzic (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                             18min. 37.9862sec.

Ryal hoiks the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon over the first chicane kerbs - but they brought him undone later.

RACE 2

Ryal's 'To Do' list on Sunday morning had only one item: Score at least four more points than Pither (and stay in contention for the title).

His job was made that much easier when race one winner Sieders picked number eight in the draw to determine the number of inverted grid positions, based on the race one finishing order, for the second race. That meant his V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon would start from seventh slot, but Pither would remain 13th - with a question mark over his engine’s lifespan.

The start – usually the ‘live’ rear axle Falcon’s weakness – was a good one for Ryal, who moved two places up the order by the end of lap one. Over the next three laps he passed outgoing V8 Utes champion Grant Johnson, former Rugby League player Jack Elsegood, and Holden Racing Team endurance driver Cameron McConville to be second behind Rhys McNally.

This on a street  circuit that makes Monaco look like an overtaking paradise!

Two laps later, Ryal despatched Rhys McNally to take the lead, and immediately drew out a gap. It was a performance reminiscent of his complete domination at the Surfers Paradise round.

Now the car was turning in properly, thanks to a front ride height reduction after race one – but there was a risk involved. Reducing the ground clearance increased the strain on the suspension over Sydney Olympic Park’s notorious artificial kerbs.

On lap nine, the Falcon’s front-left upper control arm snapped at the first chicane. With the wheel dangling like a loose tooth, Ryal drove slowly to the pits and retired from the race.

Pither finished fifth in the race, so if Ryal had scored what looked like an inevitable win (with Pither sixth) there would have been 31 points between them going into the final race with 32 available for the win.

But ifs don’t count. The real gap was 64. The 2011 V8 Utes title was out of reach.

“I got into the lead and had the pace to win, but the circuit cost me the race and maybe the series,” a disappointed Ryal said. “The problem here is that the temporary kerbs, especially the ones at the first chicane, have a vertical inside edge a couple of centimetres high that can catch a wheel after you've driven over it.

"The force is enough to break a steering or suspension joint, or even a link, which is what happened to me."

Ryal added that drivers didn't have a choice about driving over the kerbs if they wanted to be competitive.

"If someone else uses them, then you have to use them," he said. "You can’t drive around them and hope that the other cars all break, because if they get to the finish you’re way behind.

“It isn’t like I’m the only driver who’s been affected this weekend. There’s a heap of others – even Jamie Whincup – with bent or broken suspension and steering. It’s just a lottery.

“Kerbs should make you go slower if you drive over them; they shouldn’t break your car.”

Danny Buzadzic put in his best performance of the weekend in this race. From 19th on the grid he grabbed four positions on the first lap, then moved up another on lap four when Charlie O’Brien had a miscue. Three more placings came his way as a result of trouble striking his V.I.P. Petfoods team-mate, Kris Walton and Craig Dontas, putting him a creditable 11th at the finish.

RESULTS – 12 LAPS (37.2KM)

  1. Rhys McNally (Stratco Racing / Commodore VE SS)                         21min. 44.0801sec.

  2. David Sieders (Australian Industrial Supplies / Falcon BF XR8)     21min. 44.5412sec.

  3. Cameron McConville (Bundaberg Racing / Commodore VE SS)    21min. 45.0700sec.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11. Danny Buzadzic (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                               22min. 12.8685sec.

  -   Ryal Harris (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                                       DNF

With the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon’s left-front wheel hanging like a loose tooth, a bitterly disappointed Ryal drives slowly back to the pits

 

RACE 3

With the V8 Utes title no longer at stake, and the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon repaired, Ryal was set to finish off the series with one of his trademark charges from the midfield.

Except that a short but heavy shower saturated the track just before the start. There was so much standing water that the first three laps were completed behind the Safety Car. After just two racing laps, three cars had come to grief, and several more had slid off and rejoined.

With the program running late, the officials waved the chequer!

But even those four-odd minutes of racing were enough for Ryal to rocket past 11 other drivers from his 15th starting position (never mind that his accrued points for the round should have put him 11th on the grid). One of his unwitting victims was Danny Buzadzic in the other V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon, which went 13 places south and wound up 25th.

It was a bizarre end to the series, although under the circumstances the officials probably didn't have any alternative.

RESULTS – 5 laps/15.5km

  1. Cameron McConville (Bundaberg Racing / Commodore VE SS)    12min. 38.9196sec.

  2. Gary Baxter (Sage Automotive / Commodore VE SS)                         12min. 54.8582sec.

  3. David Sieders (Australian Industrial Supplies / Falcon BF XR8)     12min. 56.7779sec.

  4. Ryal Harris (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                                       12min. 57.9117sec.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25. Danny Buzadzic (V.I.P. Petfoods / Falcon BF XR8)                              13min. 39.0831sec.

Ryal leads a V8 Ute ‘peleton’ in the farcical wet third race – it only went two laps!

 

Afterwards, Ryal had mixed feelings about his 2011 V8 Ute Racing Series campaign.

“It’s always disappointing when you have a real chance to win something and don’t achieve it, but all things considered I can’t complain about coming third,” he said. “It’s my best result in V8 Utes, and having the most top scores means almost as much to me as winning the series.

“I made a few mistakes, had a couple of incidents that might have been avoidable with hindsight, and lost some points because some drivers didn’t drive sensibly. You have to expect that in such an incredibly tough series – probably tougher than V8 Supercars, although I’d like to find that out first-hand!

“My only complaint is that the points system only rewards the fastest drivers in qualifying. In the races, driving to finish is more important than driving to win. That’s never been my style, and never will be.

“Congratulations to Chris Pither, though. He knew exactly what he had to do to win the series, and he did it.

“Finally, I’d like to thank Peter Burnitt, Brad Patton, Joe de Vries, Cam Wilson and everyone at Big Gun Racing for preparing a race-winning car. Thanks also to my sponsors, especially V.I.P. Petfoods, for giving me the opportunity to compete this year – and hopefully again in the future.”

2011 V8 UTE RACING SERIES FINAL POINTSCORE (8 ROUNDS)

  1.  Chris Pither            935

  2.  David Sieders        919

  3.  Ryal Harris             882
------------------------------------
15.  Brad Patton           388 (contested six rounds only)
34.  Danny Buzadzic    113 (contested two rounds only)

 

SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK (3.1KM) – HOMEBUSH BAY, NSW

 

 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Good Publicity