04/Apr/2008
DecoRug Motorsport pilot, Paul Stokell has claimed pole position for round two of MINI CHALLENGE at Wakefield Park Raceway - near Goulburn - today, setting a time of 1:05.6112, with less than a second separating the top seven competitors.
After setting the fastest time in practice one, Stokell set his qualifying time in the first five minutes of the session and it wasn't bettered, despite the Brisbane-based driver carrying 15kg of success ballast from round one. Melbourne's Nathan Geier (Split Image Project Management) finished the session second fastest, 0.1 behind Stokell, the 25-year-old continuing his phenomenal start to MINI CHALLENGE.
Current Series leader, Neil McFadyen (Scope Signs & Graphics) and Seven Network personality, Grant Denyer (DecoRug) traded times throughout the session. McFadyen grabbed the inside run from row two in the dying moments after having a less than perfect qualifying run.
The remainder of the top six was filled with early pace-setter Gary Young (Salta Constructions) - and Paul Fiore, who, with brother Todd, is debuting a new major sponsorship from Shell Helix Ultra on the Brisbane MINI Garage cars - the return of the company to a major sponsorship in Australian motorsport. The younger Fiore finished the session 12th.
Qualifying seventh was an impressive Iain Sherrin (Sherrin Rentals), while UBER-STAR CAR driver, MOTOR Magazine journalist, Shaun Cleary was a sensation of the session. He qualified eighth for his first race meeting. Michael Stillwell (Bib Stillwell MINI Garage) was ninth, with Perth-based Glory Team Racing driver, David Turner rounding out the top 10 after strong performances in practice this morning.
Next was Ricky Occhipinti (Formula Uno Motors Geelong) - who struggled for clear track throughout the 20 minute session and Todd Fiore (Shell Helix Ultra). Damien Flack (Ultimax Chemicals) who is having his first run at Wakefield Park and in a front-wheel drive car, then Kevin Miller (Motorline MINI Garage) - having his first MINI CHALLENGE race and Darren Berry (Clipper Motor Yachts) round out the field.
Paul Stokell: "I set the lap early in the session on green tyres, it was a nice lap. It wasn't anything special, just nice and the setup was just right. Like any new tyre, they only really have one lap in them so I just went for it. When I saw I was P1, I was happy with that, so thought I'd sit and wait for the rest of the session. It was good enough and I decided to conserve my second set of tyres for later in the weekend. Overall, we're very happy with how the weekend has started."
Nathan Geier: "The car was just beautiful to drive. The team worked really hard to get the setup dialed into it and it was quick straight out the box. I was following Denyer for a while and then he had a moment, so I went past and was out on my own, that's when I set the time. We're stoked with second and I'm looking forward to starting on the front row tomorrow."
Neil McFadyen: "We just didn't nail the setup, that's all there is to it. Qualifying wasn't good all round, we didn't time our runs well. The additional 25kg we are carrying this weekend has affected us for sure. But no excuses though, we're starting race one tomorrow from third, there's plenty of time left."
MINI CHALLENGE Round 2 of 8 - Qualifying Top 5:
1. Paul Stokell 1:05.6112
2. Nathan Geier 1:05.7646
3. Neil McFadyen 1:05.8316
4. Grant Denyer 1:05.9097
5. Garry Young 1:06.4112
MINI CHALLENGE WAKEFIELD PARK SCHEDULE:
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Race One: 1:15pm
Sunday April 6, 2008
Race Two (reverse top six finishers from race one): 9:30am
Race Three: 1:45pm
TV SCHEDULE:
Round One Highlights: Saturday, April 5 (tomorrow) at 1:30pm nationally on the Seven Network
Round Two Highlights: Saturday, April 26 at 2:00pm nationally on the Seven Network
