Stuart Titheradge / Kim Acworth – Mitsubishi Evo 3 moved up to third outright and M2 class win with 44.57minutes total time after Daniel Callinan / Mary-Anne Callinan – VB Commodore - had a differential failure at the end of stage 3 on Saturday.
The local young duo of Grant Cooper / Wade Hickey in a newly rebuilt R32 GTR Skyline had an suspension failure after an excursion into the scenery on Stage 6 after sitting comfortably in third until the incident.
Philip Miscandlon / Michael Keene in a Toyota Celica GT4 looked on target for a P4 class win until they had a spin on a corner just before the finish in the last stage, resulting in a slow time to allow Lindsay Stone to take the class win.
Greg Sutton and Paul Kelly - Mazda RX7 - just snuck home by 5 seconds in front of Laurie Burton / Stewart Barrett – TVR Tuscan - to take C2 honours.
Philip Mason / Greg Fitzgerald – Toyota Celica TA22 - edged out Ken Houghton / Greg Van Dinter – MK2 Escort - and Gary Meehan / Greg Gifford – Datsun 180B SS - for P3 win.
First time tarmac rally competitors, but no stranger to bitumen, were Ryan McLeod (Racer Industries) / Steve Owen (2008 Fujitsu V8 series champion) who had the misfortune to complete only one stage when the valve met the piston on their Holden Astra, with disastrous results.
They were in sixth outright after that one run, so who knows where they would have finished after they got used to not going round in circles.
At the awards presentation on Sunday night all were kept entertained with all the photos and video shot over the weekend by the Mt Stuart Sprint photographer, Leif Hickey, as well as the in-car footage from the different teams up on the big screen. All of the southern competitors present vowed to return next year and bring along more competitors with them.
The Townsville City Autosports Club Inc and all competitors would like to thank all of the volunteer officials for their time over the two days of the event.
The event was sponsored by: Pickering Auto Group, Key Motors, Thrifty Car and Truck Rental, Pacific Rim Technical Services, Brakemart, Mr Rental, Fulcrum Suspension, Hickey Cabinets, Kennards Hire, Battery World and Mecure Townsville.
Results
1. Marcus Nuutinen / Gerald McConkey, 2009 Skelta G-Force, 41m52s
2. Russell Newman / Sarah Newman, 2008 Nissan R35 GTR, 42.12
3. Stuart Titheradge / Kim Acworth, 1995 Mitsubishi Evo 3, 44.57
Youngest Driver / Co-driver combo – Grant Cooper / Wade Hickey
Oldest Driver / Co-driver combo – Laurie Burton / Stewart Barrett
Highest non placed Mt Stuart Sprint rookie combo – Laurie Burton / Stewart Barrett
SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY
