Driving his self designed and built Skelta G-Force, Vandersee and co-driver Jahmeil Taylor cruised through the final special stages of day four to hold off a fast finishing Grant Denyer in his Subaru WRX STI C Spec.
Winning by 37.8 seconds, Toowoomba resident Vandersee was overjoyed with the debut outright win of his Skelta G-Force in a major Australian tarmac rally.
“It just feels fantastic, we had our fingers crossed all day and everything just went to plan,” said Ray Vandersee.
“This is an amazing event and to be the inaugural winner makes it a really special win for me,” said Vandersee.
“We built the Skelta for these types of events and it has proven that it can beat the world’s best, it’s very satisfying to come home ahead of marques like Porsche, BMW and Subaru,” Vandersee said.
“I want to give a special thanks to my navigator Jahmeil Taylor, I couldn’t succeed without her in these events, also my crew and family, they have been following us all event making sure everything runs smoothly,” added Vandersee.
Grant Denyer, star of television program- It Takes Two, danced his way through the final day to top the time sheets in two of the day’s special stages and in the process knocked the events surprise performers, Matt and Casey Close in their Porsche 911 Turbo, back into third place outright.
“This event was the most rewarding motorsport experience I have ever had, there was just no margin for error,” said Grant Denyer.
“You never know what you’re in for in a new event, but they have found an absolute diamond in the rough with this event, everyone has done just a brilliant job,” Denyer said.
“This event will be around for a very long time and the way Silverstone Events has set it up is just fantastic, I am sure if you talk to any driver they will agree,” said Denyer.
“Great roads, great location, superbly executed and it’s certainly a jewel on the motorsport calendar and I will definitely be back next year,” added Denyer.
Finishing just behind the Close combination in fourth position was seven time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards. The Porsche pilot had already conceded victory going into the final day, but was hot on the heels of the top three, posting quick times throughout the day.
“I knew we couldn’t move up the leader board today, but I really enjoyed the final day stages,” said Jim Richards.
“The Sunshine Coast is a fantastic place and is perfectly suited to this type of event, I will certainly be back next year,” added Richards.
In the late classic competition class, Mackay local Daniel Callinan and co-driver Glen Weston led from start to finish to bring his Holden Commodore home ahead of fast finishing Steve Hoinville in his Ford Escot RS1600.
Hoinville and his co-driver Robert Gilpin were the eventual winner of the heritage class after Jon Siddins bowed out of the rally with a mechanical failure in his Datsun 240Z.
Husband and wife pairing of Len and Gayle Cattlin in their hot lime green 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 took out the classic competition class crossing the line 10 seconds ahead of James Calvert-Jones in his 1971 Porsche 911T.
Adelaide driver Richard Best won the test of consistency and skill in the regularity class edging out the John and Gemma Myers in their Mitsubishi Evo.
RESULTS
Aeromil Pacific SunCoast Classic
Results for Aeromil Pacific SunCoast Classic - Day Four
(All results are provisional and subject to event stewards approval)
Modern and Overall Competition
1 971 Vandersee/ Taylor Skelta G-Force 02:04.8
2 7 Denyer/ Moscatt Subaru WRX STI C Spec 02:42.6
3 921 Close/ Close Porsche 911 Turbo 02:46.2
4 940 Richards/ Oliver Porsche 911 GT3 RS 03:10.5
5 916 Quinn/ Wenn Porsche 911 Turbo 03:26.7
6 912 Thomas/ Thomas Misubishi Lancer Evo IX 04:24.5
7 979 Taplin/ Young Porsche 911 GT3 04:25.6
8 920 Bye/ Fook BMW 130i 04:36.1
9 904 Higgins/ Hansen Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS 05:50.2
10 972 Quinn/ Bolton Mitsubishi Evo VIII 06:44.5
Late Classic Competition
1 679 Callinan/ Weston Holden Commodore 04:10.4
2 510 Hoinville/ Gilpin Ford Escort RS1600 04:24.5
3 505 Tierney/ Carra Porsche Carrera RS 05:41.5
4 624 Crowe/ Smith Holden Torana A9X 06:25.2
5 622 Kay/ Jack Mazda RX7 08:47.6
6 573 Taylor/ Hackett Ford XA GT 09:06.3
7 615 Anderson/ Darch Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 09:23.0
8 601 Sutton/ Kelly Mazda RX7 09:41.2
9 628 Kluge/ Park Porsche 911 SC 09:53.2
10 683 Francis/ Francis Alfa Romeo GTV 6 2.5 11:01.3
Classic Competition
1 444 Cattlin/ Cattlin Ford Mustang Boss 302 06:45.2
2 472 Calvert-Jones/ Roberts Porsche 911 T 06:56.8
3 477 Wearing/ Cochrane Ford Capri Perana 07:44.5
4 400 Banks/ Banks BMW 2002 08:24.6
5 365 Brentzell/ Stringfellow Shelby GT 350 09:09.5
6 458 Van Wegen/ Van Wegen BMW 2002 10:14.9
7 405 Black/ Heimsohn Porsche 911 2.4 S Coupe 11:30.6
8 403 Dermott/ Dermott Holden LC Torana XU1 11:39.3
9 473 Kurzok/ Taylor Datsun H510 SSS 12:22.5
10 480 Bassett/ Yule Ferrari GTC 4 13:25.0
Heritage Competition
1 510 Hoinville/ Gilpin Ford Escort RS1600 02:09.5
2 472 Calvert-Jones/ Roberts Porsche 911T 02:46.0
3 679 Callinan/ Weston Holden Commodore 03:10.2
4 628 Kluge/ Park Porsche 911 SC 03:16.9
5 615 Anderson/ Darch Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 03:18.3
6 444 Cattlin/ Cattlin Ford Mustang Boss 302 03:23.3
7 505 Tierney/ Carra Porsche Carrera RS 04:15.0
8 400 Banks/ Banks BMW 2002 04:26.6
9 601 Sutton/ Kelly Mazda RX7 04:40.1
10 624 Crowe/ Smith Holden Torana A9X 04:41.2
Regularity Competition
1 163 Davis/ Best Holden Monaro 5520
2 160 Myers/ Myers MitsubishiLancer Evo IX 53630
3 152 Russell/ Russell Jaguar XK 140 coupe 143160
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