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Manufacturers Championship on the Line at Sandown
The Australian Manufacturers Championship goes down to the wire next weekend at Sandown International Raceway, with Lee Castle aboard the Wilson Brothers Racing Subaru WRX Sti right in the thick of the championship hunt.
Coming into the final round, Castle holds an 18 point advantage over season long combatant Rod Salmon for the prestigious John Bowe Drivers Award, with the pair split by only 12 points in the battle for Class A1 honours.
In the outright championship, Castle has his work cut out for himself to bridge a 24 point deficit to series leader Garry Holt.
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Castle however has form on his side, with race wins in the previous two rounds this season, as well the overall round victory at Sandown last year, where he had to fight back from tyre troubles early in the first race of the weekend.
After a disappointing second round at Eastern Creek which started with a race one did-not-start, Castle has fought back with a clean sweep at Morgan Park Raceway in August, before taking the opening race at Oran Park after charging back through the field after an opening lap skirmish.
"We're really confident coming into the final round, the car has been going like a train in the past couple of rounds, so it will be good to finish the year on a high note," said Castle.
"Cam and Benn from Wilson Brothers Racing have done an awesome job wringing every last bit of speed out of the old WRX Sti, and it's a credit to them that the package is still very competitive against the latest machinery.
"It will be very interesting to back-to-back the data from our win here last year, to see how far we really have come.
"The long straights at Sandown probably don't play ideally into our hands, but being the underdog has never slowed us down before!"
Team principal Cam Wilson is excited about the final round of the season.
"Between rounds we have been working very hard on the handling package of the car, so hopefully that will translate to a good car around the twisty sections of the track and good power down onto the straights," said Wilson.
"The points system used this weekend rewards outright results rather than class wins, although we will have to race hard to beat the field in the handicap starts.
"The competition this weekend looks pretty tough, with most teams getting in a bit of practice for the Bathurst 12 Hour, so it will be on for young and old."
The pair of hour long races will also test the crew, with compulsory pit stops coming into play, with the team keeping race fit by campaigning strongly in the recent Queensland Raceway Golden Holden Enduro.
Castle teamed with Cam Wilson, with their superior pit strategy helping the pairing to a strong result.
Lee Castle and Wilson Brothers Racing would like to thank Gold Coast Indoor Hire Karts, Castrol, Subaru Parts Australia, Contacting Public Relations, Mercury Motorsport, Ecutek, MRT Performance, Ingear Industries, Racer Industries, Harris Visual 3D and Deluxe Screen Printing for their continued support.
For more information on Lee Castle and Wilson Brothers Racing, visit www.wilsonbrothersracing.com.
Wilson Brothers Racing- Racing for a Cure
Wilson Brothers Racing is proud to support Cure Cancer Australia, an organisation that has been operating in Australia for 44 years to support young researchers at the beginning of their careers across the Cancer spectrum. Wilson Brothers Racing is helping to raise the profile of this fantastic organisation through their various motorsport activities around Australia. For more information, catch up with the team trackside.
Australian Manufacturers Championship
Weekend Timetable
Friday
10:20am Practice 1- 20 minutes
12:40pm Practice 2- 20 minutes
3:00pm Practice 3- 20 minutes
Saturday
11:05am Practice 4- 20 minutes
1:10pm Qualifying- 30 minutes
4:15pm Race 1- 1 hour
Sunday
11:05am Warm Up- 10 minutes
4:05pm Race 2- 1 hour
John Bowe Drivers Award -after 4 of 5 rounds
1. Lee Castle - Subaru WRX Sti - 266 points
2. Rod Salmon - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 - 248 points
3. Garry Holt - BMW 335i - 224 points
4. Jake Camilleri - Mazda 3 MPS - 172 points
5. Steve Glenney - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 - 162 points
Australian Manufacturers Championship
1. Garry Holt - 302 points
2. Lee Castle - 278 points
3. Rod Salmon - 261 points
4. Jake Camilleri - 261 points
5. Colin Osborne - Toyota Celica - 225 points
Class A1
1. Lee Castle - 290 points
2. Rod Salmon - 278 points
3. Steve Glenney - 168 points
4. Jim Hunter - Subaru WRX Sti- 86 points
5. Mark King - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 - 68 points
PaddockTalk Perspective
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