queensland
raceway
Mar 31-Apr 1
| 1. | Michael Coulter | 130 pts |
| 2. | Steve Coulter | 126 pts |
| 3. | Ryan Cochrane | 75 pts |
| 4. | Graham Struber | 61 pts |
| 5. | Chaz Mostert | 49 pts |
| 6. | Greg Willis | 33 pts |
| = | Tom Tweedie | 33 pts |
| 8. | Steven Voight | 26 pts |
| 9. | Kevin Heffernan | 10 pts |
The final round of the Oz Truck 2011 Championship was to be held at Queensland Raceway on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of November. The resurfacing of the "paperclip" forced a move to the fast and flowing Lakeside track. Lakesides never ending turns and altitude changes can make it a very difficult place to pass, all was looking good for the last round.
Taking a spot on the grid, as part of the QRDC (Queensland Raceways Drivers Championship) round, the trucks combined with the Trans-am class. The Trans-am cars (60‘s and 70‘s American Muscle cars) are slightly slower than the purpose built trucks but it works as a good combination as both classes can run almost two separate race‘s within the one.
Both the Coulter trucks made the trip from Sydney, along with Steve and Michaels ever present crew members, Greg Smith and Ole Mick. Greg is the mechanic for both the Coulter trucks, he prepares them between meetings a looks after them at the racetrack.
Miles racing bought the 48 and 88 trucks out for the second showing this year and Ryan Cochran again found a seat in the 88 truck. And the time he had spent at Morgan Park had served him well as all realized as the 10 min qualifying session come to an end. Tom Tweedie got a ride in the 48 truck and although never having seen an Oz Truck until that morning he proved a worthy contender stepping up as the weekend progressed.
Graham Struber (Oz Truck) again slid himself into the 85 Truck, it‘s a hard life. A couple of people had shown some interest in leasing the truck but nothing eventuated which left Struber in the horrible position of having a truck to race. Don‘t we all feel sorry for Graham?
Scott Reed had made his intention to race in an Oz Truck event for the first time very clear but again it seemed that the work load back in Sydney became a bit heavy and he withdrew in the week leading up to the event. We hope to see Scott‘s bright red truck at the Oz Truck round next year, be good to see some red stripes down the sides of some of those white cars.
Qualifying saw Ryan Cochran jump out in a 56.84, the first Oz Truck to crack into the 56‘s at Lakeside. Struber pushed the 85 to second (57.94) with Tom Tweedie (59.40) with Steve and Michael Coulter (59.71 and 59.97). All five trucks convincingly out gunned the full bodied Trans-am cars which made for a great race, with the two classes forming a natural break between them.
Race one was a very Simple affair with Ryan Cochran jumping Struber from the start (all starts at Lakeside are rolling, which is ideal for the Oz Trucks), Struber somehow squeezed at 56.57 out of the 85 truck to have the quickest lap, with Tweedie and the Coulters coming home as they qualified.
Race two and Struber used a bit of cunning, and the inside through the kink, to get the hop on Cochran. But the sugar high soon faded and Struber had a sleepy moment and Cochran breezed by into hungry. Struber didn‘t get another look and Ryan bought it home with the quickest race lap of 56.62. Struber wanted it all to end a bit early and backed off with one to go and Tweedie jumped by and grabbed second. Michael Coulter almost found Struber napping also, but that’s the way they ended. Steve‘s shifter had started to play a game of "hide the gear" but Steve pushed on to bring it home fifth.
Sunday dawned and both Michael Coulter and Tom Tweedie had a re-think on the tyres they had fitted and both went for greens. Struber facing the fact that he was punching way above his weight anyway decided to save Oz Trucks money and stuck with the Saturday (and Morgan Park) tyres.
Race three and Struber now coming off third had some work to do. Ryan again kicked away and Struber set about getting after a much more controlled Tweedie. Michael set about trying to make Struber dizzy, keeping him looking in the mirror as much as looking forward. Michaels great car control put the 77 machine up the inside of Struber a number of times but Struber used all his rally experience (sideways through the trees) to make the 85 truck as wide as the road would allow. Michael just finishing behind Struber with Tom Tweedie second and Ryan Cochran again out the front. Ryan continued to amaze everyone with his incredible four wheel drifts under the bridge, an absolute credit to his ability, never once did Ryan take the easy road and just drive for the win, every lap was an impressive display of poise and control, A 56.26 fastest race lap is the proof of that. Steve again found himself with a less than friendly shifter and another flat tyre starting him asking, "is there a pub open somewhere?"
Race four came in the early afternoon and Ryan Cochran couldn‘t lose. If Tweedie could keep Struber behind him second was his. The race started as the previous one had finished with Cochran running away and Tweedie keeping Struber and Michael at bay, Steve‘s shifter finally said enough and gave Steve only third gear. Struber had mirrors full of Michael and when Tweedie missed a braking marking into the carousel Struber stuck the 85 truck up the inside. Sure that the battle between Tweedie and Michael would give him some breathing space. But a lap later and Struber was back to spending more time looking back than forward. Tweedie and Michael went toe to toe and when Michael squeezed down the inside they both got after Struber. The last four laps were a great display of what Oz Truck racing holds for the future. With great side by side action and some fantastic different lines on entry‘s and exits of corners the three trucks ran sometimes millimeters apart, but never a touch between them. Struber bought the 85 truck home with Michael (77) in Third and Tweedie (48) in forth.
Ryan Cochran was at home sitting in his pool, drinking a pina-colada by this time; such was the gap he had created in front.
A great weekend racing was had by all, even Steve Coulter, with his reluctant gear shift and four flat tyres, said it was still better than working.
Final Results:
| 1st | 88 | Ryan Cochrane | Best lap- 56.26 |
| 2nd | 85 | Graham Struber | Best lap- 56.57 |
| 3rd | 48 | Tom Tweedie | Best lap- 57.03 |
| 4th | 7 | Michael Coulter | Best lap- 57.07 |
| 5th | 77 | Steve Coulter | Best lap- 58.96 |
This Round was withdrawn from the OzTruck calendar.
As the second round of the iRace series and Oz Truck round come to a close the Oz Trucks yet again ruled the Touring Car Challenge class with a 1, 2, 3 sweep.
Steve Coulter took the win followed by Michael Coulter and Oz Truck’s Graham Struber. Steve drove a strong and stayed round finishing behind Graham and Michael in the second handicapped race but the consistency and speed pushed him to a points win. Graham was penalized in the first race after failing to stop his truck from rolling off the start line before the flag dropped, handed a five second penalty, this allowed Steve to take the win with Michael a close third.
The second race was a handicapped affair with both Struber and Steven giving a fourteen second advantage to Michael, as Struber and Steve drove through the field nose to tail Michael managed to find the path through the traffic a little easier and the fourteen second gap was too large for the following duo to overcome. With Michael taking the win and Struber and Steve coming home second and third respectively.
The last race of the day was a shortened affair (four laps) due to the time restraints of a one day meeting. With a very quick four wheel drive GTR coming off pole, Struber, Steve and Michael filling the next three positions. After a fairly radical start by all the Oz Trucks (as light rain had started falling) the three truck set about hauling in the better suited four wheel drive and after one flying lap found themselves in a one, two, three situation. As Steve hunted for away past Struber Michael pegged in the small gap and by lap three it was three trucks all bunched within two car lengths. On the final lap Steve gave Struber a false sense of security by keeping out of his mirrors through turn one and pounced as Struber took a conventional line into turn one, this is all Michael needed and also slipped up the inside leaving Struber the last carriage in a Coulter train for the rest of the lap. Both Michael and Steve had no intentions of giving up their positions and that was the way it ending.
All who observed the race commented on the spectacle and even a veteran of Steve Coulter’s pedigree commented that it was “possibly the best race he had ever had”. All this and only three trucks and a shortened four lap race, the possibilities for the class are endless.
With more trucks on their way, the Lakeside round will be a site if all the Oz Trucks make an appearance. A break in the Fujutsu Supercar series will hopefully allow the Miles Racing team to make an appearance with their two machines. The show that three trucks can put on is nothing short of incredible, 6-10 or 15 of these and you will be struggling to know which way to look.
Make a date for the next Oz Truck round Saturday 18th June, Sunday 19th June at Lakeside Raceway.
Catch a quick bite of the action here Oztruck Youtube Channel
Oz Truck entered the Australian motorsport calendar over the weekend of the 5th and 6th of March at Queensland Raceway.
Steve and Michael Coulter made the trip from Sydney and went away with some impressive results. Michael took the number 77 truck to the round victory, not only showing the older pairing of Steve (his dad) and Steven Voight (in the Oz Truck owned 85 truck) the way to win a round, but showing all in the iRace Muscle Division how it is done. Steve Coulter took second with Steven Voight taking third. Oz Trucks filling the podium in the iRace class, a firm conformation that the Oz Truck combination will be a factor as the numbers grow.
Michael drove consistently, and got quicker with every outing. Steven Voight, with his years of experience in varied categories, was the class of the pack, but a non-start (due a prior engagement) on Saturday afternoon gave Michael all the room he needed to take the round win from his Dad.
The trucks impressed, and through-out the meeting some fantastic battles were fought between trucks and other classes that grace the track in the iRace Muscle division. With the first two race’s being standing starts all were nervous (given the standing start history of the trucks). But right from the start the trucks showed their ability to match all comers in the braking area’s and mid-corner, and out running some big horsepower in a straight line, although a certain Chev powered Skyline won the top speed race showing some phenomenal straight line speed. All had a fantastic time, just what the category is designed for.
Rod Dale and the iRace crew put together a fantastic series that allows all different types and classes of cars to race and compete in a fair and equal competition. If you are yet to see the iRace format, make your way down next time a meeting is in your area and be prepared to watch some fantastic racing. You will not be disappointed.
The next round for the trucks is on April 29th at Eastern Creek. This again is part of the iRace series.
Hope to see you there.
