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Drew Russell - 2006 GTP Privateers Cup Champion |
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Sunday, 26 November 2006 |
 The final round of the 2006 STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship at Eastern Creek Raceway was a golden weekend for Drew Russell, the Newcastle teenager wrapping up the Ferntree Gully Holden Privateers Cup Championship.
Since making his debut in the Championship at Round 2, Russell had taken eight class wins from 11 starts leading up to the season finale. It meant he held a 49 point class lead over HSV driver Mark Cohen, with 93 available.
 In qualifying, Russell added another three points to his advantage,
when he topped the class aboard the Go Karts Go Mazda RX7. The prime
Race 1 starting position wasn’t wasted, with Russell taking control at
the head of the pack early in the 12-lap encounter.
The 18 year-old was never troubled and led the Privateers Cup field home in ninth place outright to seal the title in style.
“It’s great to win the Championship,” enthused Russell. “We entered the
season late and missed the first round, but since then we’ve had an
excellent year, and it’s a credit to all of our crew. I have to thank
them for their hard work.
“This weekend is the first time I’ve driven this car here, so we had a
little bit of chasing to do with the setup during practice on Saturday.
But since then the car has been spot-on and we were able to set some
good lap times.
“There was a little bit of chaos on the first lap, but I was able to
avoid that, get to the front of the class and make sure we brought the
car home.”
With the Privateers Cup title beyond doubt, Russell was again in fine
form in Race 2. He led early, but a fuel surge meant he eventually
finished eighth outright and third in class.
“It would have been awesome to end the year with two wins here this
weekend, but unfortunately we had a fuel surge late in the race and
couldn’t capitalise on our pace,” said Russell.
“We started strongly, our pit stop was good and the car was looking
after it’s tyres, but as the fuel load went down, the surge started
costing us time.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t always go your way in motorsport,
but we were still able to get a good result and wrap up the
Championship.
“I certainly can’t complain about the way our season has gone.”
The weekend concludes Russell’s 2006 racing season. Details about his
exciting 2007 racing campaign will be announced in the coming months.
Global Racing Industries thanks the support of Go Karts Go, Ric Shaw
Performance, Oran Park Raceway, The Kloster Group, Koala Glass and
Bells Radiators.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 26 November 2006 )
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