 LPGAS1 Racing’s 2006 season may have ended with double the usual workload at Eastern Creek Raceway, but after strong results for Dean Lillie in the Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series and STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship, it was certainly worth the effort.
The weekend of double duty was highlighted by a podium finish for Lillie in the STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship. Coming off a race win at Symmons Plains a fortnight earlier, the LPGAS1 HSV GTS driver was on the pace straight away, setting the third fastest time in practice.
 He also qualified third, with a lap of 1:44.3301, and occupied second
position for the first half of Race 1. Late in the race, however, rear
grip was minimal with a worn tyre, with Lillie eventually finishing
fifth.
“The car has been feeling really good all weekend for the heat of the
track,” surmised Lillie. “Unfortunately we had a tailshaft problem in
practice, but Mark Cohen has been good enough to lend us one.
“In Race 1 it ate the right rear tyre. We made a setup change which was
obviously quick over one lap, but over a race distance it took too much
out of the tyres. In those last few laps I was just trying to hold on.”
With the setup change reversed, Lillie climbed to third place early in
Race 2, a longer race which featured a compulsory pit stop, and became
engrossed in a battle with fellow HSV driver and defending series
Champion Peter Floyd.
Eventually, Lillie was able to sneak through and take second for the
race and third for the round when Floyd struck engine problems.
“The car was awesome and really looked after it’s tyres, which was
important in the long race,” said Lillie, who ends the season fifth in
the series standings.
“I spent most of the 22 laps buried up the back of Floydy’s car and it
didn’t get hot. The battle with Floydy was great fun, too.”
Lillie’s form wasn’t limited to four-door cars. The Yokohama V8 Ute
Racing Series finale started with the LPGAS1 Holden SS Ute in eighth
place in practice. Inexperience with tyres used in the class played a
role in qualifying, with Lillie dropping to 14th before advancing back
up the order to 11th place in Race 1.
“I’m not accustomed to what you’ve got to do with these things to get
the time out of them in qualifying with the front tyres,” said Lillie.
“So I went a bit slower than we did in practice, but then we got past a
couple of cars and got up to 11th in Race 1.”
Further gains followed in Race 2, with Lillie finishing eighth and
mixing it with more experienced Ute drivers. Ninth place in the final
helped to secure ninth for the round - Lillie’s second Top 10 round
result from three rounds back in the competitive class.
“For the first four laps, the left side of my body was cramped,” Lillie
explained. “After doing the last GTP race and Race 2 of the Utes
back-to-back, I was drinking and eating, trying to recover, but I
started to cramp up.
“Doing about 60 laps of racing and jumping from one car to the other,
because they are two very different beasts, was a good experience.”
The event concludes a busy racing season for Lillie, with LPGAS1 Racing
now turning their attention towards a full campaign on the 2007
Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series.
“I have to thank Gary, Tom, Mick, Chris, Andrew, Steve and Lee for
their help, big thanks go to Melbourne Performance Centre for their
truck which brought both cars up here this weekend, along with LPGAS1
and all our sponsors.
“I finished inside the Top Five in my first full season of GTP, scored
a race win and finished on the podium in four of the seven rounds which
was really satisfying.
“These last few rounds in the Ute have been really productive. We don’t
quite have the pace of the front-front guys, but I’m happy that we were
able to stick with the lead group without them driving away.
“We haven’t done anything to the car, and have been able to get a few Top 10 results, so I’m really excited about next year.”
LPGAS1 Racing thanks LPGAS1, Sprintgas, Melbourne Performance Centre,
Martini Racing, A&P Plaster, Oz Bore Directional Drilling, EFI
Dynamics, Holden Motorsport, Pirelli, Toperformance Koni and Knight
Windscreen Repairs - Eastern for their support in 2006.
For more information about Ravage Racing, visit www.ravageracing.com.au
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