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The
fight to become 2008 Australian Drift Champion is down to three
drivers, after championship leader Leighton Fine took out a
hotly-contested fourth round of the Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series
at Eastern Creek Raceway yesterday.
First,
second and third in the championship entering the weekend, Fine, Luke
Fink and Beau Yates claimed the same positions at the Sydney circuit,
setting up a showdown for championship glory in the season finale at
Oran Park in September.
The
win is Fine's third of the season in the Commercial Truck Sales Nissan
180SX; bouncing back in style from a mechanical problem at Mallala last
month which slashed his points lead.
After topping qualifying and defeating Robbie Bolger, Adam Trewhella and Khudar Elhaouli, Fine lined up in the final against Fink, whose scalps included Darren Appleton and Yates.
A
series-record three re-runs were required before the judges could split
Fine and Fink (Holford Motors Nissan Silvia), with Fine eventually
taking the win in-front of a strong Sydney crowd to extend his points
lead to 70, with one round remaining.
"After the disappointment of Mallala we really wanted to come here and get things back on track," South Australian Fine said.
"This win is the perfect outcome and adds to our championship lead going to  OranPark.
"Luke
and I were so evenly matched and it was tense with all of the re-runs,
fortunately we did enough in the end to get the win."
While
he fell just short of victory to accompany his Mallala win, Fink
remains well within reach of Fine after his third podium finish from
four rounds.
"Full credit to Leighton, it was a great battle with him in the final," Fink said.
"We gave it everything we had and our car was fantastic, the work we did between rounds paid off.
"It would have been great to win, but second is a good result for the championship - we can't wait until Oran Park to fight for the title."
At his home circuit, Yates (Toyota Racing Developments AE86 Sprinter) defeated Elhaouli (JDS Auto Imports Nissan Silvia) to take third and complete an all-Toyo podium.
 Yates remains third in the standings - 229 points behind Fine - while Elhaouli
jumps from ninth to fifth behind Adam May (WheelWorx Nissan Skyline),
who is now fourth after a strong seventh-place finish.
May
was joined in the Top Eight by his WheelWorx team-mate Linden Reynolds
(Nissan Silvia), Appleton (Peer Industries Nissan Silvia) and Trewhella
(Miluc Civil Nissan Cefiro).
While
Elhaouli and May move up the championship order, Christian Pickering
(Senwill Civil Nissan Silvia) and Bolger (VIP Petfoods Holden Monaro)
drop out of the Top Five after being eliminated early.
Victorian
driver Leigh Pidwell (Toyota KE70 Corolla) took out the Toyo Tires
Super Drift Series proceedings, while Josh Coote (Nissan 180SX)
maintains his points lead.
Broadcasts of the Eastern Creek round commence on Sunday 13 July on SBS' Speedweek at 1pm, check local guides for details.
The 2008 Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series will conclude at Oran Park Raceway, NSW, on 20-21 September.
For more information about the Toyo Tires Drift Australia Series, head to www.driftaustralia.com.au.
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