Eleven competitors signed in at Wangaratta Speedway to compete for the third annual Wangaratta Cup & the list included Australian & Victorian champion Danny Stainer, current Ballistic Performance Parts Masters Series leader Lisa Chalcraft & a number of drivers who were capable of a great finish in the Wangaratta Cup.

Three heat races were run to determine feature race start positions that included the top qualifiers starting from the back of the field.
Johnny Kyriacou & Garry Jacobson began from the front of the field with Travis Florimell, Paul Perry, Trevor Perry, Louis Rodriguez, Chris Fowler, Chalcraft (# 15 Oil Hydraulics – Suzuki), Stainer & Hayden Bacon all lined up behind.

At the drop of the green & with Stainer towards the back of the field Kyriacou got away from Jacobson & Rodriguez, by the end of lap one Stainer was in fourth place. As Fowler lost a cylinder & was left running on three, Chalcraft whipped past he & Trevor Perry & into fifth place.

Bacon pulled out of the race on lap four with a hole in the motor ending his night whilst Chalcraft popped a right rear tyre on lap five and slipped backwards with Trevor Perry & Fowler getting past her. On lap six Rodriguez passed Jacobson into second spot whilst Trevor Perry’s machine started to cough and splutter as it started to get low on fuel after running his car on the dummy grid a little too long.

Kyriacou meanwhile led from start to finish too take victory over Rodriguez, Jacobson, Stainer, Fowler, Trevor Perry, Chalcraft & Cecil.

Florimell (# 81 Prestige Steelcraft – Suzuki) didn’t finish the race after sustaining a broken rear shock mount & Paul Perry with extractor issues on the exhaust.

Cecil began from pole position for the second heat with Fowler alongside & Chalcraft with Kyriacou on the second row. Jacobson, Rodriguez, Trevor Perry & Stainer rounded out the starters.

Fowler got the jump on Cecil who missed the start completely letting Kyriacou & Rodriguez to move into second & third until the axle on the # 47 Rodriguez D Mac Property Services supported Suzuki powered machine came off the car, Jacobson spun to avoid Rodriguez and was hit front on by Trevor Perry. After some time making sure Jacobson was not injured on a red light, the steward called a compete restart.

At the restart Cecil out gunned Fowler who also was passed by Stainer & Kyriacou (# 44 Liqui Molly – Yamaha), after his car again ran on 3 cylinders due to a blocked carbie seeing him slip to fourth in front of Chalcraft & Trevor Perry.

Stainer rounded up Cecil on lap two taking the lead ahead of he & Kyriacou whilst Cecil pulled out of the battle on lap four as Stainer led Kyriacou, Fowler(# 13 Castrol – Suzuki), Chalcraft & Trevor Perry for the reaming laps to finish in that order in the second heat.

The damage sustained by Rodriguez put his car out of the racing for the night with rear end damage & a broken engine mount which also caused a leak in the engine whilst Jacobson with a slightly sore knee was unable to get out of the # 5 Pitstop Mowers car initially before resting up for the remainder of the heat infield.

The Perry Brothers Trevor & Paul supported by their own business Perry Bros Chassis started alongside each other on the front row for the third heat. Chalcraft & Cecil (# 10 DMAC Property Services – Suzuki) ahead of Fowler, Jacobson, Kyriacou, Florimell & Stainer to complete the field.

After a restart, the field was led by Trevor Perry, Chalcraft & Fowler with Stainer already up to fourth spot on lap one. On lap two Fowler started to lose power & the field roared on past him. On lap four Trevor Perry was still the leader with Stainer now in second then Chalcraft, Kyriacou, Cecil, Jacobson, Paul Perry & Fowler a lap down.

Fowler pulled infield on lap five with a nut on a battery bracket coming off earlier in the race eventually shorting out the power, Stainer(# 50 R & P Stainer Grinding Services – Yamaha R1) hit the lead on lap six & on lap seven Paul Perry joined Fowler on the infield with engine issues. Stainer went on to win from Trevor Perry, Chalcraft, Kyriacou, Jacobson & Cecil.
After the race driving off the track into the pit enclosure, Kyriacou had the misfortune of breaking his steering.

The twelve lap Wangaratta Cup was set for an exciting end to the night with lowest qualifiers starting from the front & highest to the rear. Florimell & Paul Perry had the front row then Cecil & Jacobson, Fowler, Chalcraft, Trevor Perry, Kyriacou & Stainer rounding out the field.

At the first attempt to start the final, Florimell & Cecil came together in turn two leaving Florimell with a cut down left rear tyre & some damage to the # 10 car of Cecil & both parked infield.

As is the norm for Grand Prix Midgets they don’t cris cross the field on a restart they just move a row up with Florimell & Cecil both in Fowlers row & out of the race, Fowler moved to pole position for the restart.

The green dropped & the race got under way with Fowler beating Paul Perry off the line and into the lead of the race. Stainer was third already as the crossed the start line for one lap completed.

On lap three Stainer passed Paul Perry & set about chasing Fowler whilst on lap four the field put Kyriacou a lap down with his steering not right after the damage after heat three as he left the track.

Fowler still led at lap six from Stainer, Trevor Perry, Jacobson, Paul Perry, Chalcraft & Kyriacou.

Stainer moved to the lead on lap ten with Fowler second and Trevor Perry in third & as the field headed to the line to end the race the top three didn’t change then Jacobson, Paul Perry, Chalcraft & Kyriacou with Stainer thinking he was the winner only for the stewards to advise him that on lap three they deemed he passed into second place under the pole line leaving official placings to be Fowler, Trevor Perry, Stainer, Jacobson, Paul Perry, Chalcraft & Kyriacou.

Fowler spoke at the race conclusion. “A win is a win however it’s not the way I’d like to win. Thank you to my dad John who put’s so much effort & passion into my racing & this division & to Marty & Sam for their help. “

Next and final round of the Ballistic Performance Parts Series is at Rushworth on May 23rd which the round is proudly supported by Oil Hydraulics Shepparton.

Series points for the regular competitors with the one meeting to come are:

1 Chalcraft 468
2 Fowler 457
3 T.Perry 439
4 Kyriacou 341
5 Rodriguez 339
6 Stainer 287
7 Jacobson 247
8 P.Perry 228
9 Booker 195
10 Bacon 192
11 Caddy 190
12 Myers 187
13 Florimell 164

Victorian Grand Prix Midgets would like to thank their Club Sponsors:

Ballistic Performance Parts
Oil Hydraulics
Perry Bros Chassis
Dmac Property Services
Marine Innovations
Super Balance Automotive
Pitstop Mowers

Written by
Dean Thompson
DMT Sports Media
For Grand Prix Midgets Victoria

Wangaratta Cup winner Chris Fowler (C) Glenn Cunningham Photography

Strong performer at Wangaratta Johnny Kyriacou, final didn't go to plan (C) Glenn Cunningham Photography