GTP Farce

[Crash Test]

Where has all credibility gone from the sport? Not only did the ofificals make a massive cockup, and attempt at covering their mistake, they decided that they would completely rearrange the results the day after the race. **** OFF!

Here's the press realease... it's times like this i see why so many carefree oldies get involved in lawn bowls...

OLDEN drivers Peter Floyd and Cameron McConville were declared winners today of the
V.I.P. Petfoods 2-Hour Showroom Showdown, 17 hours after the race finished at Mount
Panorama, Bathurst.

Revised results were announced this morning by stewards from the Confederation of
Australian Motor Sport after an overnight review of timekeepers' records.

Gary Deane and Robert Rubis, in a Subaru STi, were second and third place went to Mark
King and Rod Wilson, in a Mitsubishi Evo V.

"It may have been delayed, but I'm thrilled to take my first Bathurst win whenever it
happens," Floyd said. "Our Commodore GTS has run superbly for three days, Cameron did
a great job to put us on pole position and we ran a trouble-free race."

The fifth annual race for near-standard passenger cars had been awarded immediately after
the finish to the Mitsubishi pair Graham Alexander and John Woodberry, but they were
relegated to fourth in the revised results.

The stewards initiated an inquiry after approaches from race officials, competitors and GTP
organiser PROCAR Australia.

"Some irregularities in race control occurred during a safety car period which materially and
incorrectly affected the outcome of the race," according to a stewards' statement today.

The incident that led to the errors was a crash and fire involving the works Volkswagen
Beetle of Formula Ford champion Will Davison at the Dipper, on the steep descent from the
top of Mount Panorama.

The stewards said that when the safety car was called out to control the race field, the teams
that initially were awarded first, second and third - Alexander/Woodberry, John Bowe/Chris
Dunn (Ford Mustang) and Bob Hughes/Tony Quinn (Mitsubishi) - gained an advantage
which was corrected in the revised results.

"While we cannot absolutely restore the position prior to the errors . . . we have made some
adjustments which reflect a fair and reasonable outcome for the event," they said.

PROCAR Australia spokesman Craig Denyer said he was pleased the situation had been
resolved in favor of the true winners.

"Once the race starts all control is handed from the GTP organisers to the Confederation of
Australian Motor Sport and their officials. Unfortunately, due to the serious nature of a fire
which marshals had difficulty controlling for a number of laps, fundamental errors were made
during the safety car period and some cars were given an unfair advantage," Mr Denyer said.

"Race control's primary concern in arresting what could have been a major incident led to the
safety car picking up the wrong lead vehicle on lap 13.

"The consequences of this error have been corrected in the revised results and the real and
deserved winners have been recognised. I must add this takes nothing away from the
performance and achievements of any competitors, including those who have now been
relegated; they did not contribute to the problems."

The revised results involved only the leading group in the 45-car field and positions in four of
the five classes were not affected. Floyd and McConville won the outright Meguiars Top
Marques High Performance class.

Alexander, a former rally driver from Geelong, set the pace when he bolted from third on the
grid to first within metres of the start, splitting the all-Commodore front row of Floyd and Ed
Aitken/John Faulkner.

Quinn and King followed and the order remained until the safety car was called out on lap 13
for six laps.

Aitken, last year's winner, retired with transmission problems as the race resumed on lap 19
and soon afterwards Hughes was directed into the pits for two stop-and-go penalties.

Woodberry took over the lead as the race headed into the final stages, but came under
pressure from John Bowe, who had quietly worked the Mustang through the field into second
place.

The Mitsubishi driver, who usually is Alexander's race mechanic, responded with a lap record
of 2 minutes 30.78 seconds and was able to defend the lead as Bowe slowed to conserve
fuel.

The final drama occurred when Hughes failed to make the last corner and hit the safety
barrier. However, he was able to reverse out and save third place at the finish.

Competition in the classes featured strong performances, with the Poolrite V8 Touring class
Commodore SS of Scott Loadsman/Ian Luff finishing an impressive 15th outright. Luff's son
Ian paired with Robert Chadwick in a Mitsubhsi Magna to win the Poolrite 6-Cylinder class.

Wayne Russell and Steve Cramp drove their BMW 323i to first in the Hippies Sports
Touring class, while first in Poolrite 4-Cylinder class went to David Russell and Nathan
Thomas, in a Proton Satria.

RESULTS:

1. P. Floyd/C. McConville (Holden Commodore GTS) - 41 laps
2. G. Deane/R. Rubis (Subaru Impreza STi) - 41 laps
3. M. King/R. Wilson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) - 41 laps
4. G. Alexander/J. Woodberry (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V) - 41 laps
5. J. Bowe/C. Dunn (Ford Mustang Cobra) - 41 laps
6. P. Polites/N. Cunningham (Holden Commodore GTS) - 40 laps

Meguiar¹s Top Marques High Performance: P. Floyd/C. McConville
Hippies Sports Touring class: W. Russell/S. Cramp (BMW 323i) - 40 laps, 18th outright
Poolrite V8 Touring: S. Loadsman/I. Luff (Commodore SS) - 40 laps, 15th
Poolrite 6-Cylinder Touring: R. Chadwick/W. Luff (Mitsubishi Magna) - 39 laps, 22nd
Poolrite 4-Cylinder Touring: D. Russell/N. Thomas (Proton Satria GTi) - 38 laps, 26th

Fastest lap: J. Woodberry 2 min. 30.78 sec.