Queensland endurance championship newsletter 1

ENTRIES OPEN FOR 2017 SOON

2017 2017 will once again bring together two iconic events to create the Queensland Endurance Championship. The 300km Races that bring together the Endurance Championship consist of the Willowbank 300 at Queensland Raceway on May 7 and the Lakeside 300 at Lakeside Park on September 30. The races can be entered individually or together to compete in the Queensland Endurance Championship. There are two aspects of the championship, The outright winners which will be for those who finish highest up in the two races and the handicap which rewards drivers that are in lower division and drive well and finish high up in the divisions the races in each race.

The Willowbank 300 will be anyone races if 2016 is to go by. The unique

2016

Division system allows for competitors to match the faster teams with strategy.

2016 the winner came from Division 2 which means anyone of a dozen cars could win the race.

The Lakeside 300 winner also came from Division two and while the margin of victory was significant in 2016 in all came about by reading the Pit Stops right and gaining the advantage. The Winners were third at the halfway stage and with the division one cars hunting them down the race was set or a thrilling finish before a clamp down thru the other strategies out the window and left the winners clear.

With some small tweaks in the Division times, 2017 will be even more competitive in the divisions, we hope to see you in one of the 300 races in 2017.

2016 saw the inaugural Queensland Endurance Championship, with two rounds contested at separate venues, the Willowbank 300 earlier in the year and the Lakeside 300 in the latter part.

The Lakeside 300 was a new edition to endurance racing in Queensland, this would be the first time the circuit would hold the 300km race. The shorter track produced the fastest laps falling under the minute mark and saw over 100 laps during the challenging 300km, with the top five all doing over 120 laps that afternoon.

The Willowbank 300, a now staple in the endurance racing calendar, held in late April in 2016, hosted the usual contenders with Mobsby and Trigger in the number 76 Motorsport Zone E30 walking away with the top honours. And the lead in the Queensland Endurance Championship points standings. At the end of the 2 and a half hour race there was a minute separating the 76 and second place finishers Targa Racing in the number 111 Z3.

Leontsinis and Murphy of the 111, were able to head to Lakeside Park later in the year with a considerable advantage with the points from their second placing in the Willowbank 300.

Ashley Jarvis and Nathan Jess also put their contenders into favourable positions to fight for the 2016 Queensland Endurance Championship title.

The Lakeside 300 came around and the battle for the title was on, Nathan Jess announced his intention in the first qualifying session when he took only 6 laps to dip under a minute and slot into provisional pole for the top ten shootout. He was followed by Ashley Jarvis and Nick Leontsinis who were both as equally keen to get into the shootout.

In the shootout, Jess couldn’t equal his best time from qualifying and lost out to Leontsinis. It would be a similar story throughout the 300km race, with Jess and co-driver Reynolds fighting an uphill battle, after a run in with the barrier. Leontsinis was able to hang on and take the win, and the title.

Leontsinis’ consistency and speed across the Willowbank 300 and Lakeside 300, well earnt him the crown for 2016.

Nathan Jess was able to walk away with the second place in the title standings after his valiant effort in the Lakeside 300. Third went to Tony Ross who was able to be consistent across both of the 300kms with a 4th and 7th placing.

With 2016 run and done and the winners crowned, what does 2017 have to offer in the Queensland Endurance Championship?

HOW THE 300 Endurances Races Work The 300 Endurance events are a unique event. They are based on the premise that anyone can go endurance racing and allow people to operate on small budgets and a small crew to get the real Endurance race feel while still being competitive. The refuelling is done in a safe and controlled environment that means competitors don’t need expensive dry brake system but can build their own refuel device simply and for around $150. Refuelling is done with a mandatory 5 minutes Pit Stop were fuelled does not need to be rushed and takes out a significant portion of the risk refuelling. The 5-minute stop has also been incorporated into the strategy of the event making in an important part of the race for the whole team.

The Event has successfully run a unique Division system based on time. This allows cars to race similar speed cars and battle them with a skilled driver, Pit stop strategy and consistency. The Division system takes out unnecessary costs and has had many people compete on old tyres or with fewer performance parts as they are racing the same speed cars.

DRIVER PROFILE : ASHLEY JARVIS In All the 300 Endurances races can be completed by two mates who want to drive together in a team or for the dedicated family teams that want the whole family and friends to be involved in the race. The 300’s usually end up a family affair as it allows more than just the drive to be involved with strategy & pit stops.

Once thing is for sure you have to try it and get your team together for the 2017 season.

Ashley Jarvis is just one of the motorsport loving Jarvis clan. Along with his brothers Dion, Brody and their father, Paul - Ashley definitely has the bug.

2015 was a big year for Ashley, competing in 33 races across the 12 months, racking up 3 wins and 12 podiums for his efforts. So 2016 was, in comparison a sleepy year for Jarvis only racing in 13 events.

2016 was also the year Ashley tried his hand at the Willowbank 300 for the first time, in 2015 his brothers and father fielded an entry together. But this time around, it was Ashley’s turn to team up with his Father and Ben Croft. The duo were able to come away with a third place in the strong field of competitors.

RACING CAREER SUMMARY

Races entered 114 Wins 11 Podiums 53 Pole positions 13 Fastest laps 12 Race win percentage 9.6% Podium percentage 46.5%

HISTORY OF THE EVENT The History of the Willowbank 300 is short yet oozes with character in only three short years. The inaugural race in 2014 was won by Steve Owen and Ryan McCloud in an Astra. The pair were a division one car and set a high speed and consistency that saw them win by a healthy margin. A pack of MX5 made the top 10 with third place coming from Division 3 which signalled to drivers that it’s not all about speed and tactics play a large role in being on the podium in the race. 2015 it was another Division one car that took the honours.

Nathan Jess and Matthew Thomson, an experienced pair from endurance racing, won in their Futurbusa again from Division one. The times were adjusted in 2016 to bring division two

into the race more and what an outcome it achieved. Division two BMW E30 of Matt Mobsby and Glenn Trigger won in what was labelled an epic 300 which saw at least 6 teams as the likely winner at some stage of the race. The pair managed to hold off and record the first Division Two win in the events History.

The Lakeside 300 kicked off its first event in August of 2016. A healthy grid of cars joined the race in which Division two BMW Z3 of Nick Leontsinis and Adam Dodd took victory ahead of the Honda Civic of Sydney brothers Jimmy and Benny Tran. Nathan Jess recorded another Endurance podium and showed the favourite does not always take the victory.

LIVESTREAMING

Livestreaming is a big part of being involved in the Willowbank 300. Now in its third year, it will be once again streamed to the world while plans are afoot for the Lakeside 300 to be streamed as well of the success of last year’s event.

Approximately 5,000 people watched the Willowbank 300 with people from all over the country and overseas joining in the stream that saw a topsy-turvy race that was eventually won by the BMW E30 of Glenn Trigger and Matt Mobsby.

Livestream will be enhanced this year with live timing on-screen and Pit stop interviews as well as some expert commentary race analysis. This 2017 Livestream of the Australian Endurance Championship is set to be the best yet.