VIC STATE SERIES PHILLIP ISLAND REVIEW

It was a big weekend of racing at Phillip Island as the 2022 Victorian State Series wrapped up in a big way with several title fights decided, and some remaining in the balance.

The fifth and final event of 2022 completed the series’ streak of attracting 200-plus entries per round with another huge field hitting the famous Victorian circuit. VSRS representative Michael Holloway said it was the perfect way to end the first full season of racing since COVID-19.

“It was a terrific race meeting with a bit over 200 competitors,” Holloway said.

“All championships were decided with the exception of Sports Sedans, so the racing was spectacular. The whole series has been terrific with over 200 entries at each meeting.”

FORMULA FORD

Matthew Hillyer stormed to the 2022 Victorian Formula Ford Championship crown in fine style. Hillyer entered the weekend 46 points clear of Jordan Sinni and extended his advantage with a pair of clean runner-up finishes in the first two races, which were won by Kobe Williams and Edison Beswick respectively.

To complete the job Hillyer then sealed the title with a thrilling final race win over Beswick, while Sinni struggled to land a blow only finishing on the podium once.

A thriller was in store in the Formula Ford 1600 category where only two points split Richard Davison and Brendan Jones.

In the end, Davison, father of Bathurst 1000 pairing Will and Alex Davison, handled the pressure best finishing in front all weekend to claw his way to the crown by nine points.

FORMULA VEE

All eyes were on the Formula Vee crown with both Heath Collinson and Reef McCarthy big chances to be crowned champion. Collinson held the high ground with a slim two-point lead, but McCarthy turned the tables as the title went down to the wire.

A thrilling race 2 win put McCarthy in the box seat, and while Collinson did beat him to the podium in the final race, a fourth-place finish was enough to steal the crown by a single point.

Daniel Reynolds and Jake Rowe took the chequered flag in races 1 and 2 respectively.

Reef McCarthy leads the Formula Vee field at Phillip Island last weekend. Image: Rebecca Hind

HISTORIC TOURING CARS

Consistency was key for Andrew Lane across a competitive round of Historic Touring Cars.

After finishing second best to Darren Collins in race 1, Lane cruised to victory in race 2 before a second place finish sealed the round win.

Trevor Talbot scored the win in the final race, while Collins did not see the finish line again following his weekend-opening win.

HQ HOLDENS

The Holden HQ’s put on a show with three drivers split by just four points after an eventful round.

Ryan Woods emerged on top with 86 points despite not winning a single race, while Perry Bekkers and Andrew McLeod finished on 83 and 82 points respectively.

Andrew Magilton and Rod Raatjes shared the wins, but could not compile a complete weekend.

Ryan Woods takes the chequered flag to seal the HQ Holdens round win. Image: Rebecca Hind

HYUNDAI EXCEL

Hugo Simpson completed his cruise to the 2022 Hyundai Excel title by taking home the chequered flag.

Whilst Simpson could not stop Toby Waghorn and Bradley James from winning the first two races, the series leader drove clear in the final race to take the race and the round win which sealed the 2022 championship.

PORSCHE 944

No one could catch James Westaway from dominating the Porsche 944 action and confirming his championship win after a commanding season. The round five win gave him four outright round victories for the season.

The Ausfield Racing Oils driver cleaned up all three races with a perfect 100-point haul, leaving Cameron Beller and Adam Brewer to scrap for the minor spots on the podium.

IMPROVED PRODUCTION

The Holden Monaro of Adam Poole proved to untouchable for the Improved Production field at Phillip Island. Poole nailed the fast-flowing circuit to take the chequered flag on all three occasions.

Fellow Holden drivers Jarrod Tonks and Luke Grech-Cumbo also made regular appearances on the podium.

With one regular season round to go, Poole leads Tonks in the fight for this year’s championship by a small margin.

BMW E30

Alex Jory and Jesse Bryan had a tight battle for the BMW E30 round win with Jory topping Bryan by just six points.

After Jeremy Payne won the first race, he failed to start to bother the score sheet again, with Bryan and Jory splitting the final two races, with the latter pinching the round win.

With one round to go Jory is in a commanding position over Geoff Bowles to take out the championship while young Simon Shiff is a good chance to pinch second.

Jesse Bryan and Alex Jory enjoyed a door to door battle for the BMW E30 round win. Image: Rebecca Hind

SPORTS SEDANS

Tony Groves and Stuart Eustice were the two standout competitors in the Sports Sedans.

After the duo split the first two races it all came down to the final sprint of the weekend where Groves rose to the challenge in his MARC Mazda 3, beating Francois Habib to the chequered flag.

The Sports Sedans championship will be decided at the Island Magic meeting in November.

SPORTS CARS

Benjamin Schoots was too good over the course of the weekend, clean sweeping the field to win the round outright.

Schoots drove clear in both races ahead of Michael Kokkinos and Andrew Hall to win the round in crushing style, and taking the 2022 crown out in comfortable fashion over Jamie Lovett.

SALOON CARS

A perfect 100-point weekend saw Shawn Jamieson clean sweep the category and take out the championship in a dominant display.

As Jamieson’s Holden VY Commodore drove into the distance on all three occasions, Daniel Johnson and Adam Lowndes finished on 86 points each with the former named as overall runner-up.

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