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History to be made as S5000 heads into the night
CHAMPIONSHIP leader Joey Mawson will aim to stem the tide of success by his closest rivals when the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship returns to Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
The battle for the Gold Star championship lead will be one of several unfolding storylines this weekend as Australia’s fastest racing cars compete under lights for the first time in more than two decades.
While Form 700 / ALABAR Team BRM driver Mawson leads the Australian Drivers’ Championship following the first three rounds, he heads to a venue that has been something of a happy hunting ground for his rivals at Team Valvoline GRM.
While Mawson scored pole in the fourth round of the 2021 Gold Star in Sydney, GRM’s James Golding won two of the three races.
The team also completed a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium in the feature race, the first time that had occurred in S5000 history.
GRM’s Aaron Cameron then led Mawson home in the finale’ of the Shannons Tasman Series opener later last year, adding to their domination at the 3.9km circuit in Sydney’s West.
Mawson leads the Gold Star standings by 27 points heading into the second half of the season in his bid to win a second consecutive Australian Drivers’ Championship and Motorsport Australia Gold Star award.
GRM, however will stack the deck in their bid to engineer closest contender James Golding – who sits fourth in the championship, behind Tim Macrow and Cooper Webster – back into title contention.
Proven S5000 frontrunners Nathan Herne and Tasman Series champion Aaron Cameron will both return to GRM this weekend, giving them a three-strong attack against Team BRM’s lone entry for the championship leader.
The defending champion team will only field Mawson this weekend after funding shortfalls temporarily forced Kiwi rising star Kaleb Ngatoa to the side lines.
The Adelaide-based team expecting to return to their usual three-car entry for the next round in Darwin.
Though compact, the Sydney field is fiercely competitive with each driver expected to contend for podium honours this weekend.
Tim Macrow returns to the championship following a trip to the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit to race in the Spa Classic historic event, while Cooper Webster – who sits third in the championship – will aim to build on his recent momentum and deliver his first win for Versa Motorsport.
A winner at the Australian Grand Prix, Shae Davies will be another looking to carry momentum forward – as will Blake Purdie, who scored a career-best second in the same race at Albert Park.
Round 4 of the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship will see history made as the Australian Drivers’ Championship stages a night race for the first time in more than two decades, when they race under lights on Saturday night.
The last time Australia’s top Open Wheel category raced at night was in 1997, when Formula Holden competed in a night race at Calder Park Raceway. That race was won by Mark Noske, driving a Lola.
The S5000 field qualified under lights at Sydney last year however all races were held during daylight hours in 2021.
Fans can catch all the action live, on-demand and uninterrupted on Stan Sport covering 15 hours of racing, while 9Gem will broadcast two hours live on Saturday night from 5:30pm.
Stan is offering 7-day free trials. Signing up now to watch all of the SpeedSeries action this weekend >> http://www.stan.com.au
International viewers can watch the action via motorsport.tv
ENTRY LIST – Round 4, 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers Championship
| Car # | SPONSOR | DRIVER | STATE | VEHICLE | CC | COLOUR |
| 1 | ALABAR/Form700 Team BRM | Joey Mawson | NSW | S5000 | 5200 | Black/Red |
| 8 | Versa Motorsport | Shae Davies | QLD | S5000 | 5200 | Blue |
| 18 | Team Valvoline GRM | Aaron Cameron | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Black/Gold |
| 23 | UCS Group Racing TMR | Tim Macrow | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Orange/Black |
| 29 | Team Valvoline GRM | Nathan Herne | NSW | S5000 | 5200 | Red/White |
| 31 | Team Valvoline GRM | James Golding | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Red |
| 37 | Versa Motorsport | Cooper Webster | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Black/Yellow |
| 48 | Nippy’s | Blake Purdie | SA | S5000 | 5200 | White/Orange |