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S5000 – Mid Season Review
With three S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship rounds in the books for 2023, there is still plenty to play for with the forever changing title race only just getting started.
After three completed rounds so far, the remaining three rounds should offer plenty of drama, with the next stop for the category being Sydney Motorsport Park in July.
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Two-time Gold Star winner Joey Mawson set an early statement after dominating the opening round of the season at AWC Tasmania in February.
After edging out former Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi in qualifying, Mawson wasn’t challenged for the entirety of race one or race two, comfortably notching up his 10th and 11th victories in the series.
With Merhi not returning for the second round at Phillip Island, a new challenger in Versa Motorsport’s Cooper Webster stepped up and nabbed pole position during Qualifying.
The 20-year-old was unable to convert pole position into a race win later in the afternoon as Mawson once again proved he was too strong for the rest of the field.
All was looking well for the series leader until the narrative started to change on the Sunday, with Webster able to power his way to a maiden first race win and the first outside of Mawson.
The Victorian then proved it was no fluke after repeating his efforts in the third and final race of the weekend, making it two wins out of three and picking up his first round win in the category.
With a real opportunity to open up the title race at Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton, Webster was unable to find his feet after going fourth fastest in qualifying – losing out to Mawson who was too far ahead by the time he reached second in race one.
A chaotic race two then allowed for Mawson to further extend his lead at the top after a four-car pile-up resulted in Webster, Blake Purdie, Winston Smith and Mark Rosser all ruled out by the time they reached turn two.
A third win then secured the round victory for the series leader ahead of a gallant James Golding – who was rapid all weekend long and unlucky to pick up a race win despite claiming pole position on Saturday.
Mawson now sits comfortably on top of the standings 77 points ahead of Webster in second, while Golding sits in in third place ahead of Aaron Cameron.
The next round of the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship will take place as part of the Beaurepairs Sydney SuperSprint at the Sydney Motorsport Park on 28-30 July.
Standings – Top 10
Joey Mawson – 364 points
Cooper Webster – 287
James Golding – 282
Aaron Cameron – 232
Jordan Boys – 174
Blake Purdie – 152
Nic Carroll – 112
Winston Smith – 88
Mark Rosser – 88
Roberto Merhi – 63
Rounds so far
Round 1 – AWC Race Tasmania
Qualifying: Joey Mawson
Race 1: Joey Mawson
Race 2: Joey Mawson
Race 3: Joey Mawson
Round winner: Joey Mawson
Round 2 – Phillip Island
Qualifying: Cooper Webster
Race 1: Joey Mawson
Race 2: Cooper Webster
Race 3: Cooper Webster
Round winner: Cooper Webster
Round 3 – Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton
Qualifying: James Golding
Race 1: Joey Mawson
Race 2: Joey Mawson
Race 3: Joey Mawson
Round winner: Joey Mawson
Upcoming rounds
Round 4 – Sydney Motorsport Park 28-30 July
Round 5 – The Bend Motorsport Park 18-20 August
Round 6 – Adelaide Street Circuit 23-26 November