O’Brien Clean Sweeps Ipswich Festival
A faultless performance by Shannon O’Brien saw him extend his championship lead with a clean sweep of all four races at the second round of the Performance Wheels Australian Trans-Am Series at the Ipswich Festival of Cars.
Iwan Jones - May 2017
An 11-car-field took to the ‘Paperclip’ for the first time this year, highlighted by the debut of New Zealand Central Muscle Cars competitor Shane Wigston in the 2014-championship winning 1970 Ford Mustang. The arrival of Wigston adds to the Trans-Tasman rivalry the series enjoys, joining fellow compatriot Tony Rutherford on the grid.
O’Brien (Pontiac Firebird) set the pace to claim pole position by over a second to Cam Wilson (Chev Camaro) and John English, returning in his Pontiac Firebird in third.
O’Brien lead from pole to win at a canter over Wilson and Ian Palmer in the opening race. The Trophy Class leader secured a back-to-back victory in a twilight Race 2, holding off Palmer and Ian Woodward (Chev Camaro) who started from the rear of the grid. Kiwi Wigston capped off a stellar debut with a second place finish in Race 3 behind O’Brien, as he went on to secure the clean sweep in Race 4 ahead of Anthony Tenkate.
The 5 Litre Classics saw Ron Prefontaine take class honours with a clean sweep ahead of former class champions Gareth Jones and Mike Collins, while Tony Rutherford edged out Dan Fleming in the Sportsman class for the Kiwi’s maiden round win.
The Performance Wheels Australian Trans-Am Series returns to Queensland Raceway for the third round of the season at the 2 Days of Thunder on June 17 and 18.