News - Modified Production Number 8
Brisbane - Qld Series Round 2
Following Rodney's roll-over in his 2nd ever race in his brand new Modified Production at BIS he has never been comfortable racing on the track. It was with a great deal of anxiety that he faced Round 2 of the Qld Series there, along with 39 other competitors all contesting the round
Heat 1 Rodney had a good run, starting and finishing in 3rd. Heat 2 was again, a race we'd like to forget. Turn 3/4 saw the leader have a moment causing the whole field to come together. Unfortunately for Rodney, this saw him end up rolling over - AGAIN... same corner as the last roll! It was a simple, yet unfortunate accident. The car ended up on it's wheels but the front right hand suspension was ripped out of the car from the initial impact. A slightly dented roof appeared to be the only other damage, and in typical Rodney style, he got out with a smile on his face and eager to reassure me through the fence that he was okay.
I was hoping, for my nerves sake, that the car would be put in the trailer. It had to be repaired before that could happen and thanks to the great help from the other competitors and our crew, Andrew Harper, Corey Stein, Colin Hockley, Shane Macdonald to name a few, the car was repaired and ready to race. Heat 3 saw Rodney starting off the front row and his nerves in turn 3/4 were obvious. Jason Jolley got in front of Rodney for the lead of the race, but retired with problems, leaving Rodney to take the heat win.
Rodney started out of grid 13 for the feature which was a usual hectic pace right from the start. The track was quite black and Rodney, not able to find any drive up high, decided to hug the pole line, and although difficult to keep the car down there, found a heap of drive. One by one he passed the cars in front and at the chequered flag found himself in 3rd place behind Brett Baxter who took the win and Glen Pagel in 2nd. Rodney unaware of how far forward he had moved up the field until he heard over the race-ceiver that he was called to the podium. It was a fantastic finish to a challenging night.
Cathy