Summit Set To Go Out With A Bang.

Summit Set To Go Out With A Bang.

By Mark Humphrey

Adelaide, South Australia, 23rd march 2018. After a Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series that has taken racers from the top end of Australia, across to the west and southern Australia, we have finally reached the pinnacle of the sport with the Summit Racing Equipment Grand Final at Adelaide International Raceway.

Over a ten round series, the title of Australian Champion will be contested through 10 individual brackets of sportsman racing. Every bracket has multiple entrants going for the title with Junior Dragster, Top Sportsman, Super Sedan, Modified Bike and Supercharged Outlaws packed with possible scenarios adding to the intrigue and excitement. To say there’s a buzz around the complex would be understating the fact. As I’m writing this the familiar sound of a blown outlaw warming up in the pits echoes around the complex. Drivers and crew are putting the final touches on their package in readiness for 2 qualifying runs today and a further run tomorrow morning before eliminations start to shape our next batch of Australian champions.

The standout in Junior Dragster has been Brad Bishop who reached the 300 points cap early in the season. All brackets have a points cap of 300 to even out the competition and prevent wealthy teams who can afford to travel of having a distinct advantage. Bishop leads a pack of 7 racers who have a mathematical chance of winning the series. Just tucked in behind Bishop on 270 points is Tommy Turic who has had a standout season. Turic is in a unique position to be part of a father son combination with dad Vlado in the mix in Top Sportsman. Ballie Ponton sits back on 260 with West Aussie Brodie Zappia on 240. The Perri boys follow with Jackson on 230 and Samuel on 200. Young Jakey Berias also sits on 200 points and is in the mix with 100 points on offer for a win this weekend. There is no doubt Bishop is in the box seat and has been outstanding all season and will be hard to beat this weekend based on past performances.

Super Gas has 2 guys in the running with Graeme Spencer capped on 300 points with a challenge coming from Warren Bull who sits on 220 points. Spencer was runner up in the championship last season and is in good shape to go one better this year. With a limited field this weekend Spencer just needs to go rounds to wrap up the title and snuff out any chance Bull has of becoming the new champ.

Super Street has 3 guys in the mix with the ever consistent Harry Harris sitting on 250 points. Harris has been at the pointy end of the championship for the past 3 years and this may well be his year. 2 obstacles stand in his way with one of the most decorated sportsman racers in Graeme Cooper sitting 30 points back on 220. Champion Super Sedan racer John Kapiris rolled out a Super Street machine for this series and sits back on 190 points. Kapiris has done an unbelievable job this season running 2 cars with a very limited crew making his feat even more remarkable. A John Storm trophy (most points over the season) is definitely in the mix for this celebrated racer. Personally I think it’s a race between 2 with the outcome too hard to pick.

Super Sedan has 6 racers in the mix with Peter Tzokas sitting on 300 points. Tzokas reached the points cap very early in the season and has had an unbelievable year and is in a perfect position to become the new champ. Sitting behind Tzokas is that man John Kapiris on 290 points. Kapiris has won 4 Australian titles and a runner-up in the past 5 years and will be there at the pointy end come tomorrow night. With massive fields every round, the winner of Super Sedan has to earn his or her win so Kapiris’ effort over the last 5 years has been simply outstanding. 10 points further back on 280 points is the current Australian champion in George Tipoukidis who has worked hard to get to this point in the championship. Alex Gkriodis has had a wonderful year and finds himself right in the mix sitting on 260. Ned Karanovic sits on 210 points with another crow eater in Leon Davies sitting on 200 points. Both Ned and Leon are in the mix mathematically but the brackets heavy hitters sit above them and it would be unusual to see the heavy hitters falter early. Based on the season consistency, it would be hard to tip against the top 2.

In Modified Bike, the moving man Gordon Crawford leads the way sitting on 300 points along with Johnny Ireland and current Australian champ Bryan Finn. Both Crawford and Ireland reached the points cap early in the season with Finn having to win the last round in Perth to reach the cap. Sitting just behind the trio on 270 is new comer Dan Dycer and Danny Rickard. Dycer has come over from the sand drag scene and has provided plenty of highlights throughout the season. His acceptance speech in Mildura was memorable. Rickard is on the ex-Nicky Zac Harley and is more than capable of taking out the series. Just behind the pair is another Harley charger in Shane Walker. Walker sits on 220 points and is a chance but like other brackets, will need everything to stack up in his favour. Gav Dohnt was also in contention but has nominated in Comp bike to help make the field for that bracket. Dohnt made the decision to enter Comp Bike to help out mate Tony Frost who is in line for the series. This bracket is way too hard to call, but if you go on the last round then Bryan Finn is looking good to make it 3 National titles in a row.

Modified has a couple of options with Matt Czerny the standout on 300 points. Czerny, like Finn, picked up the win in Perth last round and is in prime form to take out the series. Sitting back on 270 points is Serge Bonetti. Bonetti picked up 230 of those points in the NT swing and needs to find that form again to be a chance. Jess Turner is back on 220 points which normally would be a hard task for any racer to take out the title but Jess is more than capable of winning the round and becoming the Aussie champ. For me the title will be a show down between Czerny and Turner.

Comp Bike has a number of scenarios but with the top 2 point scorers not entering the round Warrnambool racer Tony Frost has the only other chance of becoming the new Australian Champion. Sitting on 110 points and 75 back from Phill Paton, Frost needs to make the final to become the new champ. As noted, Gav Dohnt and a couple of others have entered the bracket to make sure the round counts ultimately giving Frost the opportunity of becoming the champ. A fantastic gesture by the racers to support Frost. Rob Cassar will debut his new Suzuki in race trim which promises to be exciting. I would love to see Tony win the whole show and if he’s good enough on the day that will happen.

Competition is the same as Comp Bike with the leader not contesting the event. That leaves Shane Baxter leading the charge on 125 points with Craig Geddes back on 100 points. Under normal circumstances this would be a shootout between the pair but due to a lack of numbers in the bracket, comp is mixed in with Super Stock. There are plenty of hard chargers in Super Stock so both Geddes and Baxter will have to navigate some hot Super Stock guys. Geddes is capable and has beaten them all before but with a limited racing season in comp this season will find it that much tougher this weekend. I still have to go with Geddes on this one.

Super Stock is led by Jim Ioannidis who has taken all before him this season and although he has picked his rounds, is a standout in the bracket. He still has a bit up his sleeve with the index and will be tough to roll. Sitting 40 points back on 260 is big Tommy Dimitropoulos who is capable of taking out the series. The only other contender is Alex Panagiotidis who sits back on 210 points and will find it tough to overtake Ioannidis. Ioannidis is my pick for this bracket.

Top Sportsman presents up with a number of options with Jason Arbery leading the charge capped on 300 points. Arbery has had a fantastic year with consistency both in the series and club rounds at South Coast Raceway his trademark.  Arbery shares the 300 points cap with no less than 4 other racers making this outcome unbelievable. Vlado Turic, like Arbery has recently stepped up from Super Sedan and has had an amazing debut season. Both Arbery and Turic tasted success early in the season with the top end swing and have continued on with that form. Another consistent runner for the entire season has been Greg Damiani who will be right in the mix come finals time. Chris Theo took the gamble and travelled over to Perth last round searching for points. Theo, who was sitting on 200 points going into Perth, won the round to join the leaders on 300 points. A massive gamble that paid off for the Camaro runner. The 5^th racer on 300 points is Darren Nichele who picked up enough points in Perth to cap out on 300. Nichele normally top qualifies and when he’s on is very hard to beat. I would love to see my mate Vlado Turic pick up the championship but I think the race will come down to Arbery and Nichele. Too hard to pick on paper but I have a hunch on Nichele.

The last bracket to be decided this weekend is my favourite in Supercharged Outlaws. Once again Justin Russell has had an outstanding year and like last year comes into the final round as red hot favourite. Joining Russell on 300 points are Tim Stewart, Alan Mahnkoph and Jason Keily with 2 times and defending Australian champ Adam Murrihy 10 points back on 290. Shane Kramer sits a further 10 points back on 280 with last year’s series runner up in Mark Hunt still a mathematical chance on 200 points. Not sure about my good mate Mark Hunt as he needs to win the whole show but it’s definitely not beyond him. Hunt made the remark that he’s putting Russell on the trailer first and then working through the field. What an unbelievable championship ending that awaits us. Working from the lower end of the table we have Shane Kramer who is running on his home track. Shane has won on this track previously and has had a very consistent season without the massive highlights although a runner up in the top end swing was a highlight. Adam Murrihy can win at any track and is always on the money. That’s why he is the current back to back Australian Champion. I think he can definitely win the show. Alan Mahnkoph like Murrihy is a very hard charger and can win on his day.  Jason Keily has had an excellent season and stepped up big time in the 34 Ford. I can still remember his first ever win back in the day at South Coast Raceway. The car is hooked up these days which is testament to his season performances and the reason why he is in the mix to become champ. Justin Russell as noted has had another stellar season winning both Summit and club titles this season. Russell came into last year’s final as the outstanding competitor of the bracket and faltered at the last hurdle to walk away with nothing. I honestly think he is the better for that and will be the one to beat this weekend. Tim Stewart has stepped up into Supercharged Outlaws this year and taken all before him with numerous wins also. The team had to do an engine change at the start of the year giving him only one chance to test before this weekend’s finale. The test was down at South Coast Raceway and that consistency that Stewart has shown throughout the series was once again there. Stewart is a big chance to knock off Russell this weekend and become the Australian Supercharged Outlaw Champion. So my pick for the final is Russell v Stewart but anything goes in this bracket and the more you look at it the more it gets confusing.

So by 10pm Saturday night we will crown our latest Australian Champions some quite possibly for the first time. What a fantastic season it has been starting with the Top End Track way back in July of last year. The season has been full of highlights with no doubt more to play out this weekend. Good luck to all race teams and stay safe,

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