Round 2 of the 2017 Pitcher Partners APRA NSW Series is an historic one.
Since its inception, the Pulsars have run at events run under AASA sanctioning, be they AASA NSW Championship, MRA, or Festival of Sporting Cars events, but this weekend, the series will debut on the CAMS NSW Motor Racing Championship card at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The NSW Motor Racing Championships is an eight-round series, with events split between Wakefield Park and Sydney Motorsport Park.
For the next two rounds at SMP, both the APRA NSW Series and the Series X3 for Hyundai Excels will join the program, running as a combined class for the first time in several years.
Don’t be fooled – the Pulsars and Excels may be sharing the track come this weekend, but they won’t be racing each other for trophies or points.
Series points for both championships will be awarded based on finishing positions in reference to competitors in the respective category.
(For instance, Matt Boylan may cross the line in fourth position, but be the second Pulsar, so he’ll be classified as, and receive points for second in the Pitcher Partners APRA Series).
The two categories are combined, as organisers were weary of the potential roll-up, given that both categories are new to the CAMS schedule.
Of the thirty cars entered, twenty are Pulsars, ten are Excels.
APRA Series spokesperson John Boston said many APRA series drivers are still getting their CAMS paperwork (licences and logbooks) sorted, so to have twenty on the grid is an exceptional roll-up.
At 4.5km, this will be the longest circuit the APRA Series has ever raced on.
For many, this will be the first time they’ve run on the Brabham Circuit, but having run on both the Amaroo (South) and Druitt (North) circuits in the past, the drivers will use that experience to help with the transition to the full track this weekend.
Dan Smith leads the field after the opening round at Wakefield Park. Smith bolted to victory in all three races on the last Sunday in January, and will be out to maintain, if not extend his series leader over Matt Boylan, who was second in the opening round.
Craig Thornton and Joshua Heath will keep Smith and Boylan honest across the three races this weekend. They mounted a very strong challenge at Wakefield Park – finishing third and fourth respectively – and will be out to challenge for the top step this time around.
Other drivers to keep an eye out for are Gene Alexander, Alexandra Lawrence and also Ben Silvestro, who all ran inside the top ten at the previous round of the series.
Qualifying takes place Saturday morning, ahead of a three-race program across the weekend.
Races at Sydney Motorsport run to time. On Saturday afternoon, Race 1 will be conducted over 25 minutes, with 20 and 23 minutes the allocated time for Sunday’s races. The clock begins as the field leaves the marshaling area, and the chequered flag will drop when the allocated time has elapsed.
Championship after Round 1
1st Daniel Smith | 300
2nd Matty Boylan | 270
3rd Josh Heath | 242
4th Trent Murray | 236
5th Ben Silvestro | 216
The 2017 Pitcher Partners NSW APRA Series is proudly supported by: Toyo Tyres, Bluett Bodyworks, BlueSky Modular Buildings, Kubota, New Image Kitchens and Trackschool.
Leave a Comment