Brothers Lee and Brett Holdsworth bounced back from a controversial opening encounter to claim an emotional Ashley Cooper Memorial Trophy, as the Commodore Cup National Series headlined the fifth round of the 2010 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships at Winton Motor Raceway. Overall, the round was taken out by Adam Beechey and Dean Crosswell, who also won the opening 45 minute long race, which was marred by a controversial mid-race safety car period. After setting the pace throughout the opening race, the Holdsworth brothers had to settle for seventh at the conclusion of racing, but they bounced back strongly, cruising to the feature race win.

“It was pretty sweet to win today, probably even more so after the stuff up with the safety car and the pit stops yesterday,” Lee Holdsworth said.

“We had a 13 second driver change today, which was even quicker than what we practiced it in.

“Coming out of the pits, I had a gap over Steve (Owen), but there wasn’t much chance of him getting by me, I just had to bring it home.

“It’s good to be back in the Commodore Cup, it’s probably the best racing I’ve ever had in my career, and racing with my family and friends is very enjoyable, it’s a bit of a change from the normal for me these days.”

Behind Beechey/Crosswell in race one was Adam Lloyd and Ryan McLeod, with the older VH model Commodore of Matthew Hayes and Ryan Millier a surprise in third.

Steve Owen, paired with Ross McGregor drove hard to finish second behind the Holdsworths in race two, another combination that bounced back after spinning at the first corner of the first race.

Third place in race two went to Beechey/Crosswell, while drama hit the combination of Scott Andrews and Tim Shaw, after they were penalised for not completing their compulsory pit stops within the designated window after running strongly throughout the race.

The Shannons V8 Touring Car National Series had their best ever round to date, with 14 former V8 Supercars hitting the track.

Tony Evangelou took the round victory, after dominating practice, qualifying, Time Attack, and winning two out of the three races.

“We made some changes to the car from Mallala to keep up with Terry (Wyhoon) in the dry, and since we took the car off the trailer on Friday it’s been a rocket,” Evangelou said.

“It’s excellent having a strong field here at Winton, we had a meeting today with the car owners to see what we have to do to keep the momentum going from here.

“It’s going to take a lot of effort, but there’s strong interest, and hopefully we can keep it going into Eastern Creek.”

Second overall for the weekend was Dean Neville, who dominated the second race after Ben Eggleston and Evangelou rubbed panels at the start, creasing Evangelou’s exhaust and robbing him of power.

Third for the weekend was Chris Smerdon, who was using the meeting to come to terms with his newly acquired ex-Stone Brothers Racing Falcon.

Simon Tabinor walked away from Winton with his first ever Australian Saloon Car Series win, after technical infringements had an impact on the results sheet.

After reigning champion Shawn Jamieson won the first race, post-race scruitineering saw his second race win wiped from the records, and he failed to start the finale.

Regardless, Tabinor was ecstatic with his win.

“We were pretty confident coming into the weekend, we have the lap record here, but I didn’t think we could catch Shawn,” Tabinor said.

“It was good to get for the win on a level playing field.”

Series leader Tim Rowse fought back valiantly after registering a non-finish in the first heat after getting bogged in the sodden outfield, to be placed second in the final race.

There were emotional scenes in the HQ Holdens, with the final race for the weekend dedicated to the memory of category stalwart Dallas Crane.

Bruce Heinrich was set for a clean sweep of the weekend’s four races until an off track excursion in the final contest saw Andrew Williams come through to take the all important feature race victory.

Prior to the race, Crane’s famous green car led the field for a pair of parade laps.

In the CUE Production Sports Car Enduro Championship, Justin Levis and Bill Pye won a battle of attrition in the one-hour long race aboard their Lotus Elise HPE, comfortably heading home another Elise piloted by Garth Walden and Arthur Magaitas.

Earlier in the weekend, Ivan Klasan (Porsche GT3 Cup) and Pye won the single driver sprint races.

The Winton weekend of racing will be shown on SBS Speedweek at 1:00pm on Sunday July 4 (check local guides for details), with the racing also shown during the following week on Fox Sports’ Inside Speed.

The Shannons Nationals now gear up for an all-new hallmark event for the championships, with the running of the inaugural Australian Six Hour at Eastern Creek Raceway on July 17-18.

The event will pit Australia’s best production car racers from the Australian Manufacturers Championship against each other, with support races to include the Australian Saloon Car Series, HQ Holdens and the Mazda MX5 Challenge.

For more information about the 2010 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships and the Australian Six Hour, visit http://www.thenationals.com.au.

About the Australian Six Hour

New for 2010, the Australian Six Hour at Eastern Creek on July 18 will become a new highlight on the Australian production car calendar. Doubling as round four of the Australian Manufacturers Championship, the world’s top automotive brands will be pitted against each other, with marques including BMW, HSV, FPV, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Renault and Alfa Romeo. Stay tuned to the Shannons Nationals website for details as the big weekend approaches.