2010 MINI Challenge – Round 4, Townsville

Chris Alajajian extended his lead in the 2010 MINI Challenge by claiming the round in Townsville earlier this month. Reigning title holder Paul Stokell finshed Round 4 in second place and Beric Lynton, making his first appearance of the year, claimed the final podium spot in the three race program.

Speaking after the final race Alajajian said, “My team continue to do a fantastic job with the R56 Challenge car and it makes it so much more comfortable for me to drive because I have full trust in my car and team. We now have a big gap until the next round at Phillip Island which is a really fast event where anything can happen so expect some exciting racing down there MINI Challenge fans!”

There’s a selection of images on show after the break, as well as the full press release from MINI Challenge. Round 5 action takes place on Phillip Island in mid-September at the L&H 500.

[Pics: Spherix]

UPDATE: TV highlights have been added below.

Threes a charm for Alajajian in Townsville

Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers

• Chris Alajajian wins his third round in the 2010 MINI Challenge series.
• Beric Lynton takes one win, one podium and third for the round in his first event this year.
• Paul Stokell home second for the round to keep 2010 title race alive with Alajajian.
• Newcomers to the series Rob Knight and Ken Wootton enjoy a trouble free maiden round.
• Stokell takes pole for weekend, Alajajian wins Races 1 and 3, Lynton wins race 2.
• Daniel Pappas takes big hit on exit of turn three during today’s final race.

11 July 2010, Townsville – Chris Alajajian has won his third round in the 2010 Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers at this weekend’s Sucrogen Townsville 400.

Coming home second was DecoRug Racing’s Paul Stokell who keeps his championship hopes well alive with the strong result. 2010 debutant Beric Lynton complemented his race 2 victory with a third place finish in today’s final race and took the final spot on the podium for round 4.

Pizza Capers UberStar driver Glenn Seton narrowly missed out on a podium spot for the weekend finishing fourth overall for the round. Supercharge Batteries entry Peter McNiven showed consistent pace to come home fifth overall for the event thanks to an impressive second in race 1 yesterday.

Unfortunately it was not all smiles this weekend for the third MINI Challenge debutant Daniel Pappas who took a heavy impact in today’s final race on the exit of turn 3 after he was clipped from behind by Brisbane-based driver Chris Wootton.

CXC driver Dylan Thomas also had an unfortunate end to his race weekend when his R56 Challenge car began to overheat today forcing the Victorian to withdraw halfway through the race to preserve any further damage to his car for future rounds.

Transquip Hire/ABC Autogear team driver Brendan Cook had a vastly improved round with three top-10 finishes to complete the weekend ninth overall. Kiwi wine farmer Gavin Yortt enjoyed a positive end to the Townsville event finishing race 3 in eighth after a solid battle with Queenslander John Modystach who enjoyed a great weekend back for the first time this year finishing the round seventh overall.

Plan4Growth/Sales Link Australasia driver Sean Carter had a relatively quiet event for his standards but none the less, consistent driving saw him finish sixth overall for the round and sit fourth overall in the 2010 Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers series ladder.

Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers is the most exciting, premium single-make series in the world. The seven round series runs as an official support category of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Round 5 of the series takes MINI Challenge crews down south to the home of Australian motorsport for the L & H 500 at Phillip Island – September 10-12.

MINI Challenge Round 4 winner Chris Alajajian said:
“This is our third round win for the year and it’s great to have pulled a bigger gap over Paul [Stokell] in the series. We had a new sponsor, in local guys ABC Towing, for this round and I’m glad we could come to their home event and show our appreciation by winning here in Townsville. My team continue to do a fantastic job with the R56 Challenge car and it makes it so much more comfortable for me to drive because I have full trust in my car and team. We now have a big gap until the next round at Phillip Island which is a really fast event where anything can happen so expect some exciting racing down there MINI Challenge fans!”

MINI Challenge Round 4 runner-up Paul Stokell said:
“It’s good to finish second here in Townsville but Chris [Alajajian] has again extended a gap over me in the championship which will make things tougher for the remaining three rounds this year. Fortunately it’s a series where anything can happen and one or two issues with him could see us right back in the hunt. It was good to pick up my second pole of the year as that counts for full points in the championship but that little mistake in race 1 really cost me here so we’ll have to wait and see what happens at the next round at Phillip Island.”

2010 Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers
Round 4 results

Race 1

1. Chris Alajajian
2. Peter McNiven
3. Paul Stokell

Race 2

1. Beric Lynton
2. Chris Alajajian
3. Glenn Seton

Race 3

1. Chris Alajajian
2. Paul Stokell
3. Beric Lynton

2010 Australian MINI Challenge Championship Table – Top 10

Pos	Driver	Team	Pts
1	Chris ALAJAJIAN	Jack Hillermans Smash	512
2	Paul STOKELL	DecoRug Racing	464.5
3	Peter McNIVEN	Supercharge Batteries	426
4	Sean CARTER	Plan4Growth/Sales Link Australasia	418
5	Gavin YORTT	Squawking Magpie Wines	344.5
6	Brendan COOK	Transquip Hire/ABC Autogear	275
7	Chris WOOTTON	www.thesupporterclub.com	224
8	Glenn SETON	Pizza Capers	206
9	Dean CANTO	www.stuntdrivinschool.com.au	203
10	Chris McLAUGHLIN	Fujitsu	203