This recap is a little different to the past ones, previously everything was reported on based on timing data as they happened, video reviews and asking questions but this round was seen in person.

Saturday

Ticket purchasing/pick up at the gate started at 9am, the staff didn’t seem ready to go but once they got set up, everything was flowing smoothly.

It was a little wet from earlier rainfall though hopes were high that the first couple of categories would help dry up the track before SCA qualified.

The #25 of Laurence Mckinnon was having a clutch issue and was being fixed, this effort was successful.

8 was a very popular number and some number shuffling was required, Brett Mitchell’s #8 became the #1, Richard White’s new #8 became the #08 though it was scored as the #8 and Paul Zemunik’s #8 became the #81.

Qualifying got underway and while the track was starting to dry, the biggest risk was the last corner as it goes from asphalt to concrete and this caused many vehicles to squirm, Brett Mitchell’s OzTruck was doing this regularly but the OzTruck was always pointing in the right direction in the end.

Scott Nind got pole with a time of 1:12.8483 followed by Brendon Hourigan and Richard White.

Race 1

The track was in good shape for Race 1 and the #25 got out of the garage to participate in the race, it wasn’t running perfect but Laurence wasn’t going to miss out on the action.

The biggest problem for spectators at the track was that unless somebody had Natsoft running on a device, nobody knew the running order and Calder Park Raceway is a long track so it’s hard to keep track, a bunch of tree branches also cut off sight of turn 1 when watching from the seats.

Scott Nind won the race comfortably from Brett Mitchell and Brendon Hourigan, Scott zipped around the track with a best time of 1:02.6020.

Lukas Gates finished eighth in the VP Commodore to lead the newcomers with Michael Bouts in ninth, Paul Zemunik in eleventh, Scott Pierce in twelfth and Stephen Dale was a late retiree from the race.

Soon it was over to the Thunderdome to watch the Stock Cars do some laps during the lunch break, Zac got the #27 fired up and it joined the party.

Dozens of people were watching the Stock Cars do parade laps around the Thunderdome, though it wasn’t all under safety car conditions as the pace picked up and different lines were tried which thrilled spectators.

Race 2

Race 2 was an interesting race, Scott Nind won ahead of Brendon Hourigan and Brett Mitchell, Scott recorded a best of 1:03.0719 and Brendon had a best of 1:03.9961.

There were a couple of cases of near contact on track as the #51 and #1 and #11 and #7 had some close experiences, all four resumed racing.

Scott Pierce led the newcomers in eighth with Lukas Gates in ninth while Michael Bouts and Stephen Dale both retired from the race.

Josh Hourigan picked up a round high fourth in this race with Danny Burgess right behind.

Mick Heppleston finished tenth for the second race in a row in the #41 Ford Thunderbird.

Troy Perichon finished a round high eleventh in the Ford Falcon and Michael Bouts weekend in the Camaro ended after Race 2.

The weather was quite gloomy by the end of the race to the point that Tullamarine was not clearly visible from the hill.

Saturday ended with rain and it was a waiting game to see what conditions would greet us on Sunday.

Sunday

It was a little dreary in the morning and Calder Park was wet though the weather was warming up quickly and cars were circulating so that helped dry the track.

A quick check of the car display revealed the #7 AUSCAR was not there which meant that Zac was a possibility of driving it.

Race 3

The track was good to go for Race 3, every car but the #81 was in action including the #7 AUSCAR boosting the AUSCAR total to three runners.

Scott Nind won the race ahead of Brett Mitchell and Brendon Hourigan and set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:01.9741 to win by just under three seconds, this race had the field more spread out than previous races.

Scott Pierce finished in fifth in the Holden Commodore bodied Stock Car, big things are tipped for the #9 as the car gets further developed.

Richard White was running as high as fifth before a stuck throttle caused the #8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to lose two positions and drop Richard down to seventh.

Josh Hourigan finished in eighth position in the #11 Silverado, Lukas Gates finished ninth in the Holden Commodore and Stephen Dale finished tenth to round out the newcomers as the #81 did not race.

It was time for the second and last Thunderdome run and some lucky people got to be passengers (more on that later this week).

The day got really interesting when Rodney Jane came by, he was soon persuaded to hop into the #7 AUSCAR and he went for a run with his family and left Troy a signature in the car before the car was returned the garage area.

Brett Mitchell and Richard White were really keen on getting a good run on the dome and it was great to watch them, the weekend presented an opportunity few get to do and so laps were made while laps could be made.

The #27 made it through the run and its participation in Race 4 was all but certain.

Race 4

Race 4 was held up a bit as the Excels were busy doing their thing on track, the field for the final race of the round was boosted to sixteen as the #81 returned to action and the #27 was deemed good enough to log laps in.

Brad Lighton got the #7 AUSCAR drive and we’ll be seeing Brad again in the future but in a Commodore.

There was plenty of action around the track, Turn 6 was causing problems all weekend for all categories, elsewhere #9 had an off and so did the #25 but both got rolling again.

Scott Nind swept the round by beating Brett Mitchell by just under three seconds and Brendon Hourigan was third.

Scott recorded a best lap of 1:02.4871 on Lap 3 with Brendon Hourigan recording a 1:02.5692 and Brett Mitchell had a best time of 1:02.9130.

Robert Marchese saved his best lap in Race 4 for the last lap with a time of 1:06.2312, Robert’s best lap in each race were all in the 1:06 range

Danny Burgess picked up a fourth-place finish and ended the weekend by finishing no lower than fifth position.

Stephen Dale in the #88 was the best of the newcomers with a finish of seventh position.

Eighth place was Richard White as the #8 lost second gear at the end of the second lap forcing the #8 to turn in laps slower than 1:08.0937 compared to the Race 3 high of 1:04.9613.

Scott Pierce in the VT Commodore finished in 9th, Lukas Gates finished in tenth, eleventh was Mick Heppleston, Paul Zemunik in twelfth.

It should be noted that the #7 AUSCAR and the #27 Chevrolet Monte Carlo did not have timers so the order may be slightly different.

Conclusion

The Mustang is the best vehicle out there by far though it has been noted that if Brett Mitchell or Brendon Hourigan can stay close the #16, the race tightens up towards the end so it’s not a foregone conclusion that Scott will win every race the Mustang enters.

Richard White had a mixed round of results as the car battled mechanical issues all weekend, but we do know that the #8 Monte Carlo has great speed in it.

The Calder Classic was a great success, the weather didn’t stop proceedings, people flocked to the Thunderdome, Rodney Jane got back into his old AUSCAR, the racing was good, and the field size was bigger than ever.

Stay tuned later this week as I tell the story of my Calder Park adventure, it was such a great time that is hard to put into so few words so that is why it is delayed.

We came, we saw, we conquered.