Steven Jovanovic does Victorian State double

While a small contingent of interstate drivers attended the AARCMCC 2011 Victorian state championship IC titles the event was the warm-up for the Australian titles that will be held in October at the Lilydale track in the wine region north east of Melbourne, Victoria. Home of the renowned Jovanovic brothers Steven and Peter, other well known drivers including Ashley Seward and Ryan Maker were also racing with a high level of local drivers on their high speed, 17 second track.

1:10
In 200mm tourers the Capricorns were dominating in popularity and with the support of the Jovanovic’s and RadicalRC they were hard to beat on home soil with the Novarossi powered engines, AT racing fuel and team support from the Australian distributor. KM racing Luis and Brendan Sola were struggling with rear belt issues throughout the event and the remaining XRAY drivers were consistent and in the hunt. Steven and Peter Jovanovic were hard to beat and with very close racing in the qualifiers, Steven edged out his brother for the TQ position with an outstanding drive by Ben Maker (younger brother of Ryan) in third position in readiness for the final. With the event flowing quickly the high track temperatures took their toll on drivers, a refreshing visit from the Red Bull promotional girls handing out cool drinks was welcomed by drivers and crews.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ91Vz30lPM[/youtube]

The 30 minute final began on a hot track with a clean start, Steven and Peter opened a gap with Ben Maker and Derrick Miller (XRAY) and the rest of the field keeping them honest. KM driver Brendan Sola stripping another rear belt dropped out of the hunt while the Jovanovic’s displayed their dominance on track. The first pit stop saw Peter Jovanovic flame out losing 10 seconds to his brother who flawlessly drove to win the final with the fastest lap time 16.793 / 102 laps while brother Peter held 2nd place and 101 laps. Drama for the youngster Ben Maker completing the race with 98 laps (3rd) but was relegated to last position with a wing height infringement bumping local XRAY driver Derrick Miller into 3rd.

1:8
Eighth scale saw a union between two teams, TrackSideRC and RadicalRC, Queensland based multiple 1:5 scale champion Jeff Hamon was unable to enter due to business commitments and provided the Jovanovic brothers with two of his Shepherds Velox V8 car and flew down on the Friday to setup and prepare the cars for the ex-motonica drivers who are waiting for the release of the Capricorn 1:8 cars. With only a day to prepare, the RadicalRC drivers informed Hamon of their needs and their wishes were implemented during the early hours of Sunday in a nearby motel room. While the temperatures were high by the time the Shepherds were dialed in, Ashley Seward (Mugen Seiki) capitalised on the cooler Saturday morning rounds and took the TQ honours with Ryan Maker (Motonica) and Timothy Westwood (Mugen MRX5) also taking advantage of the track conditions. With the top six drivers separated by 10 seconds on 38 laps / 10 min heats, most posted their fastest runs early on Saturday.  Ryan Maker a regular on the EP scene was driving a VOX powered Motonica and seemed to lack the horsepower which he reported to have resolved after the event. Local driver Andy Bishop (Mugen MRX5) took advantage of the cool of the last round of qualifiers on Sunday morning, while Peter Jovanovic impressed all by qualifying fast on the warmer Saturday afternoon track.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQab6pKM3Q[/youtube]

The final saw a relatively clean start with a dramatic display of close racing between the Jovanovics and Ashley Seward. The two Shepherds hounding the Mugen in a very close battle in the early stages of the race. Steven Jovanovic lost time during his first pit stop while brother Peter took the lead with Andy Bishop chasing and swapping podium positions during pitstops. While Peter Jovanovic held the lead, with Ashley Seward chasing, a mishap for Ashley Seward on lap 91 and Peter Jovanovic losing 50 seconds and opening the door for brother Steven Jovanovic to regain the lead. Peter back on track and driving on the edge in a dramatic finish that saw Peter kissing the tail end of his brother on the last lap for a 1 & 2 victory in the premiere IC class.

1:10 Final Results
1. Steven JOVANOVIC – Capricorn/Novarossi – 102 / 00:30:00.165
Best Lap : 016.793 – Avg : 017.648 – Dev : 01.678
2. Peter JOVANOVIC – Capricorn/Novarossi –  101 / 00:30:03.758
Best Lap : 016.936 – Avg : 017.858 – Dev : 02.401
3. Derrick MILLER – Xray NT – 97 / 00:29:44.466
Best Lap: 017.368 – Avg : 018.396 – Dev : 01.747
4. Gavin GRAY – Xray NT1 / Novarossi – 96 / 00:30:07.625
Best lap : 017.531 – Avg : 018.829 – Dev: 02.210
5. George TSAKANIAS – Capricorn/Novarossi – 93 / 00:30:06.442
Best Lap: 017.910 – Avg: 019.424 – Dev: 01.763

1:8 Final Results
1.Steven JOVANOVIC – Shepherd / Novarossi 108 / 00:30:02.311
Best Lap: 015.580 –  Avg: 016.688 – Dev: 02.759
2. Peter JOVANOVIC – Shepherd / Novarossi 108 / 00:30:03.192
Best Lap: 015.471 – Avg: 016.696 – Dev: 04.853
3. Andy BISHOP – Mugen / RB – 107 / 00:30:13.584
Best lap: 015.496 – Avg: 016.949  – Dev: 03.213
4. Ryan MAKER Motonica P81 RS / Vox – 104 / 00:30:05.103
Best Lap: 016.119 – Avg: 017.356 – Dev: 03.651
5. Tim WESTWOOD VIC MUGEN MRX5 – 104 / 00:30:13.710
Best Lap: 016.137 – Avg: 017.439 – Dev: 01.939

Report by Harry Sinanian – Beachmums Racing