Heya guys, press release from the weekend
Scott Andrews has taken his best overall result in the Commodore Cup national series, second place, and missed out on an overall victory by the narrowest of margins, in the first round of the 2010 season at Wakefield Park over the weekend.
The 2009 Commodore Cup rookie of the year qualified on pole position and had arguably the fastest car over the course of the weekend, but a variety of minor indiscretions cost Andrews some positions in the races and he ultimately fell just two points short of a round-winning pointscore.
In Race 1, Andrews was beaten off the start by Adam Lloyd, but he recaptured the race lead within half a lap and sprinted away from the field, only for a safety-car to be deployed as a result of Josh Hughes experiencing a gearbox failure and stopping in a precarious position at the side of the circuit.
At the restart, Andrews was the first driver to cop the oil left on the circuit by Hughes’s car, and he slid wide at Turn 2, allowing Jason Domaschenz to overtake him. He was then shuffled back two more positions when Tony Bates tapped him into the final corner, again forcing him wide and letting Bates and Nick Parker through.
An incident between Bates and Parker allowed Andrews to move back up to second and he set the fastest lap of the race in his pursuit of Domaschenz, but ultimately fell just short.
“I went for Domaschenz too early,” Andrews said. “If I had been more patient, I would have had him. My car was about half a second a lap quicker than his.
Andrews almost stalled on the grid in Race 2, and lost a spot to Adam Beechey off the line. He moved back into second place when Domaschenz’s car developed a gearbox problem, and started pressuring Beechey.
“Adam drove really well in that race,” he said. “I really only had one chance to overtake him, but I missed a gear and the car oversteered, so I wasn’t able to make the move stick.
Race 3 was held on a very wet track. Scott made a very good start and led the field into the first corner, but locked the rear brakes into Turn 2 and ran wide, losing a lot of positions.
“I really struggled at the start of the race to get the hang of the track in the wet, and I was overtaken by a lot of cars,” he said.
“As the race went on, I became more comfortable and made up positions when a few other drivers had some incidents. Towards the end, I had an awesome battle with Chris Stevenson. We both gave each other a lot of room and it was a lot of fun.”
Andrews finished seventh in Race 3, with round-winner Adam Beechey finishing fifth.
“Overall, it was a very good weekend. It was my first podium finish and I’m now second in the series, which is a great start to the season.”
The next round of the Commodore Cup national series is at Phillip Island, May 1-2.
Scott Andrews – Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 1st
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 2nd
Race 3: 7th
Overall: 2nd (125 points)
Commodore Cup national series – top-10 pointscore (after 1 of 6 rounds)
1. Adam Beechey – 127
2. Scott Andrews – 125
3. Tony Bates – 119
4. Matt Chick – 116
5. Jason Domaschenz – 109
Scott Andrews has taken his best overall result in the Commodore Cup national series, second place, and missed out on an overall victory by the narrowest of margins, in the first round of the 2010 season at Wakefield Park over the weekend.
The 2009 Commodore Cup rookie of the year qualified on pole position and had arguably the fastest car over the course of the weekend, but a variety of minor indiscretions cost Andrews some positions in the races and he ultimately fell just two points short of a round-winning pointscore.
In Race 1, Andrews was beaten off the start by Adam Lloyd, but he recaptured the race lead within half a lap and sprinted away from the field, only for a safety-car to be deployed as a result of Josh Hughes experiencing a gearbox failure and stopping in a precarious position at the side of the circuit.
At the restart, Andrews was the first driver to cop the oil left on the circuit by Hughes’s car, and he slid wide at Turn 2, allowing Jason Domaschenz to overtake him. He was then shuffled back two more positions when Tony Bates tapped him into the final corner, again forcing him wide and letting Bates and Nick Parker through.
An incident between Bates and Parker allowed Andrews to move back up to second and he set the fastest lap of the race in his pursuit of Domaschenz, but ultimately fell just short.
“I went for Domaschenz too early,” Andrews said. “If I had been more patient, I would have had him. My car was about half a second a lap quicker than his.
Andrews almost stalled on the grid in Race 2, and lost a spot to Adam Beechey off the line. He moved back into second place when Domaschenz’s car developed a gearbox problem, and started pressuring Beechey.
“Adam drove really well in that race,” he said. “I really only had one chance to overtake him, but I missed a gear and the car oversteered, so I wasn’t able to make the move stick.
Race 3 was held on a very wet track. Scott made a very good start and led the field into the first corner, but locked the rear brakes into Turn 2 and ran wide, losing a lot of positions.
“I really struggled at the start of the race to get the hang of the track in the wet, and I was overtaken by a lot of cars,” he said.
“As the race went on, I became more comfortable and made up positions when a few other drivers had some incidents. Towards the end, I had an awesome battle with Chris Stevenson. We both gave each other a lot of room and it was a lot of fun.”
Andrews finished seventh in Race 3, with round-winner Adam Beechey finishing fifth.
“Overall, it was a very good weekend. It was my first podium finish and I’m now second in the series, which is a great start to the season.”
The next round of the Commodore Cup national series is at Phillip Island, May 1-2.
Scott Andrews – Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 1st
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 2nd
Race 3: 7th
Overall: 2nd (125 points)
Commodore Cup national series – top-10 pointscore (after 1 of 6 rounds)
1. Adam Beechey – 127
2. Scott Andrews – 125
3. Tony Bates – 119
4. Matt Chick – 116
5. Jason Domaschenz – 109
Good luck in the upcoming races and keep us updated. 
