Happy homecoming for racerat Calder

BALLARAT Light Car Club racer Richard Gay has turned back the clock 22 years by claiming overall and Class E honours in round three of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship at Calder Park.

Driving his Toyota 86 with a restricted turbo in the sports compact class, supported by two-litre sports sedans, Gay powered to pole position with wins in three of the four 10-lap races contested.

His win came 22 years after he last competed at Calder Park.

Driving a HQ Holden on that occasion, Gay remarkably posted an identical result of pole position and three race wins.

His round three triumph catapulted him into second place in the championship standings and first in class E at the halfway point of the series.

Gay, a veteran of 35 years of racing across multiple disciplines, had to overcome more than just the cold and slippery conditions at Calder, including when practice was red-flagged after only three laps due to crashes.

While a large field on the two-kilometre track made it difficult to get a clean lap in qualifying, Gay prevailed in the trying conditions to gain pole by half a second over his nearest rival.

Things did not exactly go to plan in race one, with Gay, after a slow start, back to third going into turn one. But late braking had him back in front coming out of the turn.

Having built a comfortable lead, the 86 experienced boosting issues, with a loss of power sending Gay back to fifth position by the flag.

A disappointed team went to work to find and fix the sensor and boost issues ahead of round two.

Gay got the start he was looking for in race two, moving up from fifth to third position on the first lap.

But the appearance of the safety car following another on-track incident gave way to two laps of green flag racing to the chequered flag.

A great dice for the lead with Jimbo Harris, in his Datsun Bluebird, and Stevo Howard, in the Corolla, to the flag ended with Gay recording his first win in the 86 by two seconds.

He stamped his dominance in races three and four, leading most laps to win both races, including an all-the-way 5.5 seconds triumph in race four.

He could barely have scripted a better return to Calder Park.

“To come away with the same result of pole and three wins 22 years later was fantastic and a great result for the team as a lot of hard work, time and money has gone into making the turbo 86 a winning car,” Gay said.

“We started the series at Winton with a third place and in round two at Tailem Bend finished second overall, so it was fitting we came away with the win at Calder.”

Gay is busy gearing up for the next round of the series at Winton Motor Raceway on 26 and 27 July.

One thing for certain is there won’t be another 22-year wait in between starts at Calder Park.

“The round after Winton is back at Calder, so we’ll be looking forward to getting back there,” he said.

“Winton in round one we got third but had a few issues. I’m probably going to go to slicks and try a few other things.

“Potentially we can be top three anywhere we go, but anything can happen in racing.”

Gay credited the great support of local sponsors Auto Projects, Craig Signs, Doherty and Clark, Motorsport Electronic Solutions, Dawsey Performance and Tru Line Suspension as pivotal to his success through the first three rounds.