Passing the halfway mark of the 2023 V8 SuperUtes Series, reigning champ Aaron Borg faces a weekend of hard work to regain the championship lead from teammate David Sieders at Sandown Raceway this weekend.
Borg, who has led the series all year, missed the last round in South Australia due to overseas commitments and subsequently dropped back to fifth outright as his rivals closed the gap.
Capitalising the most from Borg’s absence was Sieders Racing Team teammate Sieders (#3) who leads the points ladder on 546 points after winning the overall round at The Bend Motorsport Park. EFS 4×4 steerer Ryal Harris (#58) sits second outright on points with Motion Team Triton Racing’s Adam Marjoram (#14) third; Borg in fifth is 56 points behind Sieders heading into Round 4 this weekend.
“I’ve only raced here once before in a Toyota 86 so I’m excited for Sandown,” said Borg. “It’s a fast track with some technical corners so it’s going to be fun to learn. I’m not too worried about missing a round, we’ll just go back to doing what we normally do and focus on learning as much as possible in the one and only practice session we have on Friday. We’re still in with a great shot at the title with plenty of races still to come this year.”
Sieders, who hasn’t won a title since the 2016 V8 Ute Racing Series – is well aware of the challenge ahead if he’s to have a shot at this year’s championship win.
“With Borgy back on the grid now and for the rest of the year, it definitely heats up the back end of the year for us,” said Sieders. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the #1 so I’m keen to stay in front of him and the other teams and extend the lead.”
An 18-car field will take to the 3.1km circuit including debutant Jason Norris from the Gold Coast – who hails from a dirt circuit racing background – running the #88 Auto Masters HiLux. It’s the same V8 SuperUte that Harris has raced all season, with Harris taking over Chris Formosa’s Ford Ranger for the rest of the year.
After the Race 4 crash at The Bend last month, multiple teams have been racing the clock to make repairs in time. Western Sydney Motorsport has repaired Cody Brewczynski’s HiLux, George Gutierrez Motorsport has replaced Adrian Cottrell’s #41 Colorado, while the Sieders Racing crew helped both teams in sourcing supplies, chassis and assisting in shakedowns prior to Sandown.
Unfortunately, JKD Racing will only field one V8 SuperUte for Jensen Engelhardt (#805) after Dean Brooking’s HiLux – which was the most damaged SuperUte in the crash – was unable to be repaired in time.
Round 4 of the V8 SuperUte Series will form part of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 at Sandown Raceway, Victoria from September 15-17, 2023. The last time the category raced at the Melbourne circuit was in 2018 during the diesel-era, with Elliot Barber winning the round.
Practice starts at 8.10am on Friday morning, with qualifying held that afternoon. Saturday sees three races being run before the final race is held on Sunday morning before the Repco Supercars main 500km race.
The top five in the championship standings after three rounds is David Sieders (546 points), ahead of Ryal Harris (534 points), Adam Marjoram (527 points), Craig Woods (408 points) and Aaron Borg (490 points). Full championship points can be found here.
Qualifying and all four races will be live on FoxSports 506 and Kayo.
Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.supercars.com/calendar/
ROUND 4 ENTRY LIST
#1 – ACDelco Sieders Racing Team – Aaron Borg (Isuzu D-MAX)
#3 – Sieders Racing Team – David Sieders (Mazda BT-50)
#5 – Bendix Racing – David Casey (Isuzu D-MAX)
#8 – Western Sydney Motorsport – Ben Walsh (Toyota HiLux)
#15 – Motion Team Triton Racing – Adam Marjoram (Mitsubishi Triton)
#18 – Western Sydney Motorsport – Cody Brewczynski (Toyota HiLux)
#19 – Go Sunny Solar – George Gutierrez (Holden Colorado)
#41 – Go Sunny Solar – Adrian Cottrell (Holden Colorado)
#50 – Hunter Pacific Ceiling Fans – Jimmy Vernon (Mitsubishi Triton)
#58 – EFS 4×4 Accessories – Ryal Harris (Ford Ranger)
#64 – Western Sydney Motorsport – Craig Woods (Toyota HiLux)
#68 – World’s Best Technology – Gerard Maggs (Ford Ranger)
#76 – Best Leisure Industries – Ellexandra Best (Mazda BT-50)
#77 – City Rural Insurance Brokers – Richard Mork (Mazda BT-50)
#88 – Auto Masters Racing – Jason Norris (Toyota HiLux)
#96 – World’s Best Technology – Jaiden Maggs (Mitsubishi Triton)
#777 – Holly Espray Racing – Holly Espray (Isuzu D-MAX)
#805 – JKD Racing – Jensen Engelhardt (Toyota HiLux)
