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22-07-2008 Another Strong Run for Rapier
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The Volks Engineering team had yet another strong performance in their '07 Rapier over the weekend of July 12 & 13 at Morgan Park Raceway.
Although not a championship event, the racing was just as spectacular.
In Qualifying 1 Paul Manteit qualified a very close 2nd behind the new Jacer of Shane Hart by only 0.06 seconds. Qualifying 2 was held on the short track where Manteit took out pole position from Hart by another very close 0.01 seconds.
The stage was set for a very close weekend and with qualifying anything to go by there wasn't going to be much in it.
Race 1 was held on the short track where Manteit got off the line well and lead Hart into turn 1. Hart was beginning to look very racy trying to get past the Rapier of Manteit which he successfully pulled off into turn 3 on lap 2. From there it was follow the leader with Hart winning by only 1 second.
Race 2 was back to the long track. Starting from 2nd on the grid, Manteit got a good start but Hart lead into turn 1. Struggling to get heat into the tyres early in the race, Manteit slipped back slightly before making a charge towards the end of the race. "We just need to find a way to get the car to come on a bit earlier in the race - it's always strong towards the end of the race because the Rapier uses it's tyres so well but if the leader gets away early it's hard to claw back the deficit" Manteit explained. In the end Hart crossed the line just ahead of the hard finishing Manteit.
Race 3 again saw Hart and Manteit battling it out with Hart making a break early with the Volks Engineering team still unable to find the sweet spot of the car early in the race. There was very little in it until lap 6 when Hart slowed with mechanical difficulties handing the race win to Manteit with Hart finishing 15 seconds behind.
Manteit said after the weekend "We're very pleased with the weekend, Shane is driving at the top of his game at the moment as his results in NSW this year shows so it's good to be right up there and battling with him for race wins and pole positions. It gives us a lot of confidence heading into some of the bigger races of the year that the car can be competitive with the fastest drivers in Australia."
The Volks Engineering team is now preparing to head to Oran Park for the Shannons National round where it is hoped the good form from Qld can be translated into good results on a national level.
For more information head to www.volksengineering.com