Rookie takes debut V8 Utes victory

New Zealander Chris Pither may have won last weekend’s Yokohama V8 Utes round, but it was rookie driver Rhys McNally who stole the headlines at the Armor All Gold Coast 600.

The young West Australian won the second race of the weekend, giving him his first win in the competitive class.

“I’m just wrapped with my weekend, I’ve always wanted to pull off a win and to actually do it feels amazing,” McNally said.

“We had a few crew at the Gold Coast from NRW and it’s great to have such a great weekend for them. Without their support I wouldn’t be here. I can’t wait to get to Sydney.”

Pither won the first race on Saturday before McNally won Race 2 and series leader Grant Johnson took out Race 3. Pither was deemed the overall winner.

Johnson’s race win and second overall for the round extended his series lead to 86 points over Jack Elsegood.

With just one round of the series remaining at the Sydney Telstra 500, Johnson is in the best position to win his second title, adding to his success in 2007.

Victory in the final race came after Pither made a slight mistake, allowing Johnson through to the lead and a probable series win.

“I waited for Pither to make a mistake and I took my chance,” he said.

“I’m happy to put more points on the board, which is my main objective at the moment, I happy with second for the round.”

Nulon Oil driver David Sieders drove well to claim third for the round while reigning champion Elsegood was fourth.

The V8 Utes will be back on track at the Sydney Telstra 500 for Round 8 of the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series – protected by Armor All in 2-4 December.

Pos	Name	Points
1	Grant Johnson	852
2	Jack Elsegood	766
3	Andrew Fisher	734
4	David Sieders	730
5	Chris Pither	685
6	Gary MacDonald	610
7	Gary Baxter	602
8	Jeremy Gray	568
9	Kim Jane	520
10	Rhys McNally	516
11	Ben Dunn	499
12	Gary Carson	488
13	Craig Dontas	464
14	Charlie Kovacs	431
15	Ryal Harris	418
16	Charles O\’Brien	402
17	Ben Kavich	357
18	Brad Patton	351
19	Nandi Kiss	320
20	Scott Jennings	308
21	Robert Jarvis	301
22	Peter Burnitt	301
23	George Elliot	286
24	Steve Hodges	277
25	Paul Williams	257
26	Jason Gomersall	241
27	Greg Willis	215
28	Warren Millett	194
29	Yanis Derums	154
30	Steve McFadden	135
31	Kurt Wimmer	106
32	Rohan Barry	90
33	Adam Bressington	74
34	Noel Edge	70
35	Rick Gill	69
36	Tim Blanchard	66
37	Allan Letcher	48
38	Graham Edwards	45
39	Denis Cribbin	39
40	James Brock	34
41	Colin Dunn	33
42	Lauren Gray	30
43	Layton Crambrook	27
44	Brendon Tucker	25
45	Grant Lubdey	21
46	Pedro Marusic	19
47	Andrew Schultz	17
48	Paul Morris	13