Round 4 of the 2009 MINI Challenge is best known for Chris Alajajian’s spectacular crash in Race 1. In the clip above Chris speaks about the incident and thankfully he was not injured. Although, he did describe the accident as a “painful experience” and “very upsetting”.
But that wasn’t the only drama at this round, held at Melbourne’s Sandown International Raceway. After Alajajian’s crash, Race 1 was red flagged and declared a no result. In the remaining two races of the weekend Glory Team Racing’s Nathan Caratti showed the field a clean pair of heels to win both races. However, he was disqualified from Race 3 due to a “breached a component regulation” relating to his brake pads. Caratti’s win in Race 2 still stands. Nathan’s team is able to appeal the disqualification, but it is not clear if they will exercise that right.
Caratti’s misfortune left Grant Denyer, from DecoRug Racing, to inherit the race and round win. “Nobody likes to win that way but I’m happy for Bill Gremos and the DecoRug team to get the Championship points and the win,” grinned Denyer.
DecoRug’s Paul Stokell maintains his Championship lead, but Alajajian was the big loser in the standings dropping from second down to fourth. Denyer is second, while Scott Bargwanna, from ROCK Energy Drinks, moves into third place.
Full television highlights can be seen after the jump. The MINI Challenge returns next month, with live race coverage from Phillip Island (11-13 September).
[Source: MINI.com.au]
TOP TEN CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
- Paul Stokell DecoRug Racing – 570
- Grant Denyer DecoRug Racing – 432
- Scott Bargwanna ROCK Energy Drinks – 381
- Chris Alajajian Standox Paints – 345
- Nathan Caratti Glory Team Racing – 267
- BJ Cook ROCK Energy Drinks – 196.5
- Geoff Emery Stillwell MINI Garage – 168
- John Modystach Prosurve – 151.5
- Paul Morris Standox Paints – 138
- Gary Young Stillwell MINI Garage – 129
