Oran Park set for title fight

THIS weekend's eighth round of the Shell Championship Series at Sydney's Oran Park is shaping up as pivotal with just 232 points separating the top four drivers in the chase for the V8 Supercar title.

Up until Calder Park a fortnight ago, Holden Racing Team's Mark Skaife had a reasonably comfortable points buffer, but a dramatic turnaround saw his points lead slashed when a stop-go penalty in race one ruined his victory chances.

Skaife's lead over HRT teammate Jason Bright is now 17 points, while championship hopefuls Russell Ingall and Steven Johnson hover just over 200 points further back.

"Calder was one of those shockers for us. I have always said that you have to expect one of those during a season. We have probably had a few if you look at the drama in Canberra and the target I seemed to have on the car in Adelaide, yet we are still leading the series," Skaife said.

"The circuits we are racing at for the rest of the year are places where we know we have gone pretty well in the past so the remainder of the season is shaping up pretty well for us." Skaife is confident of breaking an uncharacteristically long winless streak for HRT when the V8 Supercar series lands at Oran Park this weekend, despite not winning a round since Eastern Creek in April.

HRT has taken pole position and won each round at Oran Park since 1996, however, this season is the first time since the beginning of that year that the team has lost four rounds in a row.

"I've got a pretty good record at Oran Park, having got pole and won the round in the last two years. It's one of my favourite tracks to race on, right up there with Eastern Creek and Phillip Island," Skaife said.

The season to date has been an open affair with the seven rounds of this year's series being won by six different drivers - the same number who shared the 13 round wins in 2000. Skaife is the only multiple winner, with two wins to his name.

Steve Johnson is at the forefront of the Ford charge, with the Shell Helix Racing driver coming close to extending Ford's three-race winning streak to four at the Calder Park round. Johnson's second placing behind Paul Morris saw him make-up some ground on the championship leaders to be fourth in the points standings.

"We had a solid round at Calder, but I'm after victory at Oran Park," said Johnson, keen to get another round win and stake a claim for the title.

"Our team has been at the front of the Ford assault this year, and I'm keen to start another winning streak at Oran Park. My teammate Paul Radisich is also hitting form at the moment, so having two cars at the front will be the goal for the Shell Helix Racing team." The Oran Park round reverts to the two, 45-minute race format with compulsory pit stops for tyres and a total of 270 race and 18 qualifying points on offer.

The 2.62 kilometre Oran Park circuit is located approximately 45 kilometres south west of Sydney and is comprised of two separate circuits. The South circuit is 1.96km in length, while the figure eight North circuit is 660 metres long - these are combined to form the GP circuit.

The schedule for Round 8 is: Saturday
Provisional qualifying 2.30-3.25pm
Top Ten Shootout 3.35-4.05pm Sunday
Race 1 (100kms) 11.30-12.15pm
Race 2 (100kms) 3.00-3.45pm DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Mark Skaife (HRT) 1720 points
2 Bright (HRT) 1703
3 Ingall (Castrol Holden) 1496
4 Johnson (Shell Ford) 1488
5 Ambrose (Pirtek Ford) 1262
6 Murphy (K-Mart Holden) 1248
7 Richards (Tickford Ford) 1211
8 Radisich (Shell Ford) 1185
9 Lowndes (Gibson Ford) 1146
10 Tander (Valvoline-Cummins Holden) 1080