AUSTRALIAN SPORTS SEDAN CHAMPIONSHIP

14^th April, 2002
Round One - Phillip Island

 Hossack wins championship-opener

Victorian Darren Hossack, driving a Chev-powered Saab, has won the first round of the Australian Sports Sedan Championship.

With the top ten positions from race one reversed, Hossack started from position nine and quickly worked his way to the front, taking the lead off Luke Youlden's Mazda RX7 on lap three and never challenged from there.

Tony Wilson (Commodore Chev), Robert Smith and Milton Seferis (both in former V8 Supercar Commodores) made a mess of the start, incurring black flag stop/go penalties. Despite that they all lost out to Ivan Mikac (Mazda RX7) and Mick Monterosso (Ford Escort/Chev) in the opening corner exchanges, with Youlden and Hossack closing quickly. Mikac was quickly out of calculations with a spin at Honda.

First race winner and reigning champ Tony Ricciardello would have started from position ten but his Alfa had dramas with the Chev engine and would not start the race. Similarly the Ford Falcon of Brett Francis would be a non-starter while fancied Kerry Baily would begin the second race at the rear of grid in his Nissan/Chev.

Youlden had second placed wrapped up until slipping off the track and allowing Monterosso through. In the final laps he was able to retrieve his second spot while behind Monterosso was Baily, down on power and content just to score some points.

The heavy-by-sports sedan standards Jaguar of Mike Roddy was fifth ahead of Wilson who had taken his pit-visiting penalty, the RX7 of Graeme Gilliland, Michael Robinson's Commodore/Chev, Smith and Seferis.  The loss of engine belts cost Mikac a finish and Dean Randle (Saab/Chev) a prominent position.

SPORTS SEDANS RACE TWO (8 laps)