The RX8 Cup Series returned to the iconic Sydney Motorsport Park for round 4 of the 2024 championship. A fantastic looking field of 18 cars hit the track Saturday morning for 15 minutes of qualifying. Jett Blumeris set the standard by claiming his second Revolution Racegear Pole Positon of the season with a time of 1:47.6. Mik Hazelton would end up 2nd after Grant Bray had his best lap deleted due to track limits. Bray and the former champion Tom Shaw shared the second row. Robert Scott and Jackson Noakes were next from Max Wilson and David Grice. Martin Lyall and Aaron Hill rounded out the top 10.
Hazelton made the best start in the first race, he was chased by Blumeris, Shaw and Bray. The race quickly settled down and most drivers found a rhythm. The first 4 drivers slowly spread and created gaps between each other, and in turn pulled away from the pack. The dice for 5th place was quite intense between Noakes, Scott and Hills. The unfortunate Tom Donohue was the first retirement during lap 2. Further down the field, Lyall, Wilson and Bailey Scott diced for positions, as were Maisie Place and Matthew Totani. Up front Hazelton continued his great form and increased his lead to a comfortable 7 second margin, eventually winning from Blumeris and Shaw. Bray finished 4th and Robert Scott was 5th. Noakes looked like he would finish in the top 5, however with a few laps remaining he would retire with a mechanical failure.
Hazelton repeated his previous start in race 2 and immediately proceeded to pull away. Blumeris was in 2nd place and pulling away from the pack. The scrap for 3rd was a different story, Robert Scott, Shaw, Hills and Bray swapped position multiple times. Shaw showing plenty of speed in this race and was hounding Robert Scott throughout the race. Noakes was slowly making his way though the field, having started in last place. Lyall and Wilson were having a great dice. Hazelton was in a class of his own up front, he had no opposition and won comfortably from Blumeris. Hills dropped down the field leaving Shaw and Robert Scott to fight for 3rd place. At the end Rob Scott was 3rd from Shaw 4th. Bray drove a consistent race to finish 5th.
Race 3 would be the most spirited race from the weekend. For the leading trio of Hazelton, Blumeris and Shaw it would be business as usual. Gray would drive a consistent and strong race in 4th place, however behind the leaders it would be action galore. The dice of the weekend was between Place, Totani and Wilson. These 3 drivers would try to out manoeuvre each other at every opportunity. This lasted the whole race. Another great battle was between Lyall and Robert Scott. Hazelton won comfortably from Blumeris and Shaw. Robert Scott arrived in 4th place. Due to the nature of this race, track limits were often violated and unfortunately a raft of time penalties would ensue. These penalties would shuffle the field around. Most notably Robert Scott, he would be demoted from 4th to 7th with a 10 second penalty. This elevated Hills into 5th place.
Clouds rolled in for the 4th and final race of the weekend. Hazelton made another great start from Blumeris. The two-leaders pulled away from the pursuing pack, the dice for 3rd was a different story. Hills, Shaw, Bray, Noakes and Robert Scott battled for the last podium step available. Further back, Bailey Scott, Lyall, Totani and Grice did likewise. Hazelton was powering away in the lead, and he even though he was given a 5 second penalty post-race for a track limit beach. He still had enough margin to claim the win and a complete sweep of the event. Blumeris came home in 2nd and Tom Shaw finished 3rd. Bray was consistent all weekend and was rewarded with a great 4th. Noakes recovered from his early misfortune during race 1 to finish a strong 5th.
Round 4 at Sydney was certainly nothing short of action packed with many awesome stories headlining the weekend. Congratulations to Mik Hazelton taking out the round win, Jett Blumeris finished 2nd for the weekend ahead of former champion Tom Shaw. Thanks to our partners Scott Property Group and Disc Brakes Australia for their support in 2024. Round 5 will take place at Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW) 27-29th September
By Riccardo B & RX8 Cup Media
RX8 Cup Championship points 2024
1st – Michael Hazelton 421 points
2nd – Robert Scott 380 points
3rd – Martin Lyall 308 points
4th – Aaron Hills 274 points
5th – Jett Blumeris 260 Points
