Warwick driver Matt Clift leads Bob Sudall in a race in the Queensland Motor Racing Championships and the pair will battle it out in a tough field this weekend at Morgan Park.
Warwick driver Matt Clift leads Bob Sudall in a race in the Queensland Motor Racing Championships and the pair will battle it out in a tough field this weekend at Morgan Park. DigitalRealismPty Ltd

Clift v Sudall battle for championship this weekend

WARWICK driver Matt Clift will go head to head with Bob Sudall in the Nc historic touring car class in round 4 of the CAMS Queensland Motor Racing Championships this weekend.

Clift has a narrow lead in the battle for the state championship with three races to go this weekend.

Sudall hails from Stradbroke Island and won the state title last year.

Both will be in Mazda RX2s so the battle will be about the drivers more so than the cars.

"The cars come out of the same shop, I look after Bob's car at Morgan Park Performance along with my own car,” Clift said.

Like in the V8 Supercars, there is practice on Friday and then qualifying on Saturday morning.

"Winning pole position means one point in the battle for the championship title,” he said.

"Bob and I will be trying hard to get pole so we aren't tangled in the middle of the field with other cars.”

The No.1 qualifier will start on the inside of the track level with the second qualifier but has the best chance to be first around the first corner.

"I am as confident as I always am, it is going to be hot weekend weather wise and in the competition,” he said.

Most of the races in the Nc class will be over 10 laps, a total of 34km which will take the drivers just less than 15 minutes.

The biggest challenge to the leaders this weekend will be Ashley Heffernan in a Holden Monaro.

Ashley's father Kevin Heffernan, a past Bathurst 1000 driver, will drive his son's Holden Torana XU1.

Kevin lives in the Eagleby area and works part-time with Clift at Morgan Park Performance.

Jimboomba driver Bob Heagerty is third in the championship and will drive a Mazda RX2.

"It is good to drive against good mates,” he said.

"Historic touring cars are getting a bit old and hard to get parts for so we try not to run into each other.

"We race extremely hard and extremely close and you don't give anyone an inch once you put the helmet on.”

Gary Beggs will be one of the Warwick drivers challenging for a championship this weekend.

There will be a number of drivers from Toowoomba heading to Warwick to compete in the HQ class.

There are 110 nominations in 10 classes, including 27 in improved production. Fifteen of the starters this weekend come from the Warwick area.

State champions will be determined this weekend based on performances over the four rounds at Morgan Park this year. Most of the championship titles are still up for grabs.

This weekend's meeting is the last for the year at Morgan Park Raceway.

The club plans some major upgrading of the facilities before the first meeting for 2017 in February. The Warwick District Sporting Car Club has already secured a round of the CAMS National Racing Championships (formerly Shannons) on September 22-24 next year.

WHEN: Saturday 9am and Sunday 8am.

WHERE: Morgan Park Raceway.

WHAT: State championships.

COST: Free.



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