The Veloce Racing Association (VRA) will make their return to the Shannons Nationals in style as a 17-strong field take part in the special McCarrolls Alfa Romeo Challenge.
With three rounds already run and won as part of a five round season, the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia (AROCA) and the Australia Racing Driver’s Club (ARCD) will do battle once again during the fourth round.
Headlining the field is the VRA’s outright leader Daniel Harris, the ARCD driver hoping to build on his healthy score of 127 points.
Harris also leads the Under 2 Litre class and can likely win the class outright this weekend, while his biggest title rival, fellow ARCD driver Daniel Gatto, leads the Nuevo A class.
Gatto sits 30 points behind Harris in the outright standings and the Alfa GTV6 pilot will need a strong result this weekend if he is to close the gap ahead of the final round.
Rounding out the top three is the best-placed AROCA member in Michael Musumeci, with the Nuevo B class leader only four points behind Gatto.
Behind the wheel of the Alfa GT, Musumeci will be confident going to Sydney Motorsport Park after winning a race during last year’s visit to the Nationals at the New South Wales track.
Fellow AROCA teammate, David Caparo had more success during the same visit, the Alfa GTV 6 driver winning the whole weekend with two third places and a race win.
A variety of drivers will be wanting to make amends for some disappointing results during last year’s round with Alfio Musumeci at the front of that line.
Alfio comes into the round in good form after sharing the podium with Gatto and Michael Musumeci in the VRA’s most recent round at Wakefield Park.
With the competitors all looking forward to returning to Sydney Motorsport Park and the Nationals, Alfio was excited about the opportunity competing in the Nationals has to offer.
“Last year, it was really great to be part of, the guys loved it and everything went really smooth,” Alfio said.
“We are really looking forward to the weekend because the profile of the Shannons Nationals is great for our club.”
In other categories, John Burkhart and his Alfa 156 lead the Twin Spark Cup, while Andrew Wilson sits on top of the Group S category standings.
In a similar formation to last year, the VRA will have a qualifying session on Saturday morning, before one race in the afternoon and two more on Sunday concludes the weekend d.
The Shannons Nationals at Sydney Motorsport Park will take place on 21-23 September with live coverage of Sunday’s sessions available live and free at speedseries.com.au
