A huge line-up of 137 drivers across 28 teams took centre stage at the famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit last weekend for the 2023 edition of the Victorian 6 Hour Relay.
Supported by the Gippsland Car Club, Victorian Mini Club and Phillip Island Auto Racing Club, the competition saw the teams put their vehicles to the ultimate test, working hard to meet their nominated lap times and finish the relay with the highest overall score for the weekend.
In the end though, it was last year’s runner up crew and two-time champions Panorama Mountain Men who claimed victory, with drivers Stewart Temesvary, Glenn Thomas, Sean Byers and David Johnson, who ended the weekend with a terrific third victory.
The team’s four drivers put their experience on show, coming together to complete 158 laps and received a bonus 306 laps to take their total laps to 464 and a final score of 48506, almost 15000 points ahead of runner up Doghouse, who exceeded their sixth place in 2022, but just fell short of a win.
But for Temesvary, it was the consistency that once again proved key above all else.
“I have a relatively slow car, but I have an equal chance of winning compared to the fast cars, because relays reward people who are consistent, not the people who have the fastest car or the deepest pockets which, to me, is what grassroots motorsport is all about,” Temesvary said.
“It’s a skill to be able to drive consistently. Anyone could turn up at a track and go flat out, but trying to be consistent, given the constraints of traffic and changing weather conditions, adds another dimension to motorsport.
“It’s not just one driver turning up and racing against the clock - there’s teamwork. And there’s a lot of camaraderie based on the fact that it’s a team working together to achieve a result.
“Because it’s a team event, there’s also strategy around when drivers go out, when we do a change, how long they stay out, and what happens if there’s a safety car. We start planning for these events a couple months out, which creates that team bonding before we even arrive at the track.
“There have been three eastern seaboard relays so far this year – the Sandown 360, the NSW 6 Hour and the Phillip Island event. We’ve won all three and we believe that’s the first time ever that a team has taken out all three of those in one year”
Rounding out the podium was last year’s 23rd place finishers, Revcrew, with 356 laps, ahead of Grumpy Racing 1 in fourth with 551 achieved laps, and 2022 winners Just Regular Guys who rounded out the top five with 538.
View the full results here.
