Mark Skaife and Steven Richards continue to battle for supremacy in sixth and seventh. Richards won out at Oran Park, leapfrogging his Holden compatriot and opening a forty point lead over him in the leadup to the Sandown 500.
Ford’s biggest mover was Dick Johnson Racing’s lead driver Steven Johnson. The FirstRock Falcon driver climbed three places to eighth after his fourth outright saw him take home a swag of points – allowing him to capitalise on Jason Bright’s decidedly average weekend to take eighth. Interestingly this was a disaster round for Holden. Aside from the Blue side going one up in round wins, their official drivers dropped no more than a place, with many gaining position or staying stable and keeping their spot on the ladder.
Holden’s best performer progress-wise was rookie Lee Holdsworth. The youngest driver in the field, and a new recruit for the Garry Rogers Motorsport team, Holdsworth’s top ten finish allowed him to rise three spots up the adjusted points table. Despite being a major gainer at Queensland for The General, Paul Radisich and Team Kiwi Racing dropped three places at Oran Park to be just inside the top twenty leading up to Sandown.
With the two-driver system coming into effect for the Betta Electrical 500 Melbourne and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, the adjusted points table is likely to have another reshuffle. Indeed, there are only two races left with the drop-worst-round system so drivers must drive cleanly if they wish to maintain a chance for the championship.
