The host club had endured about seven inches of rain before the event and for the first practice day there was a lot of hard work ahead to have the track ready for battle. We started with a very loose surface, which gradually became a nicely grooved track. We managed to get in three practice runs and that was when the track really stated to clean up.

Four rounds of qualifying awaited us Saturday morning. With the new front hubs and geometry changes to the RC8.2 done, the car was quick from the get-go, posting a low 14-lap run in Q1, For Q2 and Q3 the times were very similar, getting a quicker runs each time out. Q4 saw me post the only 15-lap run in qualifying, going 13 seconds into the 15-lap territory.

Sunday greeted us with a cold windy morning, which then cleared into a perfect day for the mains to be run.

Final 1
I managed to get a small gap until we came around to the lappers and a tangle with one cost me the lead for a couple of laps. I worked my way back into the lead and gapped the field to secure the first final win.

Final 2
Again I had a great start and pulled away from the field to lap them all and take the second final win and the overall win for the event ... until a computer problem forced a rerun of the second final. The rerun did not go according to plan. I came up short on the biggest jump on the track and popped off a steering link. With that fixed, I went back out and managed to work my way back to sixth for the second final.

Final 3
Do or die time! From the start I managed to once again pull away from the chasing pack and again lap the field to take the win in final 3. So now I can OFFICIALLY take home the 2012 Queensland EP 1/8 Titles!

It was a great win for the RC8.2e, and the new changes sparked a lot of interest in fellow competitors.

Thanks to Jason Dyckhoff for this report.