Rapa’s Weekend of Promise and Disappointment:
It was a weekend that started in strong fashion but ended in slightly disappointing fashion for teenage tearaway Richie Rapa at Eastern Creek Raceway during the Aussie Racing Car Series opener.
After qualifying and finishing the opening race in third place, Rapa looked on track for a podium finish overall only to have those aspirations cut short due to mechanical dramas whilst challenging for a Top 3 position during the second race on Saturday afternoon.
Starting the third race from the rear of the grid, position 35, Rapa managed to work his way forward to finish in 10th. During the fourth and final race of the weekend Rapa was on track for another podium finish only to have contact with another car during the middle stages of the race and dropped him down to as low as 16th. Rapa was then able to fight his way back to finish just outside the Top 10 in 11th place.
Overall for the opening round Rapa finished 17th overall, but it most certainly would have been much higher had he not encountered those dramas.
“The weekend started off in promising fashion, but things turned pear shaped from the second race onwards pretty much,” the 18-year-old said.
“Although we have encountered some misfortune, the aim is to move on and hopefully I can string together strong results for future rounds, as we showed, we have the pace to be at the pointy end of the field this year.”
The second round of the Aussie Racing Car Series is set down for this weekend (March 13 – 16) at the Albert Park Street Circuit in Melbourne – Victoria supporting the 2008 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Rapa would like to thank his 2008 sponsors Wholesale Property Brokers, Fabre Australia, and Rapa Transport.
28-10-08 Rapa’s Podium Results on the Gold Coast Moves Him Back into Series Contention
13-8-08 Mechanical Issues Hinder Rapa’s Winton Debut
27-5-08 Rapa Takes Oran Park Raceway Success
9-4-08 Rapa Fights Hard for Wakefield Park Results
18-3-08 Rapa Rockets to Round Victory in Aussie Racing Series
11-3-08 Rapa’s Weekend of Promise and Disappointment
4-3-08 Rapa Sets his Sights on 2008 Aussie Racing Series Title
24-10-07 Strong Gold Coast Fight Back from Rapa
18-9-07 Rapa’s Sandown Weekend Finishes in Strong Fashion
23-8-07 Contrasting Weekend of Results for Rapa
