Drivers gear up for prestigious cup race

Motorsport enthusiasts are gearing up for the prestigious Dan Love Summer Cup, which will be held tonight (Saturday) at the Make Smoking History Bunbury Speedway.

Widely regarded by the South West motorsport community as the “blue ribbon” event for street stock sedans, the feature race has proven to be extremely challenging for drivers across two decades.

Bunbury Car Club and Speedway president Barry Hunter is hopeful of a big crowd tonight and outlined the significance of the event.

“It’s a very prestigious event,” he said.

“Wayne Thompson, one of our local drivers, will be going for his 10th Dan Love Summer Cup title – but anyone can win it.

“It’s even hard to qualify for the feature race especially if there are several nominations.”

One driver who will be vying for cup glory on Saturday night is Barry Rewell who still relishes the competitive nature of the competition.

“As far as sedan events in Bunbury it is the biggest event in town,” he said.

“We get a lot of drivers from Albany, Collie, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury and Perth. It’s virtually a State title type feel.

“As far as winning it, it is a very hard race to win – because if you get 25 cars in it, there is probably 15 that could win it.”

Thompson is one of several pre-race favourites, along with Ethan Genev, Paul Joss, Cody Avins and Damon Thompson.

Rewell explained the nature of the street stock sedan format and the intricacies required to succeed.

“The sedans we race run both ways,” he said.

“You are not in a situation where you can put bigger tyres on one side. It’s really a road car, but with a little bit more power and they are quite a bit of a handful to steer.”

Racing kicks off from 6pm.