Our 2022 Shannons Insurance NTESERIES Champion is crowned.
The 2022 Shannons Insurance NTESERIES has been run and won for another year, and wow did it have it all!
A new challenge was set for this year’s series, with drivers having to test their skills and abilities in a front wheel drive TCR car and a rear-wheel-drive V8 Supercar. The five round series featured two races at each round, opening with a 20-minute TCR race and finishing with a feature 40-minute Supercar race. The quick transition between the cars proved the ultimate challenge for drivers.
With full points being awarded for both races, the championship decider came down to final race of the series. The top three championship contenders, Jack Widdas, Blake Worboys and Damon Mulqueen all within title reaching distance heading into the season finale at the world renown Mount Panorama, Bathurst.
The final TCR race saw the top three championship contenders all finish in their respective championship order with Widdas taking out 1st place, Worboys in 2nd and Mulqueen rounding out the podium in 3rd.
As the lights went out on the final race of the 2022 Shannons Insurance NTESERIES, over 30 Supercars hurdled into turn one for what was probably one of the cleanest opening laps of the series. The gruelling 40 minute race around the Mountain provided great door to door race with some even better strategies.
After 18 laps, the chequered flag waved on what was the final lap of the race and the series. Championship prospect, Worboys gave it everything being the first driver to receive the chequered, but he wasn’t able to split a gap with championship rival Widdas who crossed the line in 2nd place and secured his spot as the 2022 Shannons Insurance NTESERIES Champion.
After five competitive rounds across Phillip Island, Red Bull Ring, Watkins Glen, Winton and the series finale at Bathurst, Widdas was able to hold off the competition and claim the 2022 NTESERIES crown, ahead of a strong finishing Worboys in second and an ever consistent Mulqueen in third place.
Reflecting on his successful second attempt at the NTESRIES crown, Widdas said “he loved this year’s series, it was competitive and had lots of great, clean racing”.
“The series was well organised, very professional, but still kept it fun”, Widdas commented.
NTESERIES first timer, Blake Worboy’s said “the series is great for anyone to jump in and have a go.” He further added, “The fixed setups makes things a lot easier for people to do practice, especially for those with little setup experience”.
“The racing is always hard, but fair and the addition of the TCR race before the V8 Supercar race meant the podium results were always mixed, which was great to see” Worboys said.
Our “over the ditch NZ buddy” and championship contender, Damon Mulqueen said “he thoroughly enjoyed the series”. Mulqueen then went on to say “there were battles throughout the field which catered to everyone”.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of the 2022 Shannons Insurance NTESERIES and would love to join it again” Mulqueen said.
Keeping with the inclusive nature of this series, in addition to the championship winners, several other awards were also presented.
The WestOz Roof Restorations Best and Fairest award goes to a driver the displayed a high level of sportsmanship throughout the series, while still receiving respectable results. This year the Best and Fairest award went to Ash Borella.
The Pool Guys Adelaide Most Improved driver for 2022 was Michael Halkitis.
Whilst most know what the Wooden Spoon award means in sport, in the NTESERIES it means someone has shown an going commitment to the series by racing in every round and completing every single race. It does still mean that they received the lowest number of points however, it showed true dedication to the series. This year’s Wooden Spoon award went to Tim Driscoll.
The Hire Power NT Fan Favourite liveries went to Blake Worboys in his Mustang and Snow Cotter in his ZB Commodore.
The full list of winners and the final championship standings is available on the NTESERIES website.
With the chequered flag waived on another successful series, organisers are excited to launch two new events under the NTESERIES brand. In June, we will see the launch of the Dry Season Cup, a one make series running the Porsche 991 GT3 Cup (992) across five rounds in the winter/dry season months.
The Series is also excited to be adding an endurance element to its program, launching in September 2022. The Endurance Series will see drivers competing in teams across two endurance races on Aussie tracks. Details on the new series can be found on the NTESERIES Website.