Ben Ticks All The Boxes, Tackles First Race
Lister Bros Racing attended the final round of the NSW Motor Race Championship on the weekend of 12 December where Ben Lister successfully obtained his race license and competed in his first Formula Vee race event.
Having added the #17 Jacer to the LBR garage earlier in the year and having completed his medical and online theory, Ben was ready to tackle his Observed License Test. Lister Bros Racing arrived at Wakefiled Park on Friday morning where Ben took to the track under the watchful eye of Motorsport Australia accredited license tester John Boston from Track School.
Ben completed five practice sessions without fault and was presented with his provisional race license allowing him to enter and race in the final round of the Motorsport Australia NSW Motor Race Championship held on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December.
Qualifying was first up, and Ben was able to put down some solid laps to qualify the LBR Jacer in P13 on a grid of 19 cars. Pole sitter, Simon Pace, set a cracking qualifying time of 1m07s.
Come race time Ben was ready to challenge his fellow drivers for track position and bragging rights. After an excellent start and moving up two positions on the first lap, Ben was well positioned for a good race however it wasn’t long until the LBR driver found himself close to the action.
On lap two, while providing racing room for fellow competitor Paul Charlton in the #25 Mako, Ben was almost taken out by a third driver attempting a questionable move down the inside on turn two. Ben managed to avoid contact however Paul Charlton was not so lucky with the #8 Elfin of Russell Saunders making contact resulting in the deployment of the Safety Car.
Luckily Ben’s Friday session with John Boston covered Safety Car procedures and re-starts and before he knew it Ben was racing again. Throughout the 13-lap race Ben enjoyed dicing with fellow competitors Stephen Butcher and Michael Gale before finishing where he started in P13.
Following the race, oil pressure in the #17 LBR Jacer was reading zero, raising concerns about the health of the car for Sunday’s racing. After allowing the car to cool down oil pressure still failed to exceed 10psi at idle, a normal reading should be 20psi or more. Following consultation with some of the more experience competitors LBR made the difficult decision to retire the car for the weekend until the source of the oil pressure problem could be identified and remedied.
LBR will start the 2021 season with a two car line-up with Ben driving the #17 Jacer and Paul steering the #18 Team Dockmate Polar, but in the meantime the Lister Brothers will take some time out over the festive season before getting both cars ready for 27 February back at Wakefield Park.
We would like to thank our 2021 Sponsors – Dockmate Australia & New Zealand and Boutique Salon Brands – for their support for the year ahead and we would also like to extend our best wishes to our supporters and their families for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Dockmate Australia & New Zealand: www.dockmate.com.au
Boutique Salon Brands: www.boutiquesalonbrands.com