Invercargill driver Colin Dawson has taken the South Island OSCA Super Saloon Championship for the third time. Dawson secured the title in his V8 powered Mazda RX7 at Timaru International Motor Raceway on Saturday after a season long battle with fellow Southlander Lawrence Knowler.
Dawson had been forced to chase down the title this year after his campaign got off to the worst possible start at Timaru last October. At the first corner of the first race at the first round Dawson had a tyre cut as he went for a gap. That meant he spent much of the championship trying to close the gap on those ahead. He and Knowler had a great battle throughout the season with Dawson finally edging into the lead late in the championship. The pair arrived at Timaru equal on points, still in a battle royal for the title.
The deciding round was held in atrocious conditions with steady rain throughout the day. The track was treacherous with the final corner proving extremely difficult in the conditions, catching many competitors out during the day.
Dawson maintained a points lead throughout the first two races and when the conditions continued to deteriorate Knowler, without good wet tyres, elected not to start. That sealed the title for Dawson, who with the championship sealed, also chose not to start the final race as did the majority of the field.
This was Dawson's third South Island title and he also took the GT2 Class title for the third time. The Southlander was also the New Zealand Champion in 2007 and finished third in the New Zealand OSCA Championship last year.
Support for Dawson's challenge comes from Riverside Rentals, Regent Car Court, Advantage Advertising Ltd, Simpsons Chartered Accountants Limited, Gordon Officer Ltd, Auto Fab Machining, Shell Gladstone, Road Runner Panel & Paint, Novus Glass, Southern Upholstery, Active Alarm Services and Panasonic NZ.
The OSCA Super Saloon Series is a motor racing category that caters for a wide variety of saloon cars and encourages kiwi ingenuity, a cornerstone of New Zealand motor racing throughout the years.
