Geoff Emery looks set to win his fifth Commodore Cup title after his only rival in the championship, Daniel Richert, did not compete at the last round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania.By Marc McGowan
A FIFTH Commodore Cup title looks to be in Narre Warren racecar driver Geoff Emery’s keeping after he swept round six of the championship at Symmons Plains, Tasmania, last month.
It was somewhat of a hollow victory for the 36-year-old, however, because of previous series leader Daniel Richert’s controversial absence.
Richert’s non-attendance was due to a still unresolved technical issue regarding the rules of the competition.
It has all but ended the championship race, which saw Richert ahead by 19 points prior to Symmons Plains, with Emery suddenly 132 points clear of his younger rival.
Only two rounds remain in the Commodore Cup, with events at Sydney’s Oran Park and at Sandown.
“It obviously took a lot of the spark out of it not having him there,” Emery said.
“It’s devastating for him.
“Danny was going so well and finally got to the lead of the championship only to have it snatched from him.
“He’s been driving well all year and has provided nice, close racing with us.”
But Emery can only beat what is put in front of him and he did so easily, qualifying in pole position and winning every race.
“It was a good round for us and it comes down to car preparation,” he said.
“We complete every race, but the other competitors have issues along the way and are so far from us to the point they can’t get near us now.”
While Emery would only have to safely negotiate the remaining two rounds to claim victory, he will continue to be aggressive on the track.
“It is still mathematically possible (that I could lose the championship), but, gee, I’d have to have a bad weekend,” he said.
“I’ll still go hard and try to win all races. I’ll be going flat out like I normally do.”
The next round of the series is at Oran Park, starting on 4 November.
