GIVEN that he put in a barnstorming run from near the back of the pack to finish third in the season-opener last Sunday night, Jamie Maiolo will head into round two of the AHG Sprintcar Series this Saturday night with a bit of a spring in his step.
The former AHG Sprintcar Series champion looked better as the race went on around the Perth Motorplex track, finishing behind Shaun Bradford and Andrew Priolo in the rain-delayed event after starting from P16.
The 37-year-old showed that he would once again be a force to be reckoned with in the LJM Racing, Myalup WA 99, teaming up with younger brother Brad Maiolo who has driven the #77 to the last two series victories.
Maiolo had an up and down season last year where a lot didn’t go to plan, but the team has regrouped and he is ready for regular trips to the presentation podium.
Going in his favour is the stability factor - the team is running the same engine and motor packages as in previous years - and once again the boys will have the support of experienced crew chiefs in Steve Melville and Brendan Telfer who prepare the cars during the week.
“It’s definitely a good thing,” Maiolo said of the stability.
“You go back after the break in winter and you know where you are at.”
The two-car team will contest most of the WA season and also fit in a trip to the east for the national championship.
The field this weekend will be slightly different to last week with winner Shaun Bradford only contesting a limited campaign and unavailable for racing this week.
Also missing will be Mitchell Wormall who will be driving a monster truck elsewhere.
Coming into the field will be the experienced Carl Dowling and Sean Zemunik who raced in America in our off-season for the second year in a row.
Rookie Robert Mould will be making his debut and AJ Nash will be stepping up to 410 competition after starting the year in a 360 car.
The 410 feature race will also see a handful of 360 drivers seeded at the front of the pack, similar to last week where Troy Lawson and Jamie Oldfield started on the front row and finished eighth and sixth respectively.
Nominations: Robert Mould Aj Nash Andrew Priolo Jason Kendrick Daniel Harding Jason Pryde - JPM Sean Zemunik Brad Maiolo Scott Chatwin Corey Hunter Carl Dowling Kye Scroop Matthew Cross Jamie Maiolo plus 360 drivers Stephen Adley Ray Leonard Troy Lawson Brodie Minchin Thomas Davies Vince Rosenthal Ben Butcher Chris Gronow Jamie Oldfield Tom Hooper Adrian Haywood
