Domaschenz Takes the Round, Holdsworth Takes the Series 1/12/2009 at 9:31:13 PM Jason Domaschenz has taken out the final round of the 2009 Commodore Cup national series at Sandown, presented by Alternative Freight Services. Domaschenz took pole in the first-ever Commodore Cup top-10 shootout, and won Races 1 and 3, finishing second in the top-10 reverse-grid Race 2. “The key this weekend was to drive smoothly and keep out of trouble,” Domaschenz said. “That’s what we did and it paid off. It’s great to finish the year with a round win.” As happy as Domaschenz was about winning the round, it is unlikely he was as ecstatic as Brett Holdsworth, who wrapped up the 2009 series with fourth place overall. “It’s great to finally be on top, and I guess I can be the ‘brother of Lee Holdsworth’ no longer!” Brett said. Tony Bates and Nick Parker finished second and third in both the round and the series, Bates taking the win in Race 2. It was Bates’s fourth-consecutive runner-up round result. “I tried to get Brett a couple of times this year, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Bates said. “We’ll have another crack next year and see how we go.” “We’re very happy with how we’ve gone this year,” Parker added. “It’s been a big improvement on last year, the racing’s been great and it’s been a lot of fun. Congratulations to Brett and Tony on their good year as well and hopefully Commodore Cup comes back bigger and stronger next year.” Marcus Zukanovic made a strong return to racing, setting the pace in practice and qualifying on the front row next to Domaschenz. A differential problem sidelined Zukanovic in Race 1, but he charged back to third in Race 2 and second in Race 3. Matt Chick’s upgrade to a VS Commodore was somewhat less successful – he was involved in two separate incidents in Races 1 and 2 at Dandenong Road Corner. The second incident ended Chick’s weekend, with the race ending under safety-car conditions. Phillip Menzel also collided heavily with the Armco in Race 1, consigning him to spectator status for Races 2 and 3. Meanwhile, Steve Yates’s Commodore Cup debut was literally up and down – he rolled his car after just a couple of laps in the opening practice session, but his team repaired the car and he claimed the Bendix Brakes Hard Charger Award for the weekend with 13th place overall. “It was a little bit embarrassing to do two laps in practice and then fall over,” Yates said. “It’s been a heap of fun racing against such competitive drivers.” The 2010 Commodore Cup national series will kick off at Wakefield Park in April. Commodore Cup national series – top 10 pointscore (final points): 1. Brett Holdsworth – 770 points 2. Tony Bates – 747 points 3. Nick Parker – 713 points 4. Ross McGregor – 618 points 5. Josh Hughes – 576 points 6. Jason Domaschenz – 571 points 7. Adam Lloyd – 472 points 8. Jeff Watters – 457 points 9. Phillip Menzel – 454 points 10. Chris Stevenson – 439 points