This weekend 5/12 we will be at Lemoore Raceway. Jake will be driving Jerrod Huckleberry’s 10j, D1 Chassis in both Stock and Super 600 classes. Racing starts at 6pm on Saturday!

Well the dust has finally set on what was once again an awesome 8 round series when the last chequered flag fell at Warrnambool Sungold Stadium last Sunday night.
The 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series proved to be a brutal affair with 11 of the 40 contracted drivers missing from the final round.

History will show that visiting American Jake Hagopian won the series but on paper you will see that it was one of the closest points battle in recent history with just 6 points separating Hagopian and his team mate Matt Brown. With 8 rounds ran at 6 different tracks the Formula 500’s didn’t disappoint wherever they went.

1st Place USA14 Jake Hagopian
Hagopian flew out of America on Christmas day with high expectations and unfinished business after a slow start to last years series. However on this occasion he hit the ground running and was immediately on the pass right from the get go. With a victory in Round 1 at Western Speedway Hagopian immediately looked ominous!

After picking up wins at a sold out Sungold Stadium on New Years Day and also at Laang Speedway, Hagopian only needed to finish in the top 8 in the series final to wrap up the series victory with a 7th place finish good enough. He also won 2 heats throughout the series. Hagopian is hopeful of returning next season to defend his crown.

2nd Place GLB4 Matt Brown
Matt Brown would come into the series with 16 career Oval Express Super Series A-Main victories but would finish with 19 becoming the all time greatest winner surpassing the record of 17 set by Ken Willsher. Brown and his team mate Hagopian would win 6 of the 8 A-Mains proving that the professional Matt Brown Racing Team is a force wherever they go.

It could have been so much different for Brown though. After leading the A-Main for the opening 13 laps at Darlington, Brown would come into heavy lap traffic with then second placed Charlie Brown running over the front end of Browns Murphy, causing the front rails to drag along the race track for the final 7 laps of the race. Brown managed to salvage a 5th place finish and leave Darlington with the all important points. Brown would finish the series with 5 heat race victories.

3rd Place A1 Liam Williams
Williams came into this season’s series as a driver to watch after picking up his maiden Australian Title at Goulburn last Easter. He had shown plenty of car speed during the early part of the season and opened his account with an 8th place finish at Hamilton.

Williams would drive his Hyper Chassis to no less than 2 feature wins. His first maiden Oval Express Super Series A-Main Victory came at Laang Speedway in round 3. He would go on to capture another win at Darlington as well to finish the series just 24 points behind Hagopian. Williams won 3 heat races throughout the championship.

4th Place V5 Chad Sullivan
Sullivan came into the series with the best possible position he could be in. He was in the Factory Triple X Chassis Team wrenched by Ken Willsher. He had the best possible motor package thanks to Dutchman Performance. He just had to put it all together. Round 1 at Hamilton didn’t go quite to plan failing to transfer out of the B-Main.

He rebounded with an 8th at Avalon and then finished 4th at Warrnambool. With the series starting to look up for Sullivan he would head into the first Laang Round with confidence. The Laang track expert didn’t disappoint with a 2nd place finish behind Williams. He would go on to record a 7th at Simpson, 4th at Darlington, another 2nd at Laang and his third 2nd place finish for the series at the final. He also picked up 5 heat race victories.

5th Place WA29 Thomas Davies
The 19 year old Western Australian turned heads with his tour of duty. Davies came into this season with some strong form in the West picking up multiple feature victories throughout the year and was aiming to finish every race. He accomplished that and would record a personal best 3rd place finish at Simpson along with 1 heat race win along the way. Davies is a star of the future and will definitely be a driver to watch.

6th Place V55 Jye O’Keeffe
Warrnambool’s very own Jye O’Keeffe showed plenty of form throughout the series and was on the pace nearly every round. He won 3 heats and would go on to record a personal best of 4th at Laang. He was high point’s man at the series final and was leading the A-Main by a long way before chain issues forced him infield. His 6th place finish in the overall series points score is a personal best for O’Keeffe which will give the current Australia 2 confidence for the rest of the season.

7th Place V26 Mitch Whiting
7th place in the series went to second season driver Mitch Whiting. The 17 year old youngster from Officer, Victoria showed he wasn’t there to make up the numbers. Whiting was fast and recorded 2 heat win and a best A-Main finish of 3rd at Avalon. Whiting was in fine form throughout the 8 round series but lacked the consistency on some occasions failing to finish some heats hurting his overall series chances.

8th Place V6 Will Carroll
8th place went to 16 year old Will Carroll. Carroll was the youngest driver in the series and showed no fear picking up 3 heat race wins and also capped off a great campaign with a 3rd place final in the series final at Sungold Stadium. Carroll made nearly every A-Main and is certainly on his way up in Formula 500 racing in just his 2nd year in the class.

9th Place Mat Turner
Coming into the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Mat Turner just wanted to have a consistent series and stay out of trouble. He did more than that aboard his home made ASF Chassis and was elated when he finished 4th at Simpson. He also picked up 1 heat win along the way and showed the factory built chassis that a home made chassis can still match it with best. Turner has finished runner up in the domestic Stampede Series on numerous occasions and this result has fuelled the desire to go that 1 better.

10th Place V95 Dale Sinclair
Former Victorian Stampede Series winner Dale Sinclair captured his best result in the Oval Express Series so far with a 10th place overall finish. Sinclair was unlucky to be caught in other people’s accidents. His best A-Main Performance was 6th place at Darlington and also picked up 2 heat race wins.

A total of 43 drivers contested the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series. 48 heats were contested with 23 different winners. 7 drivers won a B-main with Turner winning 2. Hagopian and Brown won 3 A-Mains each with Williams winning the other 2.

After a tiring 8 round in 10 day series Drivers, Crews, Officials and Race fans can now sit back and relax for a few weeks. The next race on the Victorian calendar is a round of the Stampede series on January 28th.

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Points
1st. Jake Hagopian 1082
2nd. Matt Brown 1076
3rd. Liam Williams 1058
4th. Chad Sullivan 1020
5th. Thomas Davies 921
6th. Jye O’Keeffe 907
7th. Mitch Whiting 883
8th. Will Carroll 822
9th. Mat Turner 820
10th. Dale Sinclair 815

The Victorian Formula 500 Association would like to thank all of the Tracks, Sponsors and Officials for their valued support during the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series. We also have a Facebook page. Search for Australian Formula 500 Facebook Page and ask to join

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Sponsors
Oval Express Magazine- Phil & Michelle Jordison and Jon Evans
Eagle Motorsports- Bill Mann & Stephen Bell
Aussie Trackwear- Tracey Brown
Quick Race Shocks- Rob Richardson
Hoosier Tyres Australia- Max Dumesny
Swift Industries- Darren Mollenoyux
Hyper Racing Australia- Dave Hedington & Mike Dicely
Lethal Race Wings- Leigh Van Ginneken
PBI Sprockets Australia- Mat Coates
Phil Jordison Photography- Phil and Michelle Jordison
Driven Performance USA- Mark Hagopian and Gary Olsen
Victory Lane Racegear- Mat Eastham
Maxam Printing- Trevor Cotterill
Empire Graphics- Craig Bottrell
Pit Crew- Warwick & Matt Hunter
Redback Lasers- Kelvin Johnson
Spruce Enterprises- Lee Hardess

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Rounds
Round 1- Western Speedway, Hamilton
Round 2- Avalon Raceway
Round 3- Sungold Stadium, Warrnambool
Round 4- Laang Speedway
Round 5- Simpson Speedway
Round 6- Mid Western Speedway, Darlington
Round 7- Laang Speedway
Round 8- Sungold Stadium, Warrnambool

1 USA 14 Jake Hagopian
2 GLB4 Matt Brown
3 A1 Liam Williams
4 V5 Chad Sullivan
5 WA29 Thomas Davies
6 V55 Jye O’Keeffe
7 V26 Mitch Whiting
8 V6 Will Carroll
9 V32 Mat Turner
10 V95 Dale Sinclair
11 A3 Dale Shilletto
12 V53 Jess Moulden
13 V15 Leigh Van Ginneken
14 V51 Ash Sinclair
15 V75 Andrew Blackstock
16 Q13 Brock Hallett
17 SA29 Grant Stansfield
18 USA99 Austin Farley
19 Q1 Charlie Brown
20 V19 Brett Dillon
21 WA4 Stephen Ellement
22 V27 Dylan Willsher
23 WA7 Matt Higgs
24 NSW9 Roy Urpeth
25 V39 Gerrard Mabbitt
26 V52 Shane Van Duynhoven
27 V41 Justin Sadler
28 Q33 Kristin Brown
29 V17 Andrew Morton
30 V96 Andrew Rae
31 V50 James Aranyosi
32 V91 Steven Horton
33 V92 Robert Trewartha
34 Q9 Brad Metcalfe
35 V24 Tyler Carter
36 V48 Ryan O’Keefe
37 V20 Simon Craven
38 V9 Tim Hicks
39 V88 Ben McLeod
40 V22 Matthew Coates
41 V21 Lee Hardess
42 SA27 Angelo Karoussis
43 V40 Josh Fort

Matt Brown took out the final round of the Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series last night on an extremely fast and smooth Sungold Stadium surface while his team mate Jake Hagopian become the 2nd American to win the series.
Chad Sullivan finished in 2nd while 16 year old Will Carroll finished 3rd. Stephen Ellement returned to form in 4th.

2010 and 2011 World of Outlaws Sprintcar Champion Jason Meyers was on hand to present the trophies to the winners and also gave a 30 minute speech to drivers and officials prior to the event. Hagopian and Meyers are good friends with Meyers formally racing a 270cc Micro Sprint for Hagopian’s Dad in his younger years

Brown started on the outside of the front row and chased early race leader Jye O’Keeffe for the opening handful of laps before tragedy struck for O’Keeffe when the chain on the V55 broke and fell off. Brown inherited the lead and was never challenged for the rest of the race.

Sullivan started in position 3 and was hard on the gas right from the very start and tried everything to catch Brown. With Brown thundering away Sullivan had to contend with Carroll who was applying some immense pressure but just didn’t have enough laps to make a pass. Ellement had up to the final round of the series failed to make it into the top 4 of a final all series and finished off his series in great style with a 4th place finish.

The 2 time Western Australian champion was followed by Aussie Champion Liam Williams. Grant Stansfield returned to form with a 6th place finish while Hagopian’s 7th place finish was good enough to emulate his fellow countryman Travis Senter Jr and win the Oval Express Super Series.

Dale Sinclair finished in 8th with Dale Shilleto and Mitch Whiting rounding out the top 10. Austin Farley was next in 11th. He was followed by Ash Sinclair, AJ Blackstock, Thomas Davies, Mat Turner, Brett Dillon, Tim Hicks, Brock Hallett and Leigh Van Ginneken to round out the field. Jess Moulden finished 4th in the B-Main but due to an engine expiry as she was crossing the line she was unable to take her place in the field.

The last B-Main of the series went the way of the talented Queenslander Hallett. Hallett led Van Ginneken, Davies, Moulden, Hicks and Farley as the transfers to the back of the A-Main. Whiting and Morton were the reserves. Due to Moulden not being able to start the A-Main, Whiting was able to take his place at the back of the pack.

Windy conditions greeted the 29 drivers for the final round of the gruelling 8 round in 10 day series. 6 heats were contested with O’Keeffe taking the first heat win. Blackstock finished 2nd with Turner in 3rd. Ellement won heat 2. Dale Sinclair finished 2nd with Sullivan finishing 3rd. Carroll took the win in heat 3. He was followed by Brown who started 9th with Williams completing the top 3.

Stansfield returned to form with heat 4 victory. He was chased all the way by Hagopian and Carroll. Sullivan took the penultament heat race of the series when he took the win in heat 5. O’Keeffe finished 2nd with Dillon in 3rd. Brown pick up another heat victory for the series with the win in heat 6. Shilleto and Farley completed the top 3.

Nightly Contingency Awards
Random Draws drawn at the Drivers Meeting
Lethal Race Wings Front Wing- V55 Jye O’Keeffe
Swift Industries Shock Dyno Test- V51 Ash Sinclair
PBI Sprockets Australia- V48 Ryan O’Keefe
Hoosier Tire Australia Right Rear Tyre- USA99 Austin Farley
Oval Express Magazine Best Presented Car Award- V5 Chad Sullivan, V51 Ash Sinclair and GLB4 Matt Brown (As voted by Jason Meyers)
Quick Race Shocks last in B-Main Award- N9 Roy Urpeth
Quick Race Shocks B-Main Award- Q13 Brock Hallett
Swift Industries Nearly Award- V26 Mitch Whiting
Hyper Racing Australia Lucky 13th Award- V75 AJ Blackstock
Driven Performance USA Runner Up Award- V5 Chad Sullivan

Final 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Points
1st. Jake Hagopian 1082
2nd. Matt Brown 1076
3rd. Liam Williams 1058
4th. Chad Sullivan 1020
5th. Thomas Davies 921
6th. Jye O’Keeffe 907
7th. Mitch Whiting 883
8th. Will Carroll 822
9th. Mat Turner 820
10. Dale Sinclair 815

The Victorian Formula 500 Association would like to thank all of the Tracks, Sponsors and Officials for their valued support during the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series. We also have a Facebook page. Search for Australian Formula 500 Facebook Page and ask to join

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Sponsors
Oval Express Magazine- Phil & Michelle Jordison and Jon Evans
Eagle Motorsports- Bill Mann & Stephen Bell
Aussie Trackwear- Tracey Brown
Quick Race Shocks- Rob Richardson
Hoosier Tyres Australia- Max Dumesny
Swift Industries- Darren Mollenoyux
Hyper Racing Australia- Dave Hedington & Mike Dicely
Lethal Race Wings- Leigh Van Ginneken
PBI Sprockets Australia- Mat Coates
Phil Jordison Photography- Phil and Michelle Jordison
Driven Performance USA- Mark Hagopian and Gary Olsen
Victory Lane Racegear- Mat Eastham
Maxam Printing- Trevor Cotterill
Empire Graphics- Craig Bottrell
Pit Crew- Warwick & Matt Hunter
Redback Lasers- Kelvin Johnson
Spruce Enterprises- Lee Hardess

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Tracks
Round 1- Western Speedway, Hamilton
Round 2- Avalon Raceway
Round 3- Sungold Stadium, Warrnambool
Round 4- Laang Speedway
Round 5- Simpson Speedway
Round 6- Mid Western Speedway, Darlington
Round 7- Laang Speedway
Round 8- Sungold Stadium, Warrnambool

Jake Hagopian continued his domination of the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series when he took the win in the feature in Round 7 at Laang Speedway last night.
Early race leader Chad Sullivan finished 2nd. Ash Sinclair had by far his best result of the series with a 3rd place finish while Jye O’Keeffe finished 4th.

In a race that had everything Hagopian was simply brilliant. The visiting American was scintillating in lapped traffic after Sullivan led the opening laps of the 30 lap final. With Sullivan in heavy traffic Hagopian seized the opportunity and rode around the outside and into the lead in turn 4. With a lapped car in between Hagopian and Sullivan he was never challenged for the remainder of the race.

Sullivan was able to hold onto second with Sinclair close behind. Sinclair had his best result of the series after having motor troubles earlier in the week. With O’Keeffe sitting in 4th he was challenged by Simon Craven on several occasions but was good enough to hold on.

Craven was happy to be on the track after having a rear axle problem on his trailer yesterday. Thomas Davies continued his strong form with a 6th place finish. Austin Farley was also another driver to have a good run in 7th. Dale Shilleto shook his early series engine woes to finish in 8th.

Round 6 winner Liam Williams didn’t have the night he would like but still was good enough for a 9th place finish. Dale Sinclair completed a good night for the Sinclair brothers with a 10th place finish.

Leigh Van Ginneken, Matt Higgs, Mitch Whiting, Matt Brown who flipped during the A-Main, Mat Turner, Will Carroll, AJ Blackstock, Kristin Brown and Roy Urpeth completed the field. Grant Stansfield pulled infield shortly after the start of the race.

Austin Farley showed a clean pair of heels in taking the B-Main. Liam Williams was second. He was followed by Grant Stansfield, Mitch Whiting, Mat Turner and Kristin Brown in transferring to the back of the A-main. Jess Moulden and Brett Dillon were the reserves.

33 competitors were in the pits. Just after hot laps a shower of rain made conditions a little slippery. With thanks to the supports of the night the track was brought back into a condition that was suitable for racing. Heat 1 went the way of the likeable Urpeth. He was followed by Carroll and Craven. Heat 2 went to Sullivan. Higgs and Van Ginneken completed the podium. Hagopian made his first appearance to victory lane for the night when he won heat 3. He was followed by Ash Sinclair and Blackstock.

Matt Brown picked up yet another heat race win for the series when he took heat 4. O’Keeffe and Farley completed the podium. Heat 5 went the way of Dale Sinclair. He led home Davies and Craven. Shilleto took the final heat race of the night. He led Willsher and Ash Sinclair to the line.

The final round of the series is upon us. Can Jake Hagopian continue the American domination of the series or will someone wrestle the trophy off Uncle Sam’s finest and keep it in Australia. Sungold Stadium will be the scene for the final round of the series. Hot Laps will start at 6pm sharp.

Nightly Contingency Awards
Random Draws drawn at the Drivers Meeting
Lethal Race Wings Front Wing- V24 Tyler Carter
Swift Industries Shock Dyno Test- V17 Andy Morton
PBI Sprockets Australia- Q33 Kristin Brown
Hoosier Tire Australia Right Rear Tire- V22 Matt Coates
Oval Express Magazine Best Presented Car Award- V53 Jess Moulden
Quick Race Shocks last in B-Main Award- Q9 Brad Metcalfe
Quick Race Shocks B-Main Award- USA99 Austin Farley
Swift Industries Nearly Award- V53 Jess Moulden
Hyper Racing Australia Lucky 13th Award- V26 Mitch Whiting
Driven Performance USA Runner Up Award- V5 Chad Sullivan

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Points
After Round 7.

1st. Jake Hagopian 958
2nd. Liam Williams 931
3rd. Matt Brown 921
4th. Chad Sullivan 871
5th. Thomas Davies 825
6th. Jye O’Keeffe 794
7th. Mitch Whiting 788
8th. Mat Turner 718
9th. Dale Sinclair 695
10. Jess Moulden 688

The Victorian Formula 500 Association would like to thank all of the Tracks, Sponsors and Officials for their valued support during the 2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series. We also have a Facebook page. Search for Australian Formula 500 Facebook Page and ask to join

2011/2012 Oval Express Formula 500 Super Series Sponsors
Oval Express Magazine- Phil & Michelle Jordison and Jon Evans
Eagle Motorsports- Bill Mann & Stephen Bell
Aussie Trackwear- Tracey Brown
Quick Race Shocks- Rob Richardson
Hoosier Tyres Australia- Max Dumesny
Swift Industries- Darren Mollenoyux
Hyper Racing Australia- Dave Hedington & Mike Dicely
Lethal Race Wings- Leigh Van Ginneken
PBI Sprockets Australia- Mat Coates
Phil Jordison Photography- Phil and Michelle Jordison
Driven Performance USA- Mark Hagopian and Gary Olsen
Victory Lane Racegear- Mat Eastham
Maxam Printing- Trevor Cotterill
Empire Graphics- Craig Bottrell
Pit Crew- Warwick & Matt Hunter
Redback Lasers- Kelvin Johnson
Spruce Enterprises- Lee Hardess