We’ve picked the 2022 race to pieces on two occasions already; once the day after the race, and again in the lead up to the 2023 edition, but it’s the stuff Zak Caban has uncovered about the third running of the Pitcher Partners Sydney 300, while preparing for this year’s edition, that we wish to focus on today.

At the time, it was the fourteenth occurrence, in the history of the 300km format (dating back to 2008 in Goulburn – One Raceway), in which three (or more) cars had finished on the lead lap. That number now stands at sixteen.

It was the 27th instance in which three different manufacturers were represented on the outright podium (that number now stands at 29), and it was third time in which three different divisions featured on the outright podium, after the 2018 and 2019 #Willowbank 300’s at Queensland Raceway, and that’s the focus point for the first part of this Pitcher Partners #Sydney300 race stat.
2022 marked the first time, in the HISTORY of the concept, that cars from three different divisions had finished first, second and third outright, representing three different manufacturers, and running ON THE LEAD LAP (Lap 75 in this case, due to time-certainty, which was triggered by a circuit-imposed curfew, noting that the race started slightly later than planned, due to delays caused by inclement weather all afternoon).

On that night, a record-breaking SIX cars (two each from Divisions A, B and C) finished on the lead lap. Incidentally, those six cars represented five different manufacturers (2 x BMW, 1 x Mitsubishi, Subaru, Mazda and Honda).

The only other time entries in three different divisions managed to finish on the lead lap, was right here at Sydney Motorsport Park, in the inaugural race – the 2019 ClubRacer Engineering Sydney 300, when the Division C winners, Daniel Kapetanovic and David Kruza, finished fourth outright.

The 2022 race also produced the smallest division winning margin in Sydney 300 history, as Division D was decided by +0.3061, as the Nissan Pulsar of Michael Ricketts and Josh Haynes Motorsport held off the Toyota 86, driven by Graeme and Joshua Heath, in a one-lap dash to the chequered flag, in a division deciding scrap that doubled as the battle for 14th outright (see screenshot below).

Four of the five divisions were decided by less than 30 seconds on that night… the exception was Division E, which was won by the VW Polo, driven by Oskar Butt and Troy Derwent, to the tune of three laps.

It remains the biggest ever margin of victory, in Division E, in the history of the Pitcher Partners Sydney 300.

The pair finished 12th outright – just two laps off the leaders – and achieved the rare feat of being the fastest qualifier in their division, and then converting that result into a race win. CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas and Cody Brewczynski did the same thing in Division B, which – as is already well documented – doubled as an outright win for the team running the Mitsubishi Evo.

Of course, it’d be remiss of us not to remind you of all the other history made that night. Here, below, are the records, from 2022, that remain intact ahead of the 2024 race.

• Smallest winning margin (0.3138 seconds) in Sydney 300 history, and second-smallest winning margin in ‘300’ history!
• Closest podium in ‘300’ history (just 11.7437 seconds separated 1st and 3rd at the end of the night).
• 1st time-certain finish for a Sydney 300 (2 laps shy of full race distance)
• Three different divisions on the outright podium – 1st time in Sydney 300 history – and, the first time a Division C entry has finished on the outright podium in this event!
• Latest finish to a 300 EVER!
• It remains the only outright Sydney 300 win for a Division B entry.
• First Sydney 300 outright podium for both Mitsubishi and Subaru. It was Subaru’s best ever outright result, with Chris Sutton (321 MotoFit) finishing 2nd outright, and only the third time the manufacturer has featured on the outright podium in 300 history.
• 5 different manufacturers in the top five, and 7 in the top ten.
• FIVE different manufacturers bagging Division honours (only time it’s happened in Sydney).
• 7 Safety Cars – five more than any other edition of the Sydney 300.
• 6 cars on the lead lap at the end of the night, which remains the ‘300’ record. The previous best was 4.
• Mitsubishi’s first ‘300’ win outside of (the venue formerly known as) Wakefield Park in Goulburn – a venue they’ve tasted success at on FOUR occasions.

The 2024 Pitcher Partners Sydney 300 is a little over seven weeks away. We’re excited for it… history awaits… records and statistics are there to be written, and/or broken… and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

EVENT INFO: https://motorrace.com.au/event/2024-round-2/