Mvb Scraps It Out In Fireball Derby
MVB Racing posted Sunday December 6, 2009.

Mike Van Bremen returned to Geelong’s Avalon Raceway on Saturday night (December 5) for the first time since his maiden feature race victory at the venue back in November to contest the fourth round of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series.

Doubling as the 41st running of the Fireball Derby, Van Bremen was eager to extend his 21 point lead in the Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar Series.

The night however turned into a scrap, with a mistake in the first heat and then power steering problems in the second heat forcing Van Bremen into the B-Main.

“In the opening heat race I lost two or three positions by over driving and making a mistake,” admitted Van Bremen. “Once I got back into the rhythm the track was fast and it was difficult to make up any ground.”

Looking to bounce back in the second heat, the power steering on the Action Alliance V#6 failed, making it difficult for Van Bremen behind the steering wheel.

“We blew a power steering line early and struggled through the rest of the race. In the end we were probably lucky to finish,” said MVB.

After heat racing, Van Bremen’s focus turned to transferring to the 30-lap final courtesy of a top six result in the last chance B-Main. Starting from position seven, Van Bremen had 15 laps to make at least one position and transfer to the main show.

“The Flying Dutchman” found his groove, finishing strongly in second position to start the A-Main from position fourteen.

With 30-laps and a recent feature race victory at the venue, Van Bremen was quietly confident of moving through the field and securing as many points as he could. The track was also allowing passing, particularly on a racy highline.

Van Bremen got off to a flying start passing multiple cars in the first turn, but a yellow light forced a total restart and he could not duplicate the same start on the next occasion.

Once settled in, Van Bremen started picking off cars and with the odd one dropping out, the Action Alliance V#6 finished in seventh position.

“I had some very good cars in front of me so to pick off a few and finish seventh wasn’t a bad result considering where we were place after the heats.

“It was a tough night at the office, but we recovered well and scrapped away. With Sprintcar racing, the odd night won’t go to plan, but if you can recover then the spirits stay high,” said Van Bremen.

The result now has Van Bremen placed second in points in the Eureka Garages and Sheds Series, with John Vogels holding a 32 point lead.

“We are still in good form and the difference between Vogels, myself and even Brett Milburn is very minimal. There is plenty of racing left and I’m looking forward to the next round of the series on December 26 back at Avalon and hopefully we can get the series lead back,” said Van Bremen.

MVB Racing would like to thank the following sponsors for season 2009/2010:
Action Alliance
CSR Methanol
Quick Race Shocks
Harvey Body and Custom

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