If someone told Dunedin's Steve Ross at the start of the season that he would wind up second in the New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series, he would have said "brilliant".
With a six-point lead and pole position in the opening race of the sixth and final round, however, finishing the season as series champion was looking more likely.
He had pipped former and defending champions Chris Hyde and Ken Smith, respectively, for the prime spot, only to be let down in the race by a mechanical failure.
About four laps into Saturday's race at the Australian Grand Prix meeting in Melbourne, the half shaft on his McRae GM1 sheered, leaving him without drive.
The balance tipped Smith's way, and with second place finishes to Hyde in that race and again on Sunday, the title was the 68-year-old New Zealand driver's for a second consecutive year.
Ross did not give up without a fight and, starting from the back of the 30-strong grid in the second race, he charged through to fourth.
"If we were to have won, we were going to have to finish between fifth and seventh and Ken would have had to have a dnf, but you can't give up, can you?"
• It was nearly an all-Dunedin driver podium at Ngapara Hillclimb on North Otago's Coal Pit Rd.
Bruce Saxton won in a Mitsubishi Evo 6 in 54.73secs from Subaru Impreza driver Phil Winter, who clocked 55.56secs, on Sunday.
Timaru's Jayden Bailey recorded a fastest run of 56.21secs in his Nissan Sunny to prevent Titan Formula Ford driver Brian McCombe (57.36secs) from joining his Dunedin compatriots in the top three.
Otago Sports Car Club president Ross Cameron said there were 19 entries in the OSCC-run section and 15 from the North Otago Vintage Car Club.
