Paul Batten Racing Begins 2007 on the Right Foot

Paul Batten Racing has overcome a hectic lead up to take a convincing win during round one of the 2007 Victorian Excel Series along with a remarkable 18th outright surrounded by a field of 4WD Turbo cars. The "Cerberus Stages" was held in conjunction with round 1 of the Victorian Rally Championship in what turned out to be atrocious conditions with the event being cut short.

The decision to compete in the event was only made on the Monday leading up to the event. The lengthy process then began to turn a 1995 5 door Hyundai Excel "display car" into a rally ready machine. Greg Moulden and the Students at Kangan Batman Tafe worked tirelessly on the car and were still putting final touches onto the vehicle on the Friday afternoon. With the suspension only installed on the morning of the event with components borrowed from fellow Excel Competitors.

The Cerberus Stages was round one of the 2007 Victorian Championship. Held in the forests around Nerrim the hills did not suit the Single Cam Excel but flowing roads suited Paul's driving style with the team coming away with the Excel series win, 2nd in the under 1600cc class P2 and 3rd outright 2WD.

The Stages where held in slippery conditions and the event was eventually cut short with some huge down pours over the course of the day. "It's disappointing to see the event cut short, I was really enjoying myself! The car was great considering our lead-up and we were happy with our speed after 6 months out of competition. I was really able to put into practise some of the things I learnt at the AIS camp, and it definately helped my driving. We are looking forward to the next round and hopefully giving our Dunlop tyres a run in the dry!" Paul explained at the duration of the event.

Paul Batten Racing would Like to thank Greg and the Students from Kangan Batman Tafe for their pre event preparation. Along with Stuckey Tyre Service, Rallydrive.com.au, WURTH, Coxy's Motorsport Parts, Pitman Trucks and Hyon Auto parts and Smash repairs.

The next event for Paul Batten Racing is the East Gippsland Stages, round two of the 2007 Victorian Excel Series. The Excel series car will receive some upgrades including suspension and weight reduction. The event will hopefully see Paul and the team extend their lead in the 2007 Series.