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LOWNDES WINS V8 SUPERCAR BARRY SHEENE MEDAL
Craig Lowndes might have just missed his fourth V8 Supercar Championship but had a reason to smile with his third Barry Sheene Medal at the 2011 Gala Dinner Awards in Sydney tonight.
Lowndes took the prestigious medal named after the late great Sheene for his all-round appeal with fans and the media, personality, leadership and his contribution to the sport. He also won the medal in 2005 and 2006.
He could not tackle his team-mate Jamie Whincup for the V8 Supercar Championship at the Sydney Telstra 500 on the weekend, falling just short of a fourth title, finishing second in the 2011 season.
Whincup accepted his award as 2011 Champion, his third title in four years.
The 28-year-old TeamVodafone ace also picked up his Championship ring (awarded for the first time this year) as well as the traditional Australian Touring Car Championship from CAMS, while a range of other awards were handed out on the evening.
The inaugural V8 Supercar Champion Glenn Seton (1997 Champion) was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contribution in the sport over many years.
Seton is one of five drivers to have competed in over 200 V8 Supercar events. The others are Dick Johnson (202), John Bowe (225), Mark Skaife (214) and the late Peter Brock (212). In the past he has run his own team for a number of years.
Seton competed from 1984 to when he retired in 2005, also winning the title in 1993 as well as the inaugural 1997 V8 Supercar crown.
He was noted for being one of the unluckiest and best drivers never to achieve victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 classic, as his father Bo did in 1965.
Seton started from pole position in 1994 and 1996, and finished second three times. He came close to winning the race in 1995 but his engine failed nine laps from the finish.
Outstanding young rookie Chaz Mostert was awarded the Mike Kable Young Gun Award after his outstanding debut in the Fujitsu Series.
Mostert is a multiple Australian karting Champion and was one of the youngest drivers in Australia to make his national Formula Ford debut in 2008 without progressing as so many had done before, through a State Championship.
He is said to have ability and traits similar to that of Mark Winterbottom at the same age.
Long-time co-owners of V8 Supercars James Erskine and Basil Scaffidi received Appreciation of Service Awards, as did former Board member and Chairman of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide Roger Cook.
Monster Energy Racing's Andrew Thompson won the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series after a stellar performance at the Sydney Telstra 500.
The Clipsal 500, after a term of not being able to be awarded the Event of the Year, deservedly took the gong again for this year's event.
For coverage from the V8 Supercars Gala Awards Dinner, tune into V8Xtra on Channel 7 this Saturday December 10 at 12.00pm AEDT.
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