From the start of 2010, DHR set its sights on becoming the country’s most formidable Production Sports Car team, going up against Australia’s most prolific Prodsports talents to wrestle for the CUE One Hour Production Sports championship.

While the overall championship is yet to be decided, class 2F laurels have – and with one round still to go, Ash Miller and Team DHR are CUE One Hour Champions for the class.

Fighting against an incredibly saturated wad of driving talent at Morgan Park last weekend, Ash Miller and co-driver Geoff Marsh faced the most challenging field seen in the championship so far, with 35 entrants vying for class and overall honours. With the drivers races showcasing DHR’s mixed weather pace, signs were good for the One Hour feature.

“We’ve been lucky with the weather here, it played right into our hands,” said Miller.

“But if the race tomorrow is dry, we’ll have more of a fight on our hands. There are one or two guys that we don’t usually have competing in the One Hour championship that I know are lightning quick, and we’ll have to be on our toes to really get the most out of the car.”

Come Sunday the weather indeed fined up, and the temperatures were soaring as the cars lined up for the start of the One Hour spectacle.

Miller was in the drivers seat for the start, tussling with David Barram’s NC MX5 for the first few laps – Barram proving that the latest Mazda incarnation can be a very wide car indeed.

“The opening laps were hectic, and we knew we had the pace to be in front of David – but there’s no denying he knows how to defend his position!”

After managing to find a way around, Miller’s opening stint was spent going blow-for-blow with local boy Russell Schloss, whose pace around the Morgan Park circuit threw down DHR’s biggest challenge of the weekend. Having slipped by after Miller’s tussle with Barram, Miller and Schloss traded quickest laps as the pair raced nose-to-tail, pulling well clear of the other 2F runners.

“I was pushing pretty hard to stay in touch with Russell – the traffic was something that didn’t help, I’d get up to the back of Russell, then get held up.”

Handing over the reigns to Geoff Marsh at the 35 minute mark, a lightning stop and a series of quick laps by Miller before coming in saw Marsh exit the pits on the tail of Schloss once again. With Schloss choosing to complete the One Hour on his own, his pace was hard to match.

“He was comfortable in the car, and for those first few laps while Geoff got settled in, Russell used it to his advantage. Not being in the Championship though, we just needed points, and we weren’t too concerned.”

However, a late-race charge by Ash Lowe in the NC made for a final-lap thriller, as Lowe made up the deficit to pull onto the tail of Marsh as the pair started their final lap. With the final few kilometres fought in Gladiator-like proportions, Lowe just slipped by into 2nd, giving Marsh 3rd place at the chequered flag.

“I struggled with the tyres and ended up having a couple of moments during my stint,” Marsh said afterwards.

“Late in the race, when I saw Ash (Lowe) coming in the mirrors, I pushed as hard as I could, and did everything I knew to keep him behind me, but he found a way past right at the end. We’ve still bagged a handful of points, and it’s been enough to wrap up the series for us, so although I’m a little disappointed at not keeping second, I’m thrilled for us for claiming the 2F crown!”

DHR finished 13th overall, galvanising their giant-killing reputation. With points from the drivers races included, DHR not only seal the 2F category, but they also extend their gap over third place in the overall series standings.

“We’ve had such a great weekend, and I’m stoked at how hard the team have worked this year,” Miller said.

“They really deserve every bit of success coming our way, and where we sit in the overall championship is a reflection of that. I really must thank Errol Davidson, Graham Miller, John, Joey and Kylie Bayly, Gary Stewart, Ray Stewart and everyone else who has been involved in preparing such in an immaculate little MX5. I can’t wait to head down and face off with everyone again at Phillip Island!”

Phillip Island is indeed the scene of the next and final CUE One Hour series race. A circuit notorious with changeable weather and fast, sweeping corners, DHR will no doubt be on form once again.

However, it’s the Mazda MX5 Nationals that calls for DHR’s immediate focus. Taking place at Wakefield park during the last weekend of October, it brings together the cream of Mazda MX5 drivers from around the country for their second annual gathering.

“We’re out to improve on our third place from last year – we know it won’t be easy, seeing the pace of Ash (Lowe) and Russell (Schloss) over the Morgan Park weekend. But I’m ready to tackle the circuit.”

Dark Horse Racing last turned a wheel at Wakefield during the latter stages of 2007, making it quite a while between drinks for the Brisbane squad. On that occasion, Miller scored impressive results against a similar field of entrants for the Festival or Sports Cars gathering. Can he go better in 2010?

“Of course, we have it in us, but everything has to be perfect. Of that, I know we can do,” Miller mused.

With Miller competing in the Australian Irish Dancing Championships as we speak, his focus is shifted from wheels to jigs; but come late October, he and DHR will be back on track.

Morgan Park video highlights to come soon!

Stay tuned.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARSTA PHOTOGRAPHY – www.marsta.com

As the team arrived at a still-sodden Morgan Park circuit on Saturday morning, odds on an accurate weather prediction were longer than betting on Elvis coming back from the dead.

However, with local knowledge proving invaluable, Team DHR’s drivers Ash Miller and Geoff Marsh made the most of the advantage.

With qualifying being a damp affair, Miller was the first to set the ball rolling. Surging through the spray, Miller set a time that was good enough to see him on top of the 2F class times by a second,  and put him 12th on the grid overall, from 35 eager Production Sports competitors.

“It was a difficult session,” Miller said afterwards.

“But all we needed to do was get ourselves high enough up the grid for a good shot at maximum points, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Geoff Marsh performed similarly well in patchy conditions, putting the DHR car 13th on the grid for the second drivers race.

“The car is just awesome,” Geoff said.

“It’s doing all the things that I want it to.”

Come race time, the drivers were predicting an exciting, if challenging, spectacle for the 5 lap sprint races.

However, not even the drivers could have seen the action that they encountered.

For drivers race one, Miller made a decent start, and proceeded to carve his way through the wet/dry conditions, eating up position after position, and taking advantage of his slick-shod competitors as they struggled through the wetter parts of the circuit.

“The first lap was insane – the car was just brilliant, and I managed to pass enough people to get me up to 5th place by the end of the first lap,” Miller beamed.

“The new part of the circuit is epic; it’s so quick. And there were people going everywhere. Once the positions sorted out, I couldn’t believe where we were.”

The positions would stay that way, and despite a late charge from Ash Lowe in the NC Mazda MX5, Miller held him off to take 5th on the road, and 1st in class.

Marsh’s race was almost a carbon copy of DHR’s first on-track performance; Geoff commanded the start, and after an impressive opening lap Marsh surged ahead of the other class 2F runners.

Despite an epic battle with 2B runner Matilda Mravavic and a late challenge from a recovering Scott Bargwanna, Marsh brought the car home in 6th place outright, giving DHR a faultless class-winning performance.

“What a race! That was unreal!” Marsh said.

“The car was just brilliant, it was on fire. I’m so pleased with the result, what a rush!”

With both drivers’ performances laying down the gauntlet for the coming One Hour enduro, DHR are aiming to close the gap between themselves, and series leader Arthur Magaitis. Currently sitting in second for the championship, Miller and Marsh will be giving their all to chase championship glory.

“We’ve kicked off the weekend in perfect style – now we have to finish the job. We have our sights on Arthur’s lead,” Miller mused.

Sunday’s One Hour will kick off at 12.30, so keep eyes and ears peeled for the latest news from DHR, Ash Miller and Geoff Marsh.

With the weeks since Team DHR’s awesome Winton weekend bringing the next round ever closer, the Dark Horse Racing stable is preparing in earnest for the latter half of their 2010 title assault.

With a total of three months between the CUE Production Sports One Hour Enduro series’ rounds two and three, the team have had time to refresh its head, aiming its focus squarely at the back end of the the championship.

Round three will see DHR tackle their first familiar circuit of the 2010 campaign – Morgan Park’s September 24-26 meeting is the next stop on the Prodsports merry-go-round, and lead driver Ash Miller is keen to get into the action. However, despite being familiar with most of the circuit, Miller will have to get used to the circuit’s new extension, completed early August.

“The circuit is at least in part familiar,” Miller said.

“We had probably the most intense racing of our career so far here last year for the MX5 nationals, and we’ll be even quicker this time out, so I’m looking forward to tackling the circuit. I can’t wait to sample the new bit, it looks great from what I’ve seen so far, and with it’s fast turns, it should suit our car nicely.”

With the championship at its half way mark, the standings read impressively – Miller and DHR sit on top of the Class E standings and second in the overall order, displacing the likes of Brian Anderson’s MZ3 BMW, several Lotus Exiges and the Mazda RX7 of Sam Silvestro.

Joining Miller again at Morgan Park will be Winton co-driver Geoff Marsh, who brought the car home in Victoria.

Miller is under no illusions as to what the next few months will bring.

“We have to be patient and we have to be clear-minded heading into these rounds. These will be the most crucial, and we have to make sure we spare nothing in preparing properly. That being said, I just can’t wait to get my bum back behind the wheel!”

CHECK OUT [ DHR'S WINTON REVIEW ]