Just one month on from Dark Horse Racing’s dominant Eastern Creek display, the team have triumphed again, this time taking out class honours on their maiden visit to Winton for the CUE One Hour Production Car Enduro.

Starting the weekend strongly, DHR’s dynamic duo of regular driver Ash Miller and new co-driver Geoff Marsh found the circuit something very special.

“The circuit is very different, very tight,” said Miller.

“It’s more akin to a go-kart track, but the technical nature of the track is perfect for our car, and awesomely entertaining from a driving point of view. There’s a lot more work to do to cover the hour!”

Marsh was equally as vocal, saying “the circuit is quite a lot tighter than I imagined it to be, there’s a few tricky corners but the lap as a whole is awesome.”

DHR’s machine hit the track in sodden conditions in the hands of Miller for initial shakedown, before handing over the reins to Marsh for his first taste of DHR power.

“The car is simply awesome,” Marsh beamed.

“It’s fantastic – every other car I’ve driven I’ve wrung the neck of to get the most out of it. But this car is something else – you really have to work to get to where it’s really capable of, it’s the most impressive car I’ve ever had the chance to race.”

Despite finding grip severely lacking during one of Winton’s famous downpours, Marsh got his head around the task at hand. Friday’s activities wound up with a final tyre test and driver change practice before calling it a day, happy to leave the car be while others in the field visited the scenery in droves.

Saturday’s efforts were spectacular, as qualifying got underway in earnest. Miller got to grips with the car quickly, and managed to post a time good enough for 6th fastest among the ‘Driver A’ bunch.

“I was so happy with the car, and there was more in it to come – it just did everything I wanted it to,” Miller said

Marsh fared just as impressively, as his first run in the dry netted him 10th spot on the ‘Driver B’ grid.

“I really had to try and get used to the car but by the end of the session I was feeling a lot more comfortable, I’m happy with the pace,” Marsh said.

The ‘Driver A’ race drew the Production Sports’ Saturday program to a close in spectacular style. Miller made the most of a napping Sam Silvestro to retake a position off the start and into turn one, before harrying the back of Arthur Magaitis’ Lotus.

“The car was on it from the start, but all that pace went to my head I think, and I got a little impatient,” said Miller.

Indeed Miller was locked in a battle with the Lotus all the way around the action-packed opening lap, until an off-line passing attempt saw Miller spin at turn 5.

Eventually able to get the car out of the sodden infield, Miller dropped right to the back of the pack – but thereafter drove the wheels off the DHR machine.

“I just pushed like hell, I knew I had it all to gain back again so I just drove as quickly as I could,” said Miller.

Although retaking just one position by the end of the 5-lap sprint, Miller managed to set a new unofficial Class E lap record on his way to the chequered flag.

Sunday’s minus-degree dawn welcomed another day of great racing action, this time in the form of the ‘Driver B’ race.

The car was handed over to Geoff Marsh, and in a race of attrition he held his head to come home a respectable 8th.

“I was finding more pace in the car all the time – it was so great to drive, just unreal,” he said.

A fifteen minute warm-up lead to the feature event, and DHR duly lined up in 8th on the grid with Ash Miller starting the race.

As the race got underway, Miller found his start effective, and dodged a slow-starting Matilda Mravavic to get his nose underneath Magaitis’ Lotus once again. From there he drove solidly, keeping the Class B cars of Brian Ferribee and Kerry Finn honest around the twisty circuit.

Despite a now-familiar misfire developing as the race reached the 20-minute mark, Miller pushed on, handing the wheel over to Marsh at the 35-minute mark.

Marsh carried the pace, steadily working his way up the order and bringing his times steadily down to draw ever further into the class lead. As the time wound down, Marsh reeled in Class E’s 2nd place runner Peter Lacey, intent on lapping the fellow Queenslander. Despite a valiant effort and fantastic racing, Marsh couldn’t quite haul the misfiring car close enough, but brought the car over the line to notch up DHR’s second One Hour win from as many starts in 2010. The result saw Dark Horse Racing place seventh overall, and secures them well ahead in One Hour the title race.

“Geoff was absolutely magic today, he put in an awesome drive to bring the car home despite the troubles,” Miller said.

“My thanks really has to go out to my dad (Graham) and Errol Davidson for all their hard work to produce and run such an incredible car.”

Marsh was equally thrilled, saying “I had a ball out there, this car is seriously fast, and I loved every lap.”

DHR’s title chase takes a hiatus until the CUE series visits Morgan Park in September, providing a much-earned break before the end of year assault on the 2010 CUE One Hour Endurance Series title.

DHR’s last visit to Morgan Park netted them 3rd place in the 2009 Mazda MX5 Nationals, and with improvements to the car proving effective, they’re confident they’ll be able to go even quicker come September.

A very special thanks must be handed to the Lacey team, who sacrificed their Class C series points to drop into Class E and enable DHR to collect the points they did for the Winton weekend.

Photos and Videos will be available for viewing shortly, so stay tuned!