TAKING THE TOUR

PRODUCTION TOURING

TAKING THE TOUR

RUSSEL WINDEBANK

BOB PEARSON had to wait for the final race weekend to take out the 2011 Production Touring Car series, after leading the championship for most of the year in his Mitsubishi EVO X.

Pearson was forced to miss the Wakefield Park round, allowing six other drivers to join him in the battle for the outright championship coming into the final round at Eastern Creek.

But even after winning seven of the 14 races in 2011, Pearson took the championship over Tony Virag by just one point, with Geoff Kite a further six points behind in third outright.

The 2011 season saw a number of notable performances, including Virag's Herculean efforts to win the series' endurance round, Leigh Burgess' two wins, and Gerry Murphy's race win.

Jim Pollicina returned for the final round after an 18-month break, and banged out two wins that weekend.

The series itself saw a successful year, with grids of 20 or more cars battling across the three classes, with Class A going to Pearson followed by Virag and Rod Thorpe: Class B to Kite. Paul Lane and Paul Loiacono; and Class C to Azim Sahu-Khan.

HIRVO: I WON'T BACK DOWN

CITROEN'S NEW signing Mikko Hirvonen insists he will not approach his firs) season in Ihe French team with a second driver mentality. While he says his focus is on settling into the DS3 as quickly as possible, he concedes that - as a two-time Ray Sweden winner -there wilt be a lair amount of pressure on him end the team's seven-year wait for a victory in Varmland.

DOVIZIOSO GETS AN UNLUCKY BREAK

Andrea Dovizioso is confident he'll be fit for winter testing later this month. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO'S switch to Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha for 2012 has suffered a blow, with the Italian suffering a broken collarbone while riding motocross on January 5.

CHRISTMAS CRUNCH

MOTOGP American Nicky Hayden is recovering from a series of injuries suffered in a training accident while riding dirt bikes just days after Christmas in the United States. Former World Champion Hayden suffered a broken left scapula and two fractured ribs while riding flat track near his home in Kentucky on December 27.

BUEMI EYES LE MANS 24HR DRIVE

Cast out from F1, Buemi hopes to garner seat time in the Le Mans 24 Hour. FORMULA ONE reject Sebastien Buemi is hopeful of securing a seat in this year's Le Mans 24 Hour with a major frontrunning team. Dumped by Toro Rosso at the end of last season, Buemi has recently signed on as Red Bull Racing's reserve F1 driver for 2012.

MARTIN'S 24HR PLAN

World Endurance Chanpionship Aussie Open-Wheel export John Martin is set to race in the World Endurance Championship this year. Martin is talking to several teams about a possible seat in the new category, with the Superleague Formula champion hoping to secure a drive in the competitive LMP2 ranks for 2012.

HIRVO: I WON'T BACK DOWN

DOVIZIOSO GETS AN UNLUCKY BREAK

CHRISTMAS CRUNCH

BUEMI EYES LE MANS 24HR DRIVE

MARTIN'S 24HR PLAN

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