Left: Geoff Emery shows off the spoils of his fifth Commodore Cup championship and he will seek a new challenge in 2008. Picture courtesy CDG Photographics.By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren’s Geoff Emery became Commodore Cup champion for a fifth time at Sandown International Motor Raceway on Sunday.
Carrying a 42-point buffer over second-placed Michael Graham into the final round, Emery drove as conservatively as he has all season, but still proved too good.
After qualifying in pole position, Emery took out race one honours before finding trouble in his next trip to the track.
While leading in race two, he suffered a front suspension failure, which dropped him to the back of the pack to ultimately finish 19th out of the 20 competitors.
Starting almost last on the grid in race three, all Emery needed to do was complete the 12 laps to claim the title, but, as is his nature, he stormed through the field to be sixth across the line.
The latest triumph could be his best yet after only competing in seven of the eight Commodore Cup rounds.
He and five other drivers – team-mate Tony Bates, Daniel Richert, Geoff Fontaine, Ross McGregor and Phillip Menzel – boycotted the penultimate round of the series in protest at the management of the national category.
“It is obviously a pretty good result for us having only gone to seven of the eight rounds,” Emery said.
“We proved fairly convincingly that we can win championships.”
This year’s Commodore Cup championship was shaping as a tight tussle when Richert jumped to the front of the standings after round five, but Emery’s younger rival did not participate in the remaining rounds.
The controversial year of the Commodore Cup is set to be Emery’s last – at least for the time being – after he admitted there was not much more he could achieve in the racing class.
“We’re not looking to run Commodore Cup next year, but we want to race something,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we are wasting our time if we compete in the Commodore Cup again.
“We need to move on and take up the next challenge.”
Emery hopes to gain a seat in the V8 Supercars Development Series next season, where he drove last year and in a one-off appearance this month.
“We haven’t made any plans yet, but we’re putting some deals together,” he said.
“It’s more financial than anything. There are a lot of options to go for – there are half a dozen offers I can take up – but it’s a matter of which fits best.”
Unless a deal can be achieved, Emery is considering taking a break from racing next year.
