Chris Donnelly Craig Harris Julian Harburg Kevin Heffernan Jason Higgs Shane Bradford Wayne Wakefield

Q: Who drives in the Queensland Gemini Series? A: Anyone and everyone Men and women of all ages race for many varied reasons. Reasons include it is a fantastic starting point for those who want to make a career out of motorsport, it's for people who want to drive quickly, under the controled conditions of a racetrack and off the public roads, while others get hooked on the racing after watching them race, or a drawn into it through family connections. Of the approximately 600 drivers who have competed in the series, many have gone onto bigger and better things in motorsport. Drivers who started their careers in Geminis include: Bathurst Champions Touring Car Champions Speedway Champions Formula Ford Chaampions Sport Sedan Champions Club Car Champions As well as drivers who started driving in Geminis, Legends in Australian motorsport such as Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Kevin Bartlett and Charlie O'Brien have raced the cars. Add to these famous names from local Queensland racing such as Kurt Kratzman, John English, John Donnelly and Iain Corness who have all raced the cars. Current stars of Australian motorsport to start their careers include Tony Longhurst, Paul Morris and Wayne Wakefield. Longhurst, the 1988 Bathurst 1000 champion and current Castrol Ford V8 Supercar driver was first spotted racing in the Gemini series by BMW racing team boss Frank Gardiner. Morris, the most successful driver in the history of Super Touring in Australia, has raced in the USA in the highly competetive breeding ground for Indycars, Indy Lights. Add to this a drive in the biggest touring car team in the Southern Hemisphere, the Holden Racing Team for the 1999 V8 Supercar endurance races and the prospect of a seat in the super competitive British Touring Car Championship for the 2000 season. He started racing in the Gemini series with his father, Terry Morris, a mover and shaker in the Super Touring world. Wayne Wakefield, considered by many to be the best up and coming driver in the sport, started out drving in the Gemini series in 1993, and was named "Rookie of the Year". From there he moved into club cars, with the famous Mazda 808 (wagon...) taking out the 1996 and 1998 Queensland championships, whilst coming 5th on debut in Super Tourers at Lakeside in 1997. In 1998 he impreesed many in the 3 rounds he drove in the Commodore Cup championship, resulting in 4 wins, a second, and lap records at all the tracks he raced at. He then raced an uncompetitive Toyota Carina into a strong position at the Bathurst 1000, before running off the track. In 1999 he has raced with great distinction in V8 Supercars, taking out the Privateer Class at Queensland Raceway, and has raced with great distinction in the Commodore Cup. Other former drivers include: Todd Wanless (Speedway/Auscar/Nascar/Formula Ford) Troy Dunston (Formula Ford/Touring Cars) Kevin Heffernan (V8 Supercar/GTP) Tony Scott (Super Touring) Ian Palmer (V8 Supercar/GTP) Craig Harris (V8 Supercar/GTP) Scott Jacob (GTP) Jim McKnoulty (GTP) One of the little known, yet one of the best performing drivers from the Gemini Series at the moment is Brett Francis, who is currently leading the Kent County Formula Ford Championship in England. Starting in Geminis, then moving on to Sport Sedans and local Formula Ford, then taking the giant step over the pond to take part in one of the world's most competitive open series, which he has taken to like a duck to water. People get started in the series for many reasons, such as it is a natural progresion from go-karts, friends or family drive the cars, or they simply attend race meetings and get hooked from what they see of the action. The series features many second generation drivers, such as Colin Smith, Brad Searle, Lauren Donnelly, Craig and Sean English, Sarah Corness, Brett Francis and Dean Patterson to name a few. Also the Gemini has a greater competing pecentage of females than most other classes. In the final round of the 1998 season, Kaye Woodward (wife of local legend Ian) won the first ever race by a female in the series and is now moving onto the Sport Sedan class. Current female competitors include Lauren Donnelly, Danielle Argiro, Nerida Stark, Mia Kosenko, Michelle Lawson and Sarah Corness. Although as said earlier, many drivers move on to faster cars, some start driving the cars and are hooked for life. Some examples are John Novak, Daryll Searle, Willie Taylor and Trevor Llewelyn.