TIM RANKIN'S Jack Willsher Cup was riddled with car issues but he was not going to let it stop him from claiming a maiden victory in the Formula 500 feature race.
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The 31-year-old led from start to finish and avoided a late incident with three to go in the 20-lap feature before storming away once again after the restart, claiming the win ahead of Australian champion Buckingham and Jordan Rae.
Rankin said the car problems made the victory, which is his first since he won the Victorian Sprintcar title in 2015, much sweeter.
"I'm buggered and the old arms are sore," the Simpson-based racer said following his win in the prestigious Formula 500 race.
"I had no power steering in it and didn't have it all night. We have a fault in the power steering unit somewhere and it was noticeable. We just had to rely on human power steering tonight.
"We had problems all night but you are always going to have them first night out. It's one of those things where you can hit the sweet-spot and the car is good."
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The former dairy farmer, who now works for a fertilizer company, rated it among one of his best wins in the sport.
"It's pretty well up there for a Jack Willsher and especially with the calibre of cars these days," he said.
"Everything is that even today so it just comes down to a bit of driver ability and a lot of setting up."
The car Rankin drove to his Willsher Cup victory on Saturday night is a 2015 chassis he bought for just $100 off the Rae family before updating and fixing it to be ready to race.
The 2019-20 season is the second year Rankin will be racing full-time in Formula 500s after the well-known racer stepped down from sprintcars.
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