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DOVI PRIMED TO RETURN AS MARQUEZ REPLACEMENT MOTOGP FRONT-RUNNER Andrea Dovizioso elected to take a sabbatical in 2021, however his manager says that that the Italian rider is primed to replace the injured Marc Marquez. Former Repsol Honda rider Dovizioso suffered a painful and drawn-out divorce from the factory Ducati team last year and despite several offers on the table from lower teams for 2021, the Italian rider decided to take a sabbatical. ‘Dovi’ also turned down opportunities as a test rider as he did not want this to limit his options for a full-time return in 2022. According to Dovizioso’s manager Simone Battistella, Dovi is prepared and ready for action should the factory Honda squad need a replacement for the injured six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. “If it (the call) arrives, Andrea is really ready,” Battistella said. “He is training with motocross at an amateur level, but he is doing it with such intensity as if it were in full pre-season MotoGP. We will work this year to fully return in 2022. “As for Honda, of course, first of all I’d like to say that both Andrea and I are very sorry about what is happening to Marc (Marquez), it is clear that they are evaluating exactly when their rider can return. “In my opinion, they are, rightly, afraid of making any mistakes in such a delicate situation. Next month will be crucial for their decisions. For our part, we have rejected all of the proposals to be a test rider in order to be free to do something else but, also, so we are ready to return to the grid.” Uncertainty and rumours continue to mount as to whether Marquez will be fit in time for the opening round of the MotoGP season from March 26-28. Murmurs of a possible Marquez replacement persist, although the Spaniard’s Honda crew chief Santi Hernandez openly said that he would like to see test rider Stefan Bradl return. Due to testing restrictions, Dovizioso would not be allowed to ride the bike until the pre-season Qatar test, with Battistella telling Sky Sports Italy that it is an idea that they are open to. “When I think about it, I would say yes to a call (from Honda) to get to know each other and to understand how Andrea would adapt to that bike,” he said. “We are talking about a winning bike and a rider who has always been very strong in Qatar; that combination would definitely intrigue fans”. Battistella admits that once Marquez returns to full fitness and is ready to return, Dovi will have to make way as teams are only allowed to run a maximum of two bikes. “The hypothesis of starting (Dovi) alongside Pol Espargaro and then adding a third bike when Marquez returns is not feasible, so I don’t think there are so many variables that we can explore,” Battistella admitted. “Let’s wait while Andrea, very calmly, works with the seriousness and commitment that makes him Andrea.” “Obviously, we don’t like to hide behind a finger and the idea of watching the double-header in Qatar from the sofa at home might not be easy - assuming Dovi is not on a motocross track in those hours.” Dan McCarthy
THREE-TIME SUPERCARS champion Scott McLaughlin will be supported by PPG for 10-races of his rookie IndyCar campaign with Team Penske. McLaughlin made his IndyCar debut on the streets of St Petersburg last year as part of the season finale sporting support from Shell V-Power, but will this year align for a significant portion of the season with long-time Team Penske sponsor PPG. The Kiwi ace moved to the United States at the end of 2020 where he completed testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, successfully passing the Rookie Orientation Program, which enables him to compete in the Indy 500. “It is surreal to think my first full season in the INDYCAR SERIES is almost here,” said McLaughlin. “I am truly living out my dreams and to have PPG on board as our primary partner is amazing. “I watched the beautiful blue and white PPG cars compete over the last few years, and they look amazing on track. It is going to be an honour to represent PPG in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet this season.” The relationship between paint and coating manufacturer PPG and Team Penske can be traced back to 1984 when the company first provided paint to the prestigious operation. Some of the most iconic IndyCar
liveries have emerged from the partnership. “PPG is a global, industryleading brand that has been a terrific partner with Team Penske for more than three decades,” said Roger Penske. “Our relationship with PPG has continued to grow and reach across all areas of our business. We are excited about the newest racing opportunity in our partnership as PPG teams up with the No. 3 team and Scott for his first full season competing in the NTT IndyCar Series.” The last race win for PPG and Team Penske was Josef Newgarden’s victory at Gateway Motorsport Park in 2017. PPG’s support will also extend to Austin Cindric’s NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign for four races. “The relationship with Team Penske has been extremely successful for PPG, both on and off the track,” said Bill Shaw, PPG director, strategic accounts, automotive refinish. “We are excited to add another chapter to our history with Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 PPG Dallara/Chevrolet team. Scott has proven himself to be one of the most talented race car drivers in the world, and we know success in his new opportunity with the team is just around the corner. PPG is excited to be a part of that.” Heath McAlpine
HAMILTON’S CONTRACT CURVEBALLS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff continue to drag on. The two men have not been able to meet face-to-face to talk things over. “The lawyers are working hard,” Wolff told Austria’s ORF TV. “We don’t make life easy for them, of course, when we both argue over Zoom and keep sending curveballs to the lawyers.” Hamilton is currently in the U.S. while Wolff is in Austria. Wolff is confident that a deal will be reached before the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain 2 – 4 March. The country will then host the first race of the season on 28 March. “You always come from different corners, but that’s quite normal,” Wolff said. It was in Bahrain last year that George Russell performed brilliantly in the Mercedes. The Williams driver took over Hamilton’s seat after the latter tested positive for COVID-19. Russell came close to winning but had a long pit stop and then a deflating rear tyre. But Wolff said that he has not been using
Russell as a leverage tactic. “We never played the George Russell card,” Wolff said. “He did incredibly well and will one day be in a top car, but our longstanding partnership is not at all about making any threatening gestures. We know we want to race together. And now we have to negotiate the contract.” Wolff also revealed that he tested positive for the coronavirus and had to spend 10
days in isolations. Five F1 drivers caught the coronavirus last year or in January of this year: Lance Stroll, Sergio Pérez, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The teams did not reveal how many crew members tested positives, but there were outbreaks at several teams including Racing Point and Williams last season. Dan Knutson
NEW AUSSIE RACING CARS TITLE SPONSOR ANNOUNCED THE POPULAR pocket-rocket Aussie Racing Cars Super Series has named a new title sponsor for the 2021 season and beyond. Aussie Racing Cars and Aussie brand Battery World have partnered up and the category will now be known as the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series. The deal not only sees Battery World become the title sponsor, but it will also feature as a sponsor on all Aussie Racing Cars throughout the 2021 season. As part of the sponsorship Battery World’s associated company Yuasa will become the official battery of the series and see all Aussie Racing Cars fitted the Yuasa product. Aussie Racing Cars category manager Brad Ward is delighted to welcome onboard the new title sponsor after a challenging 12 months. “After a tough 2020 for everyone, we’ve put together one of our best calendars ever for 2021 and now, we have even more reason to celebrate the return of Aussie Racing Cars to tracks around the country,” said Ward. “We are proud to welcome Battery World to the Aussie Racing Car Super Series as Naming Rights Partner and Yuasa as our official battery. “As we also unveil a new, modern logo, its only appropriate that the category which started 20+ years ago from something small and has grown to be the nationwide success story that it is today teams up with Battery World, which has a similarly colourful and successful history, spanning over 20 years.” Battery World general manager Johnny Kennedy explained that it was logical to join forces with such a unique series. “It makes commercial sense that Australia’s largest battery
retailer fits each of these iconic racing cars with only the best Yuasa batteries,” Kennedy said. “This exciting partnership further cements Battery World’s positioning as Australia’s leading battery retailer.” “With 2020 being an extremely successful year for Battery World, our 110 stores are extremely excited to see what this partnership will deliver to the business in 2021.” As always, the Aussie Racing Cars calendar boasts a large array of circuits, including a trip to Bathurst to start the season. “In Mount Panorama, we couldn’t have a better place to open the 2021 season, and in the Gold Coast, we couldn’t have a better place for a finale,” Ward said. “Everyone’s itching to get back to a racetrack and there’s no better time to watch or get involved in the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.” As a support to the Supercars Championship during the Bathurst 500 weekend, the opening round of the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Series takes place from February 26-28. Dan McCarthy
BATTERY WORLD AUSSIE RACING CARS SERIES CALENDAR Round 1 2 3 4 5 6
Date 26-28 Feb 10–11 Apr 1–2 May 25–27 Jun 10–12 Sep 3–5 Dec
Circuit Event Mount Panorama 500 Tasmania Supersprint Sydney Motorsport Park Morgan Park Raceway Sandown Raceway Gold Coast 600
Supercars Championship Supercars Championship Motorsport Australia Nationals Motorsport Australia Nationals Motorsport Australia Nationals Supercars Championship
PRICE RECEIVES ORDER OF AUSTRALIA HONOUR TWO-TIME DAKAR Rally winner Toby Price has received a Medal of the Order of Australia honour as part of the national holiday festivities. Price received his OAM in the General Division for Services to Motorsport, highlighting his success not only on the international stage, but for his local success on the Finke Desert Rally as well. Price started riding professionally in 2004 at the age of 16 after winning two national junior titles, signing with Kawasaki Australia. Price’s local successes include five Australian Off-Road Championships, five Hattah Desert Rallies, six Finke Desert Rallies and two Australian 4-Day Enduros with most of these riding KTM motorbikes. After finishing third on debut in 2015, Price dominated the 2016 Dakar Rally taking five stage wins by more than 40-minutes to
become the first Australian to win any class of the prestigious event. Further international successes included winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on his way to third in the World Cross-Country Rallies Championships. In 2018, he won the title. The Dakar has provided mixed results for Price, in 2017 he broke his femur, before returning to place third the next year. A broken wrist failed to stop Price from taking a heroic Dakar victory in 2019, before scoring third again in 2020. Price has also dabbled in motorsport of the asphalt variety, contesting the Stadium Super Trucks and was an inaugural driver in
the Superutes category racing a Mitsubishisupported Sieders Racing Triton. The Queenslander is currently awaiting surgery on his shoulder after heavily crashing out of this year’s Dakar on Stage 9. Price not only severely injured his shoulder, but was knocked out in the incident where fellow riders Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec stopped to help. Recently he revealed his shoulder needed to be plated down, new ligaments and his AC joint required a clean-up. Price’s surgery will occur on February 3 after serving his 14-day quarantine. Heath McAlpine
PIASTRI HONOURED WITH SIR JACK BRABHAM AWARD AFTER WINNING the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Australian Oscar Piastri has been honoured as the latest recipient of the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award. The award presented by Motorsport Australia is given to an Australian Motor Racing competitor at the international level and recognises the achievements they accomplished during the season. Past winners include IndyCar Series winner Will Power, F1 race winner Daniel Ricciardo, NASCAR Cup Series winner Marcus Ambrose and his manager and multiple-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber. “To win this award is a massive honour. Not just because of the award in general, but also having Sir Jack’s name attached to it. It’s very special,” Piastri said. “Knowing everything he has achieved is in the sport such as his three world championships and running his own successful team, it means a lot. “It’s also very cool to have my name amongst the previous winners. To be recognised in that calibre of drivers and amongst those names is very special. “Winning the award is one of those things where it’s a real honour to have it on your CV. It’s cool to get the award and it’s only going to bring good things for my career. “It’s nice to have my hard work and success from F3 recognised so a big thank you to Motorsport Australia for giving me this honour.” Hot off the back of winning the Formula Renault Eurocup series in 2019, Piastri joined Prema Racing for the 2020 F3 Championship, racing against some of the best young open-wheel drivers from around the world. During the competitive nine round Formula 3 season Piastri took two race wins and a further four podiums to take the title by three points. Following on from becoming the first Aussie to win the third-tier F1 series the Victorian was rewarded with a test drive in a Renault Formula 1 car and confirming his seat with Prema for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Piastri was presented the Sir Jack Brabham Award by Motorsport Australia CEO Eugene Arocca. Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser congratulated Piastri on the prestigious honour. “After a such a strong season, Oscar is a very worthy recipient of the prestigious Sir Jack Brabham Award,” Fraser said. “Oscar was a shining light in 2020 and we all know that he has a bright future ahead of him, and this award is proof of the high regard in which he is already held here in Australia. “I wish him all the best for his maiden season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship and look forward to watching on from afar, along with the rest of Australia who will be cheering him on in 2021.” Piastri begins his FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign with testing next month before the eight-round season gets underway at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 27-28 March. Dan McCarthy
The plan was to sell my F3 engine and gearbox, and then I could afford to repair and race it. But as it turned out, a little race car company called Merlyn was planning to run a works-assisted car in that championship and they gave me a test and I got the drive – and that’s really when it all started. I knew how to drive the car, I knew the circuits from my F3 season, I used to prepare the car myself and I was winning FF races right from the start. Then I had a call from the guy who ran a team called Sports Motors in Manchester. They had a new F3 Chevron and around Easter, he asked me if I’d drive for him. The big thing was that it was a paid drive. Well, you got half the prizemoney and some expenses. They had a mechanic and the whole thing. So I started doing the British F3 championship in that Chevron, which became quite a good car after some development. Late in the season, Brabham approached me about running works assisted cars in ’69, so swapped over. In those days, there wasn’t a European F3 championship as such, but a lot of major F3 races were run alongside F1 and F2 races, so I got to compete at a lot of great classic tracks. Schenken raced in F1 from 1970-74. His maiden season with Brabham in 1971 was his best, scoring a sixth (then the final points-scoring position) in the German GP at the Nurburgring Nordschlieife and an F1 career best third in the Austrian GP. He was also third in the non-championship International Trophy at Silverstone. His F1 debut in ’70 resulted from a then typically gruesome tragedy.
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The start (above) of the Lincolnshire International Trophy at Cadwell Park (UK) in 1969 - Front row: Tim Schenken (#1 Brabham BT28 - Ford/Holbay) who won, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (#7 Tecno 69 - Ford/ Novamotor) who was eighth, and Ronnie Peterson (March 703 - Ford/Novamotor), who was third. The Aussie scored his first F1 point in the 1971 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring (left) and Schenken, (Brabham BT33 Ford), leads Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus 72 Ford), Rolf Stommelen, (Surtees TS9 Ford) and Henri Pescarolo (March 711 Ford). Schenken (De Tomaso 308 Ford) in the Austrian GP (below left) at the Osterreichring in 1970.
How did you get into F1? (Rising British star) Piers Courage was killed at Zandvoort in the 1970 Dutch GP (in a fiery wreck), so I took a deep breath and went and saw Frank Williams and asked if he would consider me to drive for his team. Brian Redman did a few races, but couldn’t do any more, so Frank took me on and I started driving that de Tomaso, which was totally unreliable. But Frank in a way was a bit like Ron Dennis. He had a passion and he was going to get it right – it was just a question of time. He went through Frank Williams 1968 Limited, Frank Williams 1969 Ltd and so on. I drove that car in four grands prix (Austria, Italy Canada and USA) – didn’t finish any, but because I’d still had a good relationship with Ron Tauranac, I got a drive with Brabham in F1 in 1971. Jack had retired and Ron employed me to drive with Graham Hill as a paid driver. I was always a paid driver in F1 – I never paid for a drive.
Schenken (Brabham BT33 Ford) leads Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus 72 Ford) during the Austrian GP at the Osterreichring in 1971.
Jack was gone, but had you had much to do with him before then? I never really had much to do with him. I mean he was around when I raced Brabhams in F3 and F2. He drove my F3 car at one stage, doing a bit of sorting and giving Ron some feedback in ’69. But when I joined them in F1, he’d retired and I was partnering Graham Hill. If you look at the results in ’71, they look all right, but in fact, whereas I’d been winning in FF and F3, and in F2 I ran at the front of the field, for some reason it didn’t quite work for me in F1 until about the French GP and then it all clicked. Something happened and it all worked for me, so I was quite competitive after that. I got a sixth at the Nurburgring and I was third in Austria, and we can all say “If only”, but I was running third at the French GP until it had an oil leak and I was running third again in the British GP at Silverstone until I had a gearbox problem. But we all go through that.
Brabham designer Ron Tauranac chats with fellow Aussie Schenken during their 1971 F1 season together (above). Schenken survived his time in F1 when many of his contempories didn’t. However his racing wasn’t without incident, he survived this crash in his Elf 2 (Alpine A367 Formula 2) Ford/Hart during the Estoril GP at Circuito Estoril in 1973.
To score points at the Nurburgring and the Osterreichring, both serious circuits, was a great achievement.
a lap on the back of a car if you finished on the podium, even in F3, but it didn’t happen that often. I seem to remember the presentation for that Austrian Grand Prix being in a tent.
I always enjoyed the Nurburgring. I knew the circuit very well because the first race I did there was in 1969 for Ford Germany in a touring car race, which was 84 hours long on the north and south circuits with three drivers (in a Group 1 series production Capri 2.8-litre V6). So I knew which way it went.
How good was the BT33? By then, it was a very conventional, almost outdated, design, wasn’t it?
Was that podium in Austria a big deal to you at the time?
Well, it was the first monocoque that Ron had designed. During the year, I got to test the BT34 – the one they called ‘The Lobster Claw’ – and it was immediately so much better. And when I say much better, I mean that when you made
Well, podiums weren’t a big thing back then. You either won or you didn’t. Jo Siffert won the race. Occasionally, you did
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DAKAR 2021
DRAMATIC DAKAR
Toby Price looked a likely winner again until crashing out.
Report: DAN MCCARTHY Images: Red Bull Content Pool FOUR AUSTRALIANS competed in the 2021 edition of the legendary Dakar Rally, which for the second consecutive year took place in Saudi Arabia. The quartet all featured in the bike category and coincidentally all rode KTMs. Two-time bike class rally winner Toby Price returned to ride for the Austrian factory team after finishing third in 2020. The other three Aussies were race debutants; Daniel Sanders also rode for the factory team, while Andrew Houlihan and Michael Burgess competed on privately entered KTMs. In 2021 the event was run over 12 competitive stages and 4000km, and proved to be one of the toughest tests in recent years. Navigation proved to be a real struggle for competitors across the classes, with many participants ruled
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out of contention after making the smallest of mistakes. However, it was not bad navigation that brought Price’s rally to a sudden halt on the ninth stage. Just over a quarter of the way into the stage when fighting for the rally lead, the 33-yearold crashed heavily. Price was thrown from his KTM motorcycle, breaking his collarbone, as his rivals Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec stopped to aid the New South Welshman before the helicopter arrived
and took him to hospital. “Well, I’ve finally broken my 30th bone,” Price announced on social media. “I don’t remember much but I’ve got a pretty sore collarbone, shoulder and hand, and will need surgery for that. “I’m disappointed to not make the finish and let down the KTM Factory Racing team and my sponsors, but that’s racing unfortunately. “Thank you to Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec for stopping to help me. I was off with the fairies, but I heard you
took good care of me!” Both Sunderland and Brabec were handed back the time they lost assisting Price. Price’s teammate Sanders impressed on debut. Over the course of the arduous journey he made a several navigational errors, suffered a couple of small crashes and was stung by a bee. However, the former World Enduro champion stayed out of any major trouble and brought the bike home in a commendable fourth position. After a staggering 47 hours of competition, Sanders also finished top rookie and only 38m and 52s minutes behind winner Kevin Benavides on his Honda. “Hopefully this puts me on the map for the future. I really enjoyed myself and am stoked to come away with fourth place on debut, I really believe it’s only upwards from here,” Sanders said. “With more practice and time on the bike, I think we can accomplish good things.”
Daniel Sanders (right) impressed for the KTM factory team, finishing fourth outright and Top Rookie.
Stepane Peterhansel (above) didn’t win a stage this year but still took his eighth Dakar victory in his MINI buggy, though he was pushed all the way by Nasser Al-Attiyah (below). Defending champion Carlos Sainz (right) had a troubled run but bounced back to finish third. Kevin Benavides won the bike class on his factory Honda (above).
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Meanwhile, Burgees finished the event 27th position in class, while Houlihan was several hours further back in 50th. Kevin Benavides took the bike rally class win, but it was not without incident. A fall on the fifth stage saw the Argentine break his nose and damage his ankle. Undeterred, Benavides continued and won the rally by just 4m and 56s from defending champion and teammate Brabec. Sunderland was the leading factory KTM rider in third ahead of Sanders and Skyler Howes. Overall, the event was won by ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel, his eighth in a car and 14th overall, ove and in doing so became the first driver to win the event on three continents. Peterhansel took the lead on stage 3, P and an despite not winning a stage and with wit constant pressure from Nasser AlAttiyah, he was able to take victory by Att just under 14 minutes. The Th former World Rally Champions Carlos Car Sainz and Sebastien Loeb were in contention early but dropped back c with issues. Loeb Loe and co-driver Daniel Elena suffered drama after drama and suffe eventually pulled the pin on the eighth even stage. stage Defending Rally winners Sainz and Defe Lucas Cruz, however, were able to get back into contention and finished the rally in third, over 46 minutes behind the Al-Attiyah. Al-Attiy Manuel Manu Andujar won the Quad class on his Yam Yamaha while Dmitry Sotnikov took the honour honours in the always competitive Truck t category.
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SPEEDAYnews
MCFADDEN TAKES VICTORIAN
Lachlan McHugh and Darren Mollenoyux fight it out at Warrnambool. McHugh took two overall round wins and Mollenoyux visited the podium three times over the four nights.
Report By: PARIS CHARLES
New President James McFadden A QUALITY field of 32 cars converged on the Avalon Raceway for the annual running of the Presidents Gold Cup, the event also the opening round of the Speedway Australia seven-round Sprintcar Super Series. This event saw James McFadden continue his strong run of form into 2021 aboard the 17w GT Bobcat Monte Motorsports entry, with a convincing victory to lead all 25 laps of the feature race. The race was marred by an opening lap race stoppage that saw David Murcott, Jock Goodyer and Jack Lee collide, as they looked to make their forward. At the restart McFadden would again lead them away and the battle for second was on as Corey McCullagh was successfully challenged by reigning Australian Champion Jamie Veal who relegated McCullagh to third. A second early race stoppage occurred when Marcus Dumesny spun the N47 Valvoline Maxim without damage and would restart from the back of the fast freight train. From that point the race went the full distance and the pointy end would remain as was,
with McFadden and Veal trail blazing out front. Darren Mollenoyux would climb to third and McCullagh in fourth. Matt Egel crossed the line in fifth followed Grant Anderson and Dumensy, who had charged through from the back of the pack. Brock Hallett, Robbie Farr and Brett Milburn rounded out the top 10 followed by a trio of South Australians in Ryan Jones, Daniel Pestka and Brad Keller. Jessie Attard, Domain Ramsay and Tasmanian Jock Goodyer rounded out the finishers.
of Daniel Pestka, with Marcus Dumesny rounding out the podium. Robbie Farr turned in a creditable fourth aboard the Drysdale Chaff Mill 88v in front of Grant Anderson and James McFadden, who was forced to scramble his way through from deep in the pack after winning the B-Main. Brad Keller, Jye O’Keefe, Jessie Attard, Jock Goodyer, Bobby Daly, Ryan Jones, Adam King and local second-generation racer Scott Enderl rounded out the 14 finishers to travel the distance.
King Lachlan McHugh The First!
Lachlan McHugh Back-to-Back!
ROUND TWO of the series saw the teams head across the border, to South Australia and Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier. Queensland’s Lachlan McHugh joined the series for round two and from the get-go he made every post a winner, firstly claiming the quickest qualifying time in his group of cars, a strong second placing in his heat race and then winning the Gold Shootout to reward him with pole position for the Kings Challenge. From the front row Lachlan took a stranglehold on the race, proving too strong as he piloted the 7Q Hi Tec Oils Cool through lapped traffic a to claim victory in front
SECOND GENERATION Queensland gun Lachlan McHugh proved that round two was no fluke by again dominating the 57-car entry for round three, which was also the opening stanza of the two-night Southwest Conveyancing 50 for Fifty at the Premier Speedway at Warrnambool. South Aussie Matt Egel bounced back well to reward his newly-formed team in the North East Isuzu entry, posting his best finish for the series to date with a strong second placin. Darren Mollenoyux closed out the podium with his second third placing in the first three rounds, after an exciting battle with James McFadden. Jye O’Keefe, Grant Anderson, Jock Goodyer, Jamie Veal, Peter Doukas and Brock Hallett rounded out the top 10. Brad Keller, Glen Sutherland, Daniel Pestka were next ahead of the fast-finishing Robbie Farr, who had advanced an impressive nine places to claim the Hard Charger Award. David Murcott, Jack Lee, Tate Frost, John Vogels, Jessie Attard, Corey McCullagh, Ryan Jones, Joel Heinrich and Brad Warren rounded out the 23 finishers, with Marcus Dumensy the sole retiree from the 30-lap journey. McFadden and Matt Egal Warnnambool do battle (left) while (far right) Marcus Dumesney was solid over the rounds in the NSW47, seen here fighting a spectacular Bobby Daly.
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James McFadden was in great form. He kicked off the series with a dominant win at Avalon and closed out the final night with another victory at Warrnambool.
Locals Fill Night Two Podium THE SECOND and final night at Premier Speedway proved to be another exciting one. After qualifying, the top 50 of 57 competitors would each compete in one heat, with the top four runners in each then going into the A Main while the remainder would take to the alphabet races in a bid to make the main event. The 50-lap journey was divided into two 25-lap portions, with the top 24 competitors all vying for the victory. James McFadden would lead the first 25 laps with Marcus Dumesny, Jamie Veal, Corey McCullagh and Lachlan McHugh all in hot pursuit, and on a fast rated track passing proved challenging to this point. The cars then pulled into the middle for their pit stop where the teams would ready the cars for the second half of the race. The second half of the event proved to be much in the same vein as McFadden led the charge, closely followed by Veal and Mollenoyux at the pointy end. The most notable impact was Lachlan McHugh crashing out after trying to make a pass on Mollenoyux, the incident also catching out Matt Reed and Grant Anderson. McFadden would again lead the field away and despite the best efforts of Veal, McFadden
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would be first to the greet the finish line. Mollenoyux and Dumesny were next with Jock Goodyer, Corey McCullagh and Daniel Pestka, while Ryan Jones posted his best result of the series to date in eighth position. David Murcott and Robbie Farr, Glen Sutherland and Brad Keller completed the top dozen, with John Vogels, Bobby Daly and B Main victor Brett Milburn rounding out the finishers.
The Speedway Australia Sprintcar Super Series continues with the South Australian leg, which will include three more events. Bordertown, Murray Bridge and Whyalla. Top 10: 1. W17 James McFadden 438, 2. V37 Grant Anderson 416, 3. S52 Matt Egel 404, 4. V88 Robbie Farr 398, 5. S27 Daniel Pestka 396, 6. S19 Brad Keller 388, 7. T22 Jock Goodyer 384, 8. N47 Marcus Dumesny 382, 9. S13 Brock Hallett
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