From Pert Motorplex: Yet again there was some great wheel-to-wheel action on the Speedway track at the fifth Auto Trader Fast Friday meeting of the season on Friday night.
Wingless Sprints
After a tumultuous few weeks the Wingless Sprints made their return to the Motorplex with Adrian La Macchia taking the early lead in race number one. Ben Migro held onto second but Marshall McDiarmid and Ryan Condren were the big movers, racing up behind Migro and battling to take his position.
Unfortunately the two cars made contact, seeing both Condren and McDiarmid hit the front straight wall hard. Condren was out for the night, while McDiarmid was able to restart. La Macchia was best on the double file restart, again leading the race. McDiarmid was a man on a mission, restarting from the rear and fighting his way back up through the field and finishing fourth, with La Macchia scoring the win over Ben Migro and Dylan Buswell.
The second race saw Phil Moylan besting the rest of the field at the start. Dylan Buswell and Marshall McDiarmid set out after Moylan, but it was all in vain as Moylan continued to build the gap, scoring the win over McDiarmid and the hard charging La Macchia.
The Wingless Sprints feature race saw Adrian La Macchia as the highest points scorer starting on the front row alongside McDiarmid. McDiarmid got the jump with La Macchia tucking in behind him. Lee Redmond and Phil Moylan were quick to put pressure on La Macchia for second place but La Macchia was able to hold them off temporarily. Moylan drifted back while Redmond surged past La Macchia and into second. By this stage McDiarmid had opened up a small lead but Redmond began to claw him back. La Macchia continued to follow Redmond around, waiting for his opportunity to pass. Redmond raced onto McDiarmids tail tank and on the last corner of the last lap went around McDiarmid and scored the win by 0.005 seconds! La Macchia was able to hold on for third. The last corner pass by Redmond ended up costing McDiarmid the overall win as if he had won he would have been equal on points with La Macchia, then on count back would have been awarded first place. As it was La Macchia held on to win with 296 points, defeating McDiarmid on 295 and Redmond on 292.
The Wingless Sprints were the final division to be offered to have a fourth, non-points race. Six cars accepted the challenge. Buswell and Redmond shared the front row and the battle never ceased from the moment the green flag dropped, with both going hammer and tongs, wanting to score the win. In the end Redmond scored the win by 0.256 seconds over Buswell, McDiarmid, Migro and Keen.
Race 1 – 1st Adrian la Macchia, 2nd Ben Migro, 3rd Dylan Buswell, 4th Marshall McDiarmid, 5th Daniel Keen, 6th Lee Redmond, 7th Phil Taylor, 8th Phil Moylan, 9th Troy Tomlinson. DNF Ryan Condren, Glen Francis.
Race 2 – 1st Phil Moylan, 2nd Marshall McDiarmid, 3rd Adrian La Macchia, 4th Lee Redmond, 5th Dylan Buswell, 6th Glen Francis, 7th Phil Taylor, 8th Ben Migro, 9th Daniel Keen. DNF Troy Tomlinson. DNS Ryan Condren.
Race 3 – 1st Lee Redmond, 2nd Marshall McDiarmid, 3rd Adrian La Macchia, 4th Phil Moylan, 5th Dylan Buswell, 6th Ben Migro, 7th Daniel Keen, 8th Phil Taylor, 9th Troy Tomlinson. DNF Glen Francis. DNS Ryan Condren.
Points – 1st Adrian La Macchia 296, 2nd Marshall McDiarmid 295, 3rd Lee Redmond 292, 4th Phil Moylan 290, 5th Dylan Buswell 290, 6th Ben Migro 287, 7th Daniel Keen 282, 8th Phil Taylor 281, 9th Troy Tomlinson 263, 10th Glen Francis 253, 11th Ryan Condren 237.
Race 4 – 1st Lee Redmond, 2nd Dylan Buswell, 3rd Marshall McDiarmid, 4th Ben Migro, 5th Daniel Keen. DNF Glen Francis.
320 Sprintcars
The 320 Sprintcars saw a few cars making their first appearances for the year, while a couple of others made their return after not competing at the Motorplex for a few events. Darrin Francis drew first blood, defeating Jason Fernie and Corey Bloxsidge. Tony Pracilio crossed the line second but was relegated two spots at the conclusion of the race. The second race saw Jason Fernie make the most of his front row start and defeat Tony Pracilio and Francis. The final race saw Farquar have a spin on the front straight. He restarted but eventually pulled the model off the track. Darrin Francis recorded his second win for the night, defeating Fernie and Bloxsidge. This also meant that Francis scored the overall win by countback after tying with Fernie on 298 points. Third place went to Corey Bloxsidge with 292 points.
Race 1 – 1st Darrin Francis, 2nd Jason Fernie, 3rd Corey Bloxsidge, 4th Tony Pracilio, 5th Bruce Farquar.
Race 2 – 1st Jason Fernie, 2nd Tony Pracilio, 3rd Darrin Francis, 4th Bruce Farquar, 5th Corey Bloxsidge.
Race 3 – 1st Darrin Francis, 2nd Jason Fernie, 3rd Corey Bloxsidge. DNF Bruce Farquar, Tony Pracilio.
Points – 1st Darrin Francis 298, 2nd Jason Fernie 298, 3rd Corey Bloxsidge 292, 4th Tony Pracilio 275, 5th Bruce Farquar 272.
360 Sprints
Four 360’s were on hand to have a run, along with one Limited Sprintcar and two Open Sprintcars who all had a run together. The open cars however would not be included in the overall results. Troy Lawson was having a run in the Ian Woods owned #16 while Nathan Brady was also out on the track having a run. The first heat saw Garry Miller jump out to the early lead and he was never headed, defeating.
The second race saw Sarah Zemunik off the front row, where she went for it early, coming across the field in the field in the first couple of corners and stopping Garry Millers outside run. Stephen Adley made the most of this and shot through for the lead while Miller passed Zemunik. Zemunik then pulled infield, leaving Adley to score the win over Miller and Liam Dowling.
The final race saw Troy Lawson spin early, with the yellows being bought on. At the same time something appeared to fly off the leaders Garry Millers car forcing him out. At the same time something then appeared to hit the Nathan Brady car, forcing him infield also. This left Stephen Adley to lead on the restart but Adleys car slowed, seeing Josh Treasure pass for the lead. Next out was Lawson with mechanical dramas leaving only three cars. Treasure was able to hold on for the win and defeat Liam Dowling in an impressive drive. Stephen Adley held on for third. This was also the order they finished overall, with Treasure on 296 points, with Dowling second on a countback after tying with Adley for second with 295 points.
Race 1 – 1st Garry Miller, 2nd Josh Treasure, 3rd Liam Dowling, 4th Stephen Adley, 5th Sarah Zemunik.
Race 2 – 1st Stephen Adley, 2nd Garry Miller, 3rd Liam Dowling, 4th Josh Treasure. DNF Sarah Zemunik.
Race 3 – 1st Josh Treasure, 2nd Liam Dowling, 3rd Stephen Adley. DNF Troy Lawson, Garry Miller, Nathan Brady. DNS Sarah Zemunik.
Points – 1st Josh Treasure 296, 2nd Liam Dowling 295, 3rd Stephen Adley 295, 4th Garry Miller 278, 5th Sarah Zemunik 254.