The Speedcars returned to Margaret River Speedway last weekend for the second event of the four round Country Series.
Only nine cars were on hand for the meeting after Vaughan Manders was forced to miss the event after parts for his car failed to arrive while Dayne Kingshott was also absent due to burns to his legs suffered in a work accident.
A small car count didn’t affect the quality of the racing and the large crowd was kept entertained throughout the night.
The opening heat saw Bryn Lake jump straight into the lead from his front row starting position and lead for the opening eight laps, until David Ellement made a huge move on the outside to pass Lake and take the lead. Scott Glazebrook then passed Lake on the inside a few laps later, with the order not changing from here; Ellement taking the win from Glazebrook and Lake.
The second heat saw Glen Mears in his first Speedcar appearance away from the Perth Motorplex this season dominate, leading from go to whoa and crossing the line first after fighting off both Scott Glazebrook and David Ellement who were all over his tail waiting for him to make a mistake. Bob Goddard continued to battle the fuel pump issues and was unable to start the race while Robert Golding and Brett Matherson came together during the race, seeing Golding unable to restart.
Heat three saw Roser leading for the first three laps until on lap four, Lake dove through and passed him for the lead and began to pull away. Unfortunately for Roser he suffered broken headers on lap ten and was forced infield, seeing Mears and Glazebrook left to battle for second place. Glazebrook went for an outside pass on the last lap but it didn’t come off as he ran wide, allowing Ellement to sneak through to take third at the chequers behind Lake and Mears.
The feature race saw Ellement and Mears starting together on the front row, with Ellement very quickly taking the point and pulling out to a healthy lead. Bryn Lake bought on the yellows after spinning on lap two and was sent rear of field. The restart saw Glazebrook pass Mears for second only to have the yellows come on again when Roser and Matherson came together, leaving Matherson unable to restart.
Glazebrook again passed Mears on the restart and set out after Ellement who had again built up a healthy lead. Back in the pack Heywood was forced to retire after making contact with Mears and breaking a shock, with the consequent restart seeing Ellement again jump to a commanding lead over Glazebrook and Bryn Lake who had fought his way back through the field.
Jason Roser was the next to succumb after he suffered a flat tyre and was sent infield. On lap eleven Ellement made a small mistake, going a little high in turn one and it was just enough for Glazebrook to squeeze through and take over the lead. The next lap saw the same thing happen to Ellement in the same spot, this time with Lake squeezing through for second. From here Glazebrook pulled well clear and became the fourth different winner from as many races on the night, scoring the win over Lake and Ellement.
All the races over the night were huge, with intense wheel to wheel action and the Margaret River crowd responded well to the racing.
WASDA would like to thank once again everyone at Margaret River Speedway and Phil Moore from GT Brake & Clutch Busselton for his continued support of “midgets” at Margaret River.
The Speedcars now have a break until the next round of racing; another country series round, this time at Collie Speedway on the 25th of February.
Release by Scott Beattie, photos courtesy of Pamela Fuller
Official Results
Heat One – 1st David Ellement, 2nd Scott Glazebrook, 3rd Bryn Lake, 4th Glen Mears, and 5th Robert Golding. DNF: Brett Matherson. DNS: Ross Heywood, Jason Roser, Bob Goddard.
Heat Two – 1st Glen Mears, 2nd Scott Glazebrook, 3rd David Ellement, 4th Bryn Lake, 5th Jason Roser, 6th Ross Heywood, 7th Brett Matherson. DNF: Robert Golding. DNS: Bob Goddard.
Heat Three – 1st Bryn Lake, 2nd Glen Mears, 3rd David Ellement, 4th Scott Glazebrook, 5th Ross Heywood, 6th Brett Matherson. DNF: Jason Roser. DNS: Robert Golding, Bob Goddard.
Feature – 1st Scott Glazebrook, 2nd Bryn Lake, 3rd David Ellement, and 4th Glen Mears. DNF: Ross Heywood, Brett Matherson, Jason Roser. DNS: Robert Golding, Bob Goddard.
Country Series Point Score (After 2 of 4 rounds)
Bryn Lake 52 points
Scott Glazebrook 51 points
David Ellement 44 points
Jason Roser 29 points
Dayne Kingshott 28 points
Glen Mears 26 points
Neville Lance 20 points
Vaughan Manders 19 points
Bob Goddard 13 points
Alfonso Guadagnino 13 points
Ross Heywood 8 points
Paul Robinson 8 points
Brett Matherson 6 points
Tom Watson 3 points
Rob Golding 2 points