From WSS
Manjimup, AU — (February 7, 2013) — ENZED World Series Sprintcars has landed in Western Australia, with teams, drivers and officials preparing to do battle at Manjimup Friday night as the Western Swing gets underway.
While little love is lost on the track, WSS teams will join forces in the lead up to race night with a range of promotional activities in local areas.
Several cars will be on display throughout Manjimup and Albany, and a number of teams will be making stops at local schools to give their adoring young fans a first hand look at the impressive gear in their team truck.
Race Director Shane Collins was looking forward to the opportunity to get involved with local communities.
“We are excited to be back in Manjimup and Albany, and cannot thank their committees and volunteers enough for the support and passion to make WSS work in their regions.”
“It isn’t just the race, but the support and atmosphere amongst the communities that makes these events so special.”
‘Special’ is the perfect word to describe the action set to take place on Manjimup’s 600-metre white clay Speedway. Manjimup Speedway is one of the largest tracks on the WSS calendar, where the additional length creates a tantalising racing surface for fans to experience the raw power and frantic wheel-to-wheel jostling of sprintcars at full throttle.
Despite the relatively low car count, Manjimup will host some of the best competitors Sprintcar racing has to offer, filled with sensational talent from Australia and overseas.
Leading the charge into the west will be in-form wheelman Steven Lines, who will be hoping his run of strong form continues as he takes aim at James McFadden’s championship advantage. Lines will be confident when tyres hit clay after two impressive showings that saw him capture a second Sprintcar Classic in Warrnabool and a final-corner victory at the George Tatnell Cup in Adelaide.
Not to be outdone, the impressive youngster James McFadden will be looking to put those challenges to rest and gain a stranglehold on the 2012-13 series. McFadden, 23, is seeking a second consecutive World Series Sprintcars Championship to add to his two Australian Sprintcar Championships and two Speedweek Championships.
It certainly seems Lines and McFadden are laying the foundations for a rivalry on par with the epic George Tatnell/Garry Rush rivalry that dominated Australian Speedway for many years.
Also out to crash McFadden’s Championship party will be American ace Shane Stewart, who rebounded from a lackluster Classic weekend to finish 5th in Adelaide last weekend.
Stewart put on quite the show at the George Tatnell Cup at Speedway City as he climbed from his 15th starting spot to score a fifth place finish with the WSS.
The night wasn’t all great for Stewart, as he had his share of bad luck in heat race action. His first heat saw him involved in an altercation resulting in a DNF, and an eighth place effort in his second heat forced him into the B main.
“Overall it was a pretty good night for our Monster Energy team,” Stewart said. “We have been having some issues all year, and to move forward, and have pretty good speed all night was good for us. We will continue to work and hopefully park this thing in victory lane very soon.”
Fellow American Tim Kaeding will be desperate for a result as the series travels closer to home for the Krikke Motorsport team. The team will be hoping TK’s car speed and experience might just be what is required on the larger Western tracks.
“I can’t wait to get onto the big tracks, because at least I know I’ve got a race car that I can run on a big track,” said Kaeding. “It suits me a little bit more, so hopefully we can go out there and do a little bit of carrying on like we did at the Classic.”
South Australian hard-charger Luke Dillon (currently 4th overall) is sure to be in the mix, as his fellow Croweater Daniel Pestka, who has been turning heads throughout his WSS rookie campaign.
Not to be outdone, a host of West-Aussies will look to put their name on a trophy this weekend, including Shaun Bradford, who has gained valuable experience in the eastern states and will be eager to hit the track in his home state.
Then enter the local posse and the man with the golden touch in the west, Ryan Farrell, who will undoubtedly want to claim some glory over the next few weeks. Another WA local, Jamie Maiolo, always rises to the challenge of racing the WSS teams, making him a dark horse for the top podium this weekend.
Needless to say this weekend’s WSS field will be jam-packed with talent, making for wide open competition and hard-fought A Mains.
“The series is still wide open with many in contention to be crowned WSS 2013 Champion,” commented Shane Collins. “It’s going to be exciting to see who comes out on top!”
The Western Swing of the series will also borrow one of Speedweek’s most popular features, holding pit parties at Manjimup and Albany from 3-4pm on race day. The pit parties give fans a great opportunity to meet their favourite drivers, shop for merchandise and see teams in action as they prepare to do battle on the track.
Stay tuned to worldseriessprintcars.com.au over the weekend for all of the latest news and results. As always, live results, grids and official live timing is available via Race Night Live, the WSS iPhone app and wss-live.com.