From Perth Motorplex
Perth, AU — (March 23, 2013) — The 42nd Australian Super Sedan Championship might have been the headline event at the Perth Motorplex this weekend (see separate story) but there was also plenty of action from the Watsons Express Transport Sprintcars, the Our Car Autos Wingless Sprints and The Pool Shop Kalamunda Speedcars.
Brad Maiolo couldn’t hide his excitement when he claimed the 25-lap feature race at the Perth Motorplex on Saturday night from Cameron Gessner and Luke Dillon.
It was the younger of the Maiolo clan’s first major win and even in the latter stages of the showdown not one that was expected.
The driver of the LJM #77 started from position seven but it was his big move on the last restart that got everyone’s attention, racing from third to the lead and setting sail for home.
“It’s definitely a good feeling, that has not happened for a long time,” Maiolo said.
“We just found a groove on the last restart and we just went for it.”
Gessner, who started from sixth, found plenty of pace on the track’s high line in the last handful of laps but left his run a little bit too late.
Dillon, who start from position four, also had plenty of pace and was chasing down Mark Wells for much of the race, and got to the lead at one stage, just as Ryan Lancaster spun in turn 1-2, with the positions being reverted.
Wells, who started from third, was looking strong for much of the event but lost ground in the last few laps.
Despite that he posted the quickest lap time of 14.618 and the highest average speed of 123.136 km/h.
Gessner said he was “cranking” up the top but had to leave something in the tank and wanted to finish the next two races as well to give himself a good chance of winning the championship.
He is still leading the points.
“The next two races will come down to the wire,” Gessner said.
Trent Pigdon and David Priolo started on the front row and finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Pigdon did a complete 360 rotation a couple of laps in and was lucky not to be collected by the rest of the field, recovering back in sixth.
Priolo set the pace at the start of the night winning the Rogue Race Products Quick Time award while Gessner won the Hoosier right rear tyre raffle.
Heat wins went to Allan Nash, Gessner, Pigdon and Dillon.
Round three of The Chase will be held at the Perth Motorplex next Saturday night.
WATSONS EXPRESS TRANSPORT SPRINTCARS
Qualifying: Group 1: Ben Ellement 15.372, Jamie Maiolo 15.600, Mark House 15.731, Daniel Harding 15.835, Daniel Harding 15.835, Lee Nash 15.855, Troy Beckingham 16.485.
Group 2: Jason Kendrick 14.850, Trent Pigdon 15.068, Carl Dowling 15.158, Mark Wells 15.386. Cameron Gessner 15.454, Nathan Brady 15.865.
Group 3: David Priolo 14.599, Luke Dillon 14.780, Sheldon Brady 14.953, Bradley Maiolo 15.142, Allan Nash 15.293, Callum Williamson 15.390, Ryan Lancaster 16.404.
Heat 1: 1st Allan Nash, 2nd Mark Wells, 3rd David Priolo, 4th Nathan Brady, 5th Trent Pigdon, 6th Ben Ellement, 7th Sheldon Brady. DNF: Mark House, Ryan Lancaster and Mark House.
Heat 2: 1st Cameron Gessner, 2nd Callum Williamson, 3rd Bradley Maiolo, 4th Carl Dowling, 5th Jason Kendrick, 6th Luke Dillon, 7th Troy Beckingham, 8th Daniel Harding, 9th Jamie Maiolo.
Heat 3: 1st Trent Pigdon,2nd Ben Ellement, 3rd Jamie Maiolo, 4th Lee Nash, 5th Bradley Maiolo, 6th Carl Dowling, 7th Sheldon Brady, 8th Nathan Brady, 9th Troy Beckingham, 10th Allan Nash.
Heat 4: 1st Luke Dillon, 2nd Mark Wells, 3rd David Priolo, 4th Cameron Gessner, 5th Mark House, 6th Daniel Harding, 7th Callum Williamson, 8th Ryan Lancaster. DNF: Jason Kendrick and Allan Nash.
Feature: 1st Bradley Maiolo, 2nd Cameron Gessner, 3rd Luke Dillon, 4th Mark Wells, 5th Trent Pigdon, 6th David Priolo, 7th Jason Kendrick, 8th Ben Ellement, 9th Lee Nash, 10th Carl Dowling, 11th Jamie Maiolo, 12th Callum Williamson, 13th Sheldon Brady, 14th Daniel Harding, 15th Allan Nash, 16th Troy Beckingham. DNF: Ryan Lancaster, Mark House, Nathan Brady.
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