Alexandra & District Speedway Club began the 2016/17 season with club category drivers battling for club points as they chase the possibility of being the class champion at the end of the season with Alexandra local resident Luke Fallon among the winners along with Courtney Meakins for her first feature win in the National Junior Category & Nick Chrystie taking a hard fought win in the Standard Saloon division.

Fallon had been a stand out driver all evening & after securing pole position he was able to out drive the number two ranked driver in Victoria Andrew Jordan in the final. There was lots going on behind the lead duo with Steve Kershaw, Dale Smith & for a while Shane Kruger in the top half of the field. Kruger was deemed to have been tapped and spun in the final & trying to wash off speed Lisa McPherson had nowhere to go and crunched into Kruger, ending both their attack on the top five.

Rookie driver Matt Stampfli showed great skill as he stayed out of trouble and worked his way forward in the changing conditions of the race track, however as he made his way into the top five, Fallon stretched his lead over Jordan, eventually crossing the finish line three seconds ahead of Jordan then Kershaw a further 5 seconds from Healesville back, Stampfli, Smith, Danny Eastham, Matt Chiminello & Paul Allen.

With the Standard Saloon Victorian title at Alexandra in March when sixty cars are expected to fill the pit enclosure, local young gun Nick Chrystie was able to survive the challenges for the win Allan Poole & having his leading car crunched into on a caution light as a damaged car turned straight into him.

A great stoush between Brendon Eames and Scott Angus soon ended, Angus at full speed lost traction of the rear of the car & slammed into the concrete. He amazingly continued on with a damaged car that later his father said will be a write off. Chrystie took the win over Poole, Wangaratta club members Andrew Robl & Trevor Evans where next, Darryl Joosten from the Corowa based club, Angus & Kenneth Mankey another competitor from Wangaratta.

Pole position driver in the Junior Sedans Kasey Garlick led at the drop of the green in the final with Tim Gorski and a quick moving Courtney Meakins battling behind. Meakins started at the back of the field and was in third in the first couple of laps whilst Garlick led the trio up to the back markers in the field in the first couple of laps.

Meakins passed Gorski and soon set about catching up to Garlick. As the ten lap heat ran down Meakins ran a high line and started to get closer to the leader. On the very last lap Garlick had to make a split second decision on how to deal with a backmarker and she hesitated and Meakins pounced and had the great speed out of turn four and clawed past Garlick at the line to win by .122 of a second.

In third place behind Meakins and Garlick in the Juniors was Tim Gorski, then the second of the Garlick sisters Jesse, then the second of the Gorski brothers Jeremy, Nick Cherry was next ahead of Rhys Meakins & Sharlotte McPherson.

Lenny Bates was too good in the Street Stocks winning all three heats and the final with Debbie Jones & Lee Beach sharing the podium and the Ladies top three on points was Lisa McPherson, Alex Smith & Tegan Bullard.

Great racing from the Juniors with four races from five going the distance without a stoppage, the same to for the Sports Sedans and three out of four races for the Standard Saloons.

Fastest drivers in each class for the day include Luke Fallon 20.019 in heat two, Allan Poole 23.104 in heat three, Lisa McPherson in the Ladies at 22.370 in heat two, Bates in Street Stocks 22.344 during heat two & Kasey Garlick in heat four of the Junior Sedans with a one lap time of 22.810.

Alexandra return on November the 19th with the visiting Production Sedans slated in for a feature race.

Alexandra Speedway Club is very thankful for the support provided by all these businesses:

360 Diffs & Gearboxes – Air Anywhere – Alexandra & Yea Pre Mix – Australian Racing Products – Blackburn Trailers – Burco’s Metal Fabrications – Campton’s Graphix – Eastern Suburbs Locksmiths – Fallon’s Bus Services – FSM Recycling – GB Racecars – Good Guys Performance Centre – GYB Civil – Healesville Directional Drilling – Highline Racewear – Inaction Photos – Kilmore Towing & Transport – Lake Eildon Houseboat Sales – Lincoln’s Earthmoving – Metro Tow – Murrindindi Kitchens – Pakenham Caravan Storage & Repairs – Quality Fire Protection – Revegetation Victorian – Rumbles Indoor Playcentre – Smooth Suspension – Shamrock Hotel Alexandra – Trax Racewear – Tyrepower Alexandra – Waverley Exhaust & Brake Centre – Weeks Radio – Yarra Valley Towing

 

Written by
Dean Thompson
DMT Sports Media

For Alexandra & District Speedway Club