Redline Raceway’s season began on Saturday 4th November with a great sized crowd for the annual ‘Trophy Day’ taking advantage of the special carload of people entrance deal, plenty of people made their way to the track making it the biggest opening night crowd for some time.
In on track action, winners included Brad McClure in Street Stocks in a sensational final with leaders zipping in and out of traffic, Scott Whittle Standard Saloons, Leigh Bourke in Sports Sedans and Chris Curren in Compact Speedcars.
The biggest field for competition was the Street Stocks with a couple of South Australian competitors in Anthony Beare and Jeremy Weston visiting for what is a was a club show that out of towners normally would not travel too.
Nine heat races sorted out the qualifiers for the feature race later in the evening, local Ballarat racer Shaun Henry kicked off the night taking out the first win, Beare and Mick Clark completed the list of winners in the first round.
Beare, Clark and McClure took the wins in the second round whilst in the third round drama struck for Beare when in the final heat whilst in the lead his engine let go. Later Beare told Mick Purdie that the engine was his spare and not the engine he was planning on using for the Ipta Fibreglass ‘King of the Mount’ at Redline in a fortnights time. Weston and Jason DeGoldi won the other heats in the final round.
The Street Stock final was terrific; the pace at the front was distinctively quicker than at the back half of the field and McClure, Clark, Weston, DeGoldi, Henry, Darryl Atkinson and Dean Jenkins were carving up them and the track. A rollover for Gerrard Mabbitt in front of an unlucky Eugene Bennett which caused a domino effect of other cars crashing into Bennett and wrecking his car put a halt to proceedings before McClure, Clark and DeGoldi continued the charge to the line.
Redline Member McClure from North Geelong took the win over Ballarat’s Mick Clark and Jason DeGoldi also from Geelong, Henry was next and then Atkinson. McClure was delighted with the win and appreciative of the competition. “I knew Mick (Clark) was pushing hard behind me and there was still a tough field behind him and it was just the type of race we needed to get under our belts before the ‘King of the Mount’ in two weeks. The track is certainly a lot different from last season due to all the work the club has put in during the off season; it’s a great new challenge for us all.” Shared McClure.
In Standard Saloon competition Redline benefitted by the friendship of rivalry of Scott Whittle and Russell Hill and treated to a great final between those two and Timothy Hutchinson and Brad Hill.
Ron Farmer who was awarded the best presented car prior to the race meeting getting underway, then took victory in his first heat race and Hutchinson then won the other in the first round. Portland visitor Cathal McCaughey and Whittle were winners in the second round and Whittle and Russell Hill the winners in the final round of qualifying.
In the feature race Whittle, Hutchinson, Brad Hill and Russell Hill was the early order after Russell moved up from seventh quickly. Whittle was able to get away from Hutchinson after some early laps and the action between Brad Hill and Hutchinson also included a collision just after Russell Hill had past his nephew Brad into second. At the re-start Whittle another racer from Geelong continued on his merry way and Brad Hill who had been re-instated into second was able to hold his uncle at bay, Whittle the winner from Brad Hill, Russell Hill, Hutchinson and Hayden Clifford.
In Sports Sedans Leigh Burke, you guessed it he is from Geelong also took wins in all three heat qualifiers before winning the feature from Jay Dickson, Kayla Knox showing great confidence easily accounting for fourth placed Frank Dickson and Mary-Ann Lowe.
Compact Speedcars returned to the venue and due to mechanical issues plaguing engines on some competitor’s cars at the race meeting they attended a week prior, only a handful of drivers made it to Redline. Chris Curren, Mark Hutchinson, then Curren again won the heat races before Curren won the final from the Hutchinson boys.
Redline Raceway returns on the 18th with the King of the Mount for Street Stocks likely to attract fifty plus competitors to do battle, Beare, McClure, Clark, DeGoldi will be back and others from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, Mildura and South Australia are expected to come for the fight.
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Written by
Dean Thompson
DMT Sports Media
For Belmont Speedway Drivers Club