Pitcher, Walsh and Brennan winners at Simpson Speedway on a glorious Saturday evening.
Young Victorian Super Rod Champion Jacob Pitcher became the 47th winner of the prestigious Trevor Podger Memorial, while Cobden’s Blake Walsh made it two straight wins in the Wingless Sprints at his “Home” track by taking out the quality stacked Front row Challenge and Jack Brennen scored the win in the DirtXIndustries Sports Sedan Series.
After four Super Rod heats veteran Jason Kavanagh in the Mario Nastasi owned W55 would have been feeling very confident after he won all three of his heats. Two of his wins were all the way victories while the other made him work a little harder including a last lap win in heat 3. Nevertheless, Kavanagh has been in the sport for a long, long time and most of it has been at the leading edge in technology and technique. However, eventually along comes some young guns that ring in change and Jacob Pitcher is one of those exciting prospects. Jacob was originally not programmed to race, instead his dad Allan was nominated to run the car, and just as surprising was Jacob’s lack of pace throughout the heats where he usually dominates like Kavanagh did earlier. From pole Kavs’ led the first couple of laps before Pitcher surged through into a lead that he would hold until lap 11 when fellow young gun Jamie May worked his way from a sixth place start into the lead. The battle was now on between these two, fast, fearless, clean racers with May holding the lead until lap 15 when the irrepressible Pitcher hit the front again and hanging on for a slender 0.371 win over May, with Shaun Walsh completing the podium after starting deep in the pack in 12th place. Michael Coad, Gerrard Mabbitt and Peter Duynhoven filled the spots between Pitcher and Kavanagh who‘d slid back to a disappointing for him 7th place finish.
The Wingless Sprints were out in force for their annual Front Row Challenge race and after 8 heats won by Ebony Hobson, Brad Warren, Luke Weel, Chris Halesworth, Nick Ryan, Mitchell Glynn, Blake Walsh and Tyler O’Leary and then two B-Mains where Kyle Mock, Michael Conlan, Cameron O’Brien, Ben Hodge, Luke Johnson and Craig Plater transferred, the grid was assembled for the Main event. Brad Warren was high points for the night and accepted the Front Row Challenge and started 20th but one lap in had mechanical damage which put him infield. Walsh started pole from Chris Temby, Weel, Ryan and Dubbo’s Mark Blyton and it was in fact Temby who got the jump and looked sharp leading the first 24 laps and being very nervous about what was behind as he and Walsh have had some big battles in recent years. On lap 25 Walsh was able to hold the lead as they hit the line and went on to take the win by just under a second with Ryan next ahead of Mock, from the B-Main, and Brayden McKay. Blyton faded to 10th while Weel, Warren and Hobson did not finish and nor did Lauren White, former 360 Sprintcar feature winner.
The final class of this scorching triple header was the DirtX Industries Sport Sedans. Not surprisingly, Brenda Miller won the opening heat, but Riley Balins win in heat two was not anticipated. Jamie Lock scored heat 3 as planned and heat 4, 5 and 6 went to Matt Shankland, Miller again, and New VSC Ladies Victorian Champion Felicity Roycroft. The 25 lap series final saw Miller and Lock on the front row from Jack Brennan, Dale Smith, Roycroft and Broderick Stray. Miller made the most of his pole start to lead away until lap 14, but by lap 15 Lock was in the lead and Miller was about to exit the event. A similar fate was about to befall Lock, the current Victorian Champion and series point leader who lost the lead to the lurking Brennan on lap 21 before his race was done. No such problems for Brennan who maintained the lead until the end despite 18th starting Ian Thomsen setting his fastest lap on the final lap with Stray completing the podium ahead of Shannon Burke, and Jack Van Bremen. Thompson was however disqualified after the event due to an incident towards the end of the race and the Leigh Mitchell RD14 elevated to 5th.
Next meeting for the Heytesbury Stockfeeds Simpson Speedway to be held on 11th March will be huge with a great field to contest the Victorian Open Sprintcar Championship along with both Senior and Junior Formula 500’s in an all open wheel extravaganza.
