After capturing the Preliminary Feature/SA Speedcar Championship on Night 1, WA’s Tom Payet continued his winning run taking out the $20K to win Australasian 50 Lap Speedcar Championship at Murray Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway on Sunday night.
The A-Main feature event would see Kaidon Brown line-up on the front row alongside Nick Parker, with Brown quickly taking the lead, and Payet passing into second. A collision between Ryan and Jones and Robert Heard only 2 laps in would bring on the first caution, bringing the end to Jones’s campaign with a flat tyre.
Payet capitalised on the restart storming to the front, with Kaleb Currie also looking to challenge Brown in second. The Top 3 would remain the same for the several laps as they began to encounter lapped traffic, before Currie began a mid-race surge, battling with Payet for the lead. Brown then rose to the challenge, putting a pass on Currie for second on Lap 20.
A spin by Zoe Pearce at the halfway mark bunched up the field, with Payet maintaining his lead on the restart, with Brown racing hard to chase him down. Brown would get the momentum he needed on Lap 35 to slide under Payet for the lead, before clipping the cushion on the highline, sending him flipping in Turn 2.
With Brown now out of the race, Payet would return to the front, ahead of Currie and Casey O’Connell now in third. After starting from P14, Michael Pickens had made his way up into the Top 5, battling with O’Connell and Nick Parker for third and fourth, before retiring from the race on Lap 43 with a motor issue. The cautions would come on only a couple laps later with Heard the next retiree.
Currie and Parker almost tangled on the next restart, with Payet still out in the lead, before Currie’s race ended with 4 laps to go. Payet would race away in the final few laps to take the win, with Parker remaining in second. Mitch Saunderson who had been driving smoothly along the bottom would get up into third, with Brendan Zadow (fourth) and Zoe Pearce (fifth) the only other finishers.
The MJS Street Stock Series also continued over the weekend, with new Australian Champion Nathan Thorne taking out the feature event on night 1 ahead of Nigel Reichstein and Phil Watson. Night 2 saw Phil Watson claim top spot ahead, with Nigel Reichstein once again second, with Grant Harris third.
Joel Heinrich, Anthony Tapley and Jack McCarthy were the Top 3 in the Wingless Sprints Feature.
The final event of the night was the U-Pull-It Demolition Derby, with Hayden Gadzinski the last car running, with Robert Kemp second and Simon Gibbs third. Best Presented went to Jess Williams, with Byron Lohmeyer the Most Damaged.
Murray Bridge Speedway now holds it Sponsors Day on April 6th, before our next race night on April 13th, with the Wingless Sprints SA Series and the SA Junior Sedan Title.
AUSTRALASIAN SPEEDCAR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:
NIGHT 1 (March 30)
Heat 1: W7 Tom Payet (WA)
Heat 2: S6e Kaleb Currie (NZ)
Heat 3: N6 Matt Geering (NSW)
Heat 4: V39 Nick Parker (VIC)
Heat 5: S6e Kaleb Currie (NZ)
Heat 6: N18 Luke Geering (NSW)
Dash: W7 Tom Payet (WA)
Preliminary Feature/SA Speedcar Championship: 1. W7 Tom Payet (WA); 2. S6e Kaleb Currie (NZ); 3. Q23 Casey O’Connell (QLD); 4. N6 Matt Geering (NSW); 5. V97 Kaidon Brown (NSW); 6. N18 Luke Geering (NSW); 7. S14 Brendan Zadow (SA); 8. V15 Zoe Pearce (VIC); 9. Q12 Max Bevan (NSW); 10. DNF: V39 – Nick Parker (VIC); 11. DNF: V9 – Matt Jackson (NSW); 12. DNF: V17 Mathew Radisich (NZ); 13. DNF: W4 Michael Pickens (NZ); 14. DNF: ACT3 Mitch Saunderson (ACT); 15. DNF: S57 Robert Heard (SA); 16. DNF: S17 Damien Eve (SA); 17. DNF: V3 Dillon Ghent (VIC); 18. DNS: N24 Ryan Jones (SA).
NIGHT 2 (March 31):
Heat 7: N24 Ryan Jones (SA)
Heat 8: V39 Nick Parker (VIC)
Heat 9: S6e Kaleb Currie (NZ)
Heat 10: V39 Nick Parker (VIC)
Roger Munchenberg Pole Shuffle: V97 Kaidon Brown (VIC)
Australasian 50 Lap Speedcar Championship A-Main Feature: 1. W7 Tom Payet (WA); 2. V39 Nick Parker (VIC); 3. A3 Mitch Saunderson (ACT); 4. S14 Brendan Zadow (SA); 5. V15 Zoe Pearce (VIC). DNF: S6e Kaleb Currie (NZ); Q23 Casey O’Connell (QLD); W4 Michael Pickens (NZ); S57 Robert Heard (SA); V17 Matthew Radisich (VIC); V97 Kaidon Brown (VIC); S17 Damien Eve (SA); Q12 Max Bevan (NSW); N18 Luke Geering (NSW); N24 Ryan Jones (SA).
Bob Sincock Hard Charger Award: V15 Zoe Pearce
Ends Release…
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