On Saturday night, February 25 at Alexandra Speedway, the hard-working volunteers and officials, with a contribution from determined competitors, made the track raceable a second time, after they waited for the rain to finish after it hit the area as qualifying races were almost finished.
Track re-preparation and packing allowed every class to continue on and have finals.
Race night was the annual Junior Sedan and Wingless Sprints feature night, which included the visiting Junior Sedan Promotional Association series for the Top Star and New Star drivers in the Speedway Sedans Australia category.
Winners included Linken Paterson in Top Stars, Chase Doherty in New Stars, Arthur Hutchinson in Junior 1200cc Sedans, Braiden Webster in Junior Open Sedans, Kasey Garlick in the Wingless Sprints and Luke Fallon in the supporting Sports Sedans.
Bree Simpson and Paterson secured all three qualifying wins in the Top Stars between the two of them with Simpson winning the first and Paterson the next two races.
Paterson then led every lap of the final to take victory in front of Blake Glynn, Cruz Farrell from Pakenham Upper, River Paterson and Jayden Lock.
Drivers in the New Stars category for developing drivers competed also with Max Leerson, James Peacock and Harry Dunn, sharing qualifying race wins, before Chase Doherty, in a 1200cc Sedan, showed up the more powerful 1500cc cars in the class by moving to the front of the field from the middle of the pack by lap six after, Peacock had led the initial laps of the race.
Doherty went on to win from Steane Goverdik-Cosson, Tyson Heaphy, Allie Erickson and Dunn.
Competitors in the Victorian Speedway Council Junior 1200cc Sedans were competing in the cars that were at the maximum of the former national Junior class rules until 1500cc were voted in. With enough cars to spread the field across four heat races with three per driver, Braiden Webster, Riley Taylor, Arthur Hutchinson with an eight-lap record, and thenHutchinson again, won the four qualifiers.
After starting at the front of the field before an incident sent him to the very back of the pack, Hutchinson weaved through the field to chase down and pass Webster on the very last lap of the race to take victory in the final. Will Fallon from Alexandra finished in third, Dayne Murdoch finished fourth with Riley Taylor rounding out the top five.
Competitors in the Junior Open Sedans class were able to run any registered Victorian Speedway Council Sedan that was of mono construction; in other words a shell-based car.
Braiden Webster was one of a handful of drivers who competed in two different classes of racing during the night, and he won two qualifiers out of the six in the Junior Open Sedans.
Webster, Riley Balins, and Webster again in a race that Linken Paterson set the new Junior Open Sedan one-lap-record at 20.821, Marcus Maclean, Balins again and Jordyn Tewkesbury were the six winners in qualifying.
Webster, from Wonthaggi and an Alexandra club member, led every lap of the final to lead to the finish line clubmate Jack Randall, visiting Wangaratta racer Cooper Lack, Brody McCarten from New South Wales and Rebecca Johnstone.
A feature event for the Wingless Sprints is held annually and backing up from last season Lilydale-raised racer Kasey Garlick returned to defend her victory. Things didn’t go her way in heat racing with Wayne Logue, Ricky Mills and Kim-Loong Gosling taking wins in the three qualifiers.
Starting at the back end of the feature field Garlick then sliced and diced her way through the field before taking the lead from Mills at around lap seven of 12 before going on to sensationally back up last year’s win at her home track with a new distance record of four minutes 2.473 seconds. Mills finished in second, Wayne Logue third, Jake Warren and Gosling rounded out the top five.
Rounding out all the entertainment the Sports Sedans also competed in four heat races with each driver competing in three races each. Brendan Miller won the first two heat races before Luke Fallon won the final two qualifiers. The heat racing was very fast and competitive with Fallon, Miller and Lee Beach in particular close to the existing track record.
In the feature event Miller got the best of the start, taking the lead from Fallon in a 10-lap race. On lap six Fallon secured the top spot and then went on to win from Miller, Steve Kershaw, Beach and Anthony Knight.
Alexandra Speedway returns on March the 18th with the next event that includes all club classes and the Australian Motor Contest Nationals.
– Dean Thompson