Roycraft dominates Wahgunyah

Corowa driver Garry Coates in his Unlimited Sedan. Photo by VERN PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY.
Joel Copeland of Corowa in his Humpy Holden. Photo by VERN PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY.

Wahgunyah Speedway provided another terrific night of entertainment for a large crowd on Saturday night with all club classes in action and wins going the way of Felicity Roycroft in both the Ladies Sports Sedans and the Sports Sedans against the boys.

Leighton Evans won Production Sedans, Justin Brockley won the Goulburn Ovens Sedan Association final, Zack Erickson won the Junior Sedans, Peter Schmetzer won the Unlimited Sedans and Micheal Fleming-Robertson took victory in the Standard Saloon class.

Also, on race night there was some demonstrations from the Vintage Sprintcars and Humpy Holdens (FJ Holdens).

In the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association latest points aggregate event former Victorian champion came up with a feature race win a week after relinquishing the title to Albury’s Daniel McCarten. Corowa local Billy O’Donoghue claimed a race win in the first of four qualifiers of the night with each driver competing in three of those.

O’Donoghue finished ahead of Marcus Maclean and Stuart Balins. Ben Schmetzer from Leeton defeated his brother Tommy Schmetzer in the second qualifier with O’Donoghue back in third. Maclean won heat three in front of new Victoria five ranked racer Brandon Lovell and Mitch Watts with Brockley taking a heat win in the last qualifier in front of Robbie Miller and Justin Ewert.

A twelve-lap final on the huge Wahgunyah track then concluded the class action for the night with ten of the thirteen race starters finishing on the lead lap. Brockley finished almost three seconds in front of Maclean, Daniel Joosten, O’Donoghue, and Watts.

Rodney Anderson started the night strongly in Production Sedans with a win in the first heat race in front of Leighton Evans, and Chris Lack a former national champion. Evans reversed the first two positions in the next heat with Anderson finishing behind him and Brayden Creek a first-year senior racer in third spot. Another first-year senior racer Anthony Hanson then won the third heat race in a close finish with Evans followed by Anderson with barely any distance between the three of them.

Things changed in the final with Evans driving away from the field out to a seven second margin to claim the victory in front of Hanson, Lack, Creek, and David Lord.

Felicity Roycroft won both the Ladies Sports Sedans and the Sports Sedan class. The only difference between the two being the Ladies only aspect of the first.

In the Ladies Sports Sedans Roycroft stormed to victory by almost ten seconds over Chloe Creek and Tarrah Johanson. Another win to Roycroft in the second heat was a much closer affair with Cobie McGraw this time in second and Emma Threlfall third.

Making it three from three Roycroft then won the final qualifier this time by almost eight seconds or one third of a lap from Threlfall and Johanson.

With six laps allocated for the final Roycroft set about dominating this race with seven and a half second between her and Johanson at the finish line. Threlfall finished in third with Creek and Samantha Gray rounding out the top five.

In the Sports Sedan class Roycroft began the night with a win in front of Rhys Collins and Daryl Joosten.

Craig Claridge whose recently been in Crash and Bash racing returned to Sedan racing with a win in heat two in front of Tristan McGraw and Bradin Claridge, one of Craig’s sons. Roycroft then won the final heat race, one of five she had won for the night. This time she finished in front of Craig Claridge and Daryl Joosten.

Backing up her feature race win in the Ladies Sports Sedans, Felicity Roycroft won once again in a big result defeating Bradin Claridge and Corowa’s Tristan McGraw to the finish line in Sports Sedans.

The up to 1500cc powered Junior Sedans were on track next with Zach Erickson Wangaratta’s number one Junior driver claiming the win in the first of three heats in front of Jaylen Knight and his sister Allie Erickson.

Allie then won heat two in front of Knight and Brad Marshall winning by less than a half a second before Zach went back to the front of the field in the last heat race with a win in front of Marshall and Knight.

The twelve-lap final ran from green flag to chequered flag without a stoppage and Erickson this time got away with a gap over the field when the chequered flag unfurled of almost six seconds. Knight finished in second followed by Marshall, Taijan Ussher and Jai Alexander.

Micheal Fleming-Robertson had some stiff competition to compete with in Standard Saloons with Josh Campbell and Trevor Evans on track and Fleming-Robertson got off to a quick start with a win in heat race one over Campbell and Rhyse Lavender.

Fleming-Robertson also claimed the win in the second heat race with Evans and Campbell following him before he clean swept the nights qualifying races winning heat three ahead of Campbell and Evans.

Making it a perfect night of racing for himself, over twelve laps Fleming-Robertson won a terrific final with Evans right on his tail at the conclusion of the race. Fleming Robertson defeating Evans, Campbell, Lavender, and Josh Delarue.

A small field of Unlimiteds were in action with the club locally trying to build up the field and a dozen cars competing down South of Melbourne on the same night. Leeton’s Peter Schmetzer won the first heat race, the second and the third. Then went on to claim victory in the final ahead of Peter Camilleri and Garry Coates.