Murray Machining & Sheds, Murray Bridge Speedway held their final race night of the season, which featured Round 9 of the Ausloans Finance Strathalbyn Track Championship.
IRELAND RETURNS TO THE TOP In the Wingless Sprints 30 Lap Feature, Anthony Tapley would lead early on ahead of Jack McCarthy, with the pair opening up a fair gap over the rest of the field. The only stoppage of the event occurred on Lap 8, with Mitchell Rigney spinning to a stop in the back straight. McCarthy would continue to pressure Tapley on the restart before suddenly slowing and retiring to the infield, which would elevate Brett Ireland up into second. With the front runners then encountering lapped traffic, Tapley would get caught behind one of the back-markers, enabling Ireland to swoop into the top spot. Ireland would then make a smooth run until the end, winning by over 4 seconds ahead of Tapley and Nate Trewin in third. Wingless Sprints - 30 Lap Feature: 1. S71 Brett Ireland; 2. S47 Anthony Tapley; 3. S58 Nate Trewin; 4. S84 Jesse Alexander; 5. S38 James Rodda; 6. S27 Mitchell Rigney; 7. S99 Michael Busby; 8. S55 Sharni Pitcher; 9. VX41 Aaron Kennett; 10. S54 Alan Saint; 11. S92 Thomas Walkom; 12. S75 Troy Frisby; 13. S57 Kirra-Lee Pitcher; 14. VX84 Bradley Vaughan. DNF S96 Tamika Pitcher (23), S15 Kaitlin Vickers (20), S23 Jack McCarthy (11), S29 Corey Brougham (3). DNS S8 Darryl Sloan.
WESTON WINS IN BUCHANAN'S LAST DRIVE The Street Stocks feature event would see Phil Watson starting alongside Carey Weston, with Watson getting the better start and take the lead after the opening corner, with Nigel Reichstein and Dennis Knowles jostling for third and fourth. Anthony Buchanan then managed to sneak under Knowles into fourth, before Knowles returned the favour a lap later; as he drove hard into the corner to make the pass, Knowles was sent spinning, clipping the back Buchanan in the process which saw the S2 retire to the infield on Lap 6. The field would use the stoppage to change directions usually reserved for the mid-way point. As the racing resumed, the order would remain the same until lapped traffic would come into play in the later parts of the race, allowing Weston to make a winning pass with 2 laps to go, finishing ahead of Watson and Reichstein. And after being involved in the sport both on and off the track for many, many years, long time participant Moss Buchanan would finish in 13th in what would be the final race of his racing career. Street Stocks - 20 Lap Feature: 1. S17 Carey Weston; 2. S19 Phil Watson; 3. S14 Nigel Reichstein; 4. S3 Keith Moore; 5. S123 Dennis Knowles; 6. S7 Craig Buchanan; 7. S6 Grant Harris; 8. S72 Kye Richardson; 9. S12 Drew Flatman; 10. S11 Ryan Buchanan; 11. S28 Jarryd Farrell; 12. S26 Nicholas Marsh; 13. S0 Moss Buchanan; 14. MDA95 Toby Littlehales. DNF: S2 Anthony Buchanan (6). DNS: S101 Daniel Blakemore; S35 Steve Moore.
HALL STORMS HOME TO ANOTHER BIG WIN Nick Hall would storm off of the front in the V6 Sprints feature, opening up a decisive gap from the get go. The field would spread out as the race continued, with Anthony Grillet the only non-finisher, retiring on Lap 7. Renee Pfeiler and Jordan Grillet would have a good battle for the minor placings, with Grillet finally able to race under on the inside with 3 laps to go. But Nick Hall would go on to win with an impressive 8 second winning margin ahead of Grillet and Pfeiler, with Kym Simon in fourth. John Pfeiler Jnr would also make a good return to racing finishing in fifth, after suffering a nasty accident at the venue back in March. V6 Sprints - 20 Lap Feature: 1. S8 Nick Hall; 2. S84 Jordan Grillet; 3. S9 Renee Pfeiler; 4. S17 Kym Simon; 5. S7 John Pfeiler Jnr; 6. S61 Nathan Johns; 7. S36 Brenton Phillips. DNF: S184 Anthony Grillet (7).
MCEWIN EMERGES THE WINNER IN JUNIOR SEDANS BATTLE It would be a fantastic battle of 3 in the Junior Sedans feature, with Ky McEwin, Lucas Warnett and Henry Brumfield challenging each other throughout the 12 lap event. McEwin would lead early on, before Warnett managed to make a pass on Lap 3. The pair continued to tussle as they started to navigate through lapped traffic, with McEwin then regaining the lead. Brumfield then began challenging Warnett for 2nd place, before also passing McEwin and taking the lead with only a few laps remaining. The trio were three-wide coming into the final lap, with McEwin emerging as the winner as they crossed the line, ahead of Warnett and Brumfield. Ollie Bartlett would also drive well in fourth place, with rookie Declan Bolitho finishing in 5th in his first race at Murray Bridge. Junior Sedans - 12 Lap Feature: 1. S2 Ky McEwin; 2. S46 Lucas Warnett; 3. S91 Henry Brumfield; 4. S56 Ollie Bartlett; 5. MDA52 Declan Bolitho; 6. S25 Ryan Burns; 7. MDA12 Ryan Burns; 8. S24 Seth Greig; 9. S26 Bree McAllister; 10. S22 Violet Thorne; 11. S88 Ainsley Gilding. DNF: S12 Max Richter (9).
ALEXANDER CHARGES THROUGH FROM THE BACK The Modlites would line-up in a Reverse Grip format for their 20 lap feature event, with Ryan Alexander navigating through the field from the back to take the win. On the start it would be Keir Doe and Luke Fraser on the front row with Alexander starting from ninth, who would move quickly up into fourth after the opening lap. Alexander would continue to move forward up into second and then begin his run to hunt down Fraser who had opened up a handy lead at the front. Scott Webb who was challenging Doe for fourth, would bring on the cautions after their cars would get tangled with 14 laps to go. Alexander would make the most of the restart, passing Fraser for the lead while Jake Armstrong also began charging through the field, before another stoppage involving Samuel Lamont with 4 laps to go. Alexander would go on to take the win, with Armstrong moving into second in the dying stages with Fraser holding on for third. Modlites - 20 Lap Feature: 1. S1 Ryan Alexander; 2. S0 Jake Armstrong; 3. S5 Luke Fraser; 4. S29 Jacob Carlier; 5. S41 Brian Chadwick; 6. S32 Scott Webb; 7. S40 Brett Stephens; 8. S23 Keir Doe; 9. S70 Samuel Lamont. DNF: S21 Dylan Richter (6).
?? We sincerely thank our Track Championship sponsor Ausloans Finance Strathalbyn for their support this season, and the final points standings will be announced later in the week.
?? Savage Shots Photography - Street Stock competitor Moss Buchanan celebrates the last race of his career.
