Race fans at Redline Raceway in greater Ballarat were treated to a terrific nights racing on (February 21st) Saturday night with Standard Saloons, Unlimited Sedans and Wingless Sprints all producing great racing. Mitch Foster would win the Gold Rush feature for Open Standard Saloons, Riley Taylor come out on top in the Lucky Sevens series for Unlimited Sedans and Christopher Temby on his way home from Bordertown South Australia dropped into Redline to claim the win in round eight of the Wingless Super Series.
With a Victorian title at Redline Raceway on Labour Day weekend, some of the states best and a number of great locals were on hand to compete for Standard Saloon honours in the Gold Rush feature and there was plenty of action to keep fans entertained.
Mitch Foster led from lap two to the finish in the first heat race with a considerable margin back to Zac Barwise who continued to impress as he sets his eyes on a direct to feature qualifying effort in the Victorian title. Barwise and Katie Meyer had a great race long battle. Linken Paterson was great in the second heat race winning by a similar margin to Foster as both were around seven seconds ahead of their challengers. Jacob Vuillermin the current Victorian champion won a beauty by around half a second ahead of class legend Scott Whittle.
Andrew Cormack put in a stellar effort in heat race number four as he held out the fancied Vuillermin. Both a terrific personalities in the class, Cormack had a smile from ear to ear as he had an infield interview after the race. Foster won his second heat race again by a clear margin before Whittle won a close one with Paul Domburg whose been away from Redline for a while, he should be a factor in the title in a couple weeks’ time also. Tyson Randall a local racer and brand new into racing, and Jackson Foster from Gippsland both won dash events to put them out of seventh and eighth spots in the final right behind the direct final qualifiers for the night.
In a thirty-lap final Foster, Vuillermin and Whittle where the drivers everybody had their eyes on and the margin they put on the field by the time the race got to the end was telling as the three had twelve seconds back to fourth spot. Both Ballarat Chivers brothers Austin and Lachlan did not finish the Portland Domburg brothers Matt and Paul likewise and Linken Paterson and former Victorian champion Craig Templeton also found themselves parked in the infield. Leading all the way Foster claimed the Gold Rush by half a second from Vuillermin and Whittle, Barwise was fourth and fifth was Randall, who in less than half a dozen race meetings finds himself a potential starter in the Victorian title final if he can show consistency in Labour day weekend.
Riley Taylor with two wins and Keith Simmonds with a victory shared the heat race results in the Unlimited Sedans Lucky Sevens series round before their fifteen-lap final. Taylor took the race lead in the final immediately with Lennie Bonnici on his tai before Simmonds took up the chase. Taylor never looked in trouble and went on to win from Simmonds, Jimmy Harris, Bonnici and Corey McDonald.
In Wingless Sprint racing Darcy Micallef did take an all the way victory in heat one before an after-race penalty was applied by the Association handing the win to Mitchell Glynn. Boyd Harris and then Jayden Lock rounded out the winners in the first round of racing before the class returned on track for another three qualifiers with wins going the way of Callum Beveridge with his first ever heat race win, and this on the back of tearing down the Redline track catch fence the last time he appeared on Mount Buninyong. Hayden Clifford and Aron Lawrence rounded out the victors in the second round.
A last chance qualifier across fifteen laps was held next with Ricky McCubbin a winner in that one bringing eight cars into the feature event. Incredibly after a hot summers day where the clay track was baked through the first three hours of racing at thirty plus degrees, the Wingless Sprints ran thirty laps non-stop from start to finish with one car unable to finish the race and Temby leading all the way with his right rear tyre just above the rubbered down middle track lane to win by seven seconds from Blake Walsh, Callum Beveridge, Cameron O’Brien, and Angus Hollis.
March 7th and 8th will be the next time Redline Raceway opens up with the Victorian Standard Saloon title across both days. Amca Nationals will support racing on night one and Dirt Modifieds will support the title event on night two.
Belmont Speedway Drivers Club would like to thank the following season supporters.
Power FM
Australian Racing Products
Wren Diesel – Truck & Trailer Specialists
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Ballarat Skip Bins
Ballarat Concrete Recyclers
True Blue Floors
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Shillito Electrical
Norman St Automotive
Total Tools Ballarat
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Written by
Dean Thompson
Dean Thompson Media
For Belmont Speedway Drivers Club
