Corowa member in Marty Bassett from Albury winning the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association Series Round. Photo: Vern Parker Photography.
Wahgunyah Speedway once again delivered a premium night’s entertainment on Saturday for motorsport fans with their latest race meeting featuring Sports Sedans and the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association with supporting events.
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Another terrific crowd supported the community sporting club to enjoy Brendan Miller claiming victory in the Sports Sedan state series round and Corowa member Marty Bassett returning to the track and winning the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association state series round.
In supporting racing, Micheal Fleming-Robertson claimed another Standard Saloon victory, Katie Meyer was first in the Ladies Sports Sedans, and Taijan Ussher claimed a win in Junior Sedans.
Nine qualifying races were held in the Sports Sedans with Dennis Reid after leader Brendan Miller pulled infield and out of the race as the belt tensioner came off winning the opening qualifier.
Then it was Michael Mannix, Riley Balins, Miller and David Donegan after some door to door action with Ian Thomsen excited all present after a week of social media banter between the two about what was going to happen when the two next clashed.
Brendan Miller won the Sport Sedan Series Round at Wahgunyah Speedway on the weekend. Photo: Vern Parker Photography.
The stewards then added to the rivalry penalising Thomsen two spots at the finish for being a little quick on the gas at the start of the race.
Continuing with qualifying winners Lucas Conder was next, Shane Simpson, Donegan a second time and Corowa member Danny Cox claimed wins.
In the third round of qualifying Ian Thomsen set a new class one lap track record with a time of 23.434 slightly quicker than last year’s record set by Mannix.
Donegan did not take his place in the feature event dinting his series chances a little having come into the night with a sizeable lead.
Whilst winning in his last qualifier prior to the final smoke was pouring out of the car from the engine bay, earlier there was damage with the inlet manifold gasket.
The green flag waved the field off with Miller, Reid, Lucas Conder, Thomsen and Dale Smith the top three rows.
Miller led through the first five laps of the feature race with Ian Thomsen, and Conder behind him.
Wodonga racer Tommy McDonald entered the fray and moved into second during the next five laps of the race with Miller leading at the ten-lap mark.
Conder’s race came to an end on lap sixteen and McDonald who had moved into second was passed by Thomsen with three laps to go.
Miller went on to claim the win in the twenty-five-lap final from Thomsen, Dale Smith, Cox and Braidan Webster as McDonald drifted down the order on the last lap.
Many local Corowa racers compete in the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association events and six qualifiers would determine the starting positions for the feature race field. Ben Schmetzer Nathan Shortis, Mitch Watts, Ross Maclean, Marty Bassett, and Marcus Maclean won those.
Shortis, Bassett, Watts, Justin Ewert, Ross Maclean and Tom Schmezter were the top six qualifiers and filled the top three rows at the start.
Leading the initial stages of the feature event was Shortis from Bassett until lap four when positions changed.
Justin Ewert was the first of the favoured drivers to drop out of the race and Ross Maclean moved into third spot before Watts moved back ahead of him.
Bassett steadied with a margin of around one second and as twenty laps came to an end, he led Shortis, Watts, Maclean and Ben Schmetzer across the finish line, with the Bassett car suffering mechanical issues with smoke billowing out from underneath the panels leaving the Bassett team with some work to do before racing again.
Katie Meyer won all three qualifying races in Ladies Sports Sedans before she went on to clean sweep her night winning the final from Samantha Gray, Kimberley Smith, Chloe Creek and Jasmine Kettels.
Meyer set a new class twelve lap record time in the final with the Ladies previously never competed across twelve laps for a final at Wahgunyah.
In Junior Sedans Cooper Lack won two of the three qualifiers with Taijan Ussher winning the other before Ussher won the final from Cooper and Ryder Lack.
Corowa’s Micheal Fleming-Robertson clean swept the Standard Saloon action winning all three qualifiers and then the final. In the first heat race Fleming-Robertson came from the rear of the line-up to the lead in two turns running the top side of the racetrack thrilling the fans.
In the final Fleming-Robertson was too strong for Adam Brezovnik, last race night winner Jaimi Barber, Josh Campbell and Rhyse Lavender.
Wahgunyah Speedway returns to racing again on March 15 with a Victorian Sprintcar title, another series round for the Goulburn Ovens Sedans Association, Unlimited Sedans, Standard Saloons, Vintage and Classic Sprintcars and the Humpy Holdens.
