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Bairnsdale Speedway held its second race meeting of the season on Saturday night with five classes in action and four winners from Latrobe Valley suburbs collecting victory out of the five classes competing. Tom Braz won the Junior Standard Saloon feature whilst fellow Latrobe Valley racers Troy Hutchinson won Division 2 Hot Rods, Jacob Vuillermin the Standard Saloons and Tahlia Campbell the Ladies Standard Saloons with Bryce Leek from Wangaratta via West Gippsland a winner in the Junior 1200cc Sedans.
Competing in the ‘Skidz Next Gen Junior Standard Saloons Showdown’ Hunter Carey from Melbourne’s Southeastern Suburbs got away to a red-hot start for the night winning heat one and then heat two of the three qualifiers. Carey was a winner by four seconds in the first event ahead of Ella Sheedy and Braz before he won by six seconds ahead of Braz and Cooper Joynson in the second. Braz picked up a win in the final heat by just .611 of a second with Sheedy and Tyler McDermott filling the top three places.
With a fifteen-lap final to conclude the racing for the evening Carey found himself out of the race on lap six leaving the door open for Braz to capitalize. Kaine Smith put some pressure on Braz and Thomas Pope and Sharni Stuchbery tried hard also with Braz greeting the chequered flag in front Smith and Sheedy, Pope and Stuchbery with the latter two drivers still developing their skills and not on finishing on the lead lap.
Troy Hutchison won the first two heat races in Division 2 Hot Rods before Fraser Crittenden won the third and final heat race before the feature race. Crittenden only just beat Hutchison. Hutchison followed up a recent win at Nyora by winning the feature race with Crittenden in second and Andrew Cormack in third place.
Tahlia Campbell had a perfect night of racing in the Ladies Standard Saloons winning all three qualifiers prior to the feature event. Campbell’s perfect night was achieved in securing a win in the final with a new fifteen lap track record for the class Campbell stopped the clock at 5:38.668 with Caroline Allen from Warragul in second spot some eight seconds adrift then Bree Walker third, Michelle George in fourth after being relegated two places at the finish by Stewards having crossed the line in third, with Bairnsdale’s own Kate Stuchbery in fifth.
Junior 1200cc Sedans raced at Bairnsdale for the first time with a small field of entrants whilst competitors in this class are faced with licensing issues that has seen the class split in two between two governing bodies, with some competitors taking licences with two bodies and some with one or the other. Victorian Speedway Council state champion Bryce Leek also had a perfect night of racing winning all three qualifiers before securing a win in the feature race in front of Chase Doherty, Brad Marshall, and Ella Sheedy.
Standard Saloon competition was spread across nine qualifiers before the feature event with the threat of rain fast approaching. Bairnsdale member Mitch Foster won the first heat race of the evening with Brendan Sheedy out of Bunyip taking a win in the second. Former Bairnsdale Junior competitor of last season Beau Stuchbery won the third heat race of the night in a terrific race by half a second with former Victorian champions Jacob Vuiillermin and Shane Stewart settling for second and third, signalling that the Stuchbery is a lead competitor in the open age class for the years ahead.
Vuillermin, Bairnsdale’s Josh Thomas, and Shane Stewart were winners in the second round of racing with Vuillermin again winning in round three with another local Bairnsdale member Steven Dadswell took victory in the second heat of the final round with Stuchbery a winner a second time closing out the third round. A twenty-lap feature event closed out the classes racing and racing for the night with eight drivers finishing on the lead lap of the race. Passing through the race was constant with several drivers lapped more than once with the pace on at the front of the field. Vuillermin from Traralgon secured a gap late in the race that he was able to maintain to the finish with Stewart second, Stuchbery on the podium in third then Dadswell and Blake Smith.
Bairnsdale Speedway returns to racing on New Years Eve the 31st of December with a 2:30pm start to allow people to get back to any planned New Years celebrations. Sprintcars will be returning along with Open Standard Saloons, Junior Standard Saloons and Division 2 Hot Rods amongst the racing.
Bairnsdale Speedway Association would like to thank their business partners for their support.
A1 Trailers
Active Sound Systems
ARB
Assist A Lift
Aussie Septic Solutions
Bairnsdale Autobarn
Bairnsdale Automotive
Bairnsdale Bearings & Industrial
Bairnsdale Radiator
Bairnsdale RSL
Bridgestone Service Centre Bairnsdale
Buchan Towing
Dennison Quality Roof Restorations
East Gippsland Locks and Keys
East Gippsland Plumbing and Drainage
East Vic Hydraulics
Eastern Signs & Designs
EG Printers
Eureka Garages & Sheds
Eye Care Plus
EZ Print
Gillicks Busline
Gippsland Treated Pine
Gippsland Truck Centre
Granite Rock Quarries
Great Southern Kitchens
Kennedy Trailers
Logue’s Autowreckers
M & S Laity
Mitchell Valley Excavations Pty Ltd
Patties
Phaselink Electrics
Rivera Concrete
Riviera Automotive
SKIDZ Driver Training
SS Auto
Tambo Waste
Tim Bull
Todd Plumbing Supplies
TRFM & Gold 1242
Wayne Trinder Plumbing & Gasfitting
Westpoint Motors
WGI Earthmoving & Heavy Haulage
Ends Release.
Written by Speedcafe contributor DMT Sports Media – Dean Thompson
