New names dominate, speedway stars stun in final Legends Nationals heats

Heat 5

Craig took his second heat race win of the weekend, banking maximum points to gain the biggest grid advantage for Heats 7 and 8.

Craig was forced to battle for the victory, fending off charges from second place finisher Nash Morris, Josh Benaud, and third place Maverick Kemenyvary.

Swapping the lead lap after lap, Craig kept a cool head even after contact from Morris at Turn 1 forced the latter off the road.

Front-runner Benaud was tagged by Morris at Turn 2 in the closing laps, spinning towards the back of the field.

The battle for the back of the top five was intense between former national champion Ryan Pring, Tim Reed, and speedway star Joe Berkley.

Reed and Berkley came together at Turn 2, sending the rear of Berkley’s car airborne, but the pair were able to continue.

Berkley brought his car home in seventh place after a strong run, while fellow speedway competitor Jock Goodyer held his ground inside the top 10, finishing ninth for the second time.

Heat 6

Reigning national champion Ruben Dan took his second win of the weekend in the final group heat, before the grid for Heats 7 and 8 switched to points standings.

Dan stole the win from CXC Racing teammate Dylan Thomas at the final corner, the pair then leading home a three-wide photo finish including Josh Thomas.

Just 0.06s covered the top three finishers, with less than one second across the top six.

Dan, Riley Skinner, Dylan and Josh Thomas, and Chais Tippett swapped the lead lap by lap, with Dan ultimately prevailing.

The second pair of speedway drivers Callum Harper and Kaidon Brown did not fare as well in Heat 6 as their dirt racing counterparts, coming home in 14th and 15th position respectively.

Heat 7

Craig took a third victory of the weekend in dominant fashion, coming home 8.4s clear of those behind.

Josh Thomas took second spot from Dan at the line, with 0.06s between the two

Holding the overall points lead heading into the final two heats, Craig’s third win sees him hold the lead heading into the Top 8 Dash ahead of the A-Main.

As the battle for the top five continued for several laps, Goodyer battled with Ben Goodridge and Diesel Thomas for sixth position.

Goodyer came home solidly inside the top 10 once again, finishing in eighth place.

Goodyer’s fellow speedway drivers Brown and Harper had clean races to finish 13th and 14th.

Heat 8

In yet another photo finish, Morris took the final heat race win by just 0.07s over Skinner in a crash-affected race.

Kemenyvary held on to take third place in a three-wide contest for the position, just edging out Scott Morgan and Shane Tate.

Reed and Hardy Martin came together at the final corner, taking the pair out of the running with heavy damage to the front of Martin’s car.

After a short red flag for the clean-up, Morris led the field away at the restart, but the story of Heat 8 was Super Sedans champion Berkley.

The only speedway driver in the final heat, Berkley raced comfortably inside the top five, running as high as third position before ultimately finishing seventh.

At the end of eight heat races, the top eight drivers in points progress through to the Dash, which sets the first four rows for the A-Main.

The Dash commences at 7:20pm AEST, held over just two laps.

Following the Dash is the B-Main commencing at 8:00pm, the last chance to progress to the A-Main feature.

The top 16 drivers below automatically progress to the A-Main, while the remainder will battle it out in the B-Main, where the top six finishers will progress.

Points standings following heat races