Alexandra and District Speedway Club have started there 2022/2023 season on Saturday night with the visiting Modified Sedan series headlining the action whilst the local Sports Sedan and Victorian Speedway Council and Speedway Sedans Australia Junior categories also determined their first winners of the club point score season.
The Modified Sedan’s provided competitors from Mildura, Ballarat, Horsham, and Wangaratta to name a few regional areas of the state, whilst locally Matt Nelson from Woori Yallock, Brody Chrystie from the Murrindindi shire, Kasey Garlick from the Eastern Suburbs and Damien Miller from Pakenham represented the Alexandra Club.
Modified Sedan racing began with four heat races in which Wade McCarthy from Mildura by leading all the way, Daniel Simpson from Horsham, Brody Chrystie in a ding-dong battle with clubmate Matt Nelson swapping the lead numerous times before Chrystie re-claimed the lead on the final lap of the heat, and Dylan Barrow from Wandin after chasing Darcy Wilson and passing him only at the finish line were the heat winners.
Brooke Ferguson and Lachlan Fitzpatrick won the two seven lap Dash races to determine starting spots in the final form ninth to last, whilst a pole shuffle to determine the order from eighth to pole position was won by Chrystie.
An attempt to get the race started on lap one was unsuccessful due to a minor pile up in turn three at the back of the field and shortly after contact between Bella Rizzoli and Kasey Garlick finished with both Ladies out of the race with car damage, the latter collecting the concrete wall in the incident.
Dylan Barrow and Brody Chrystie in particular were having a sensational battle with Nelson behind them and not far out of the action. However, in Barrow’s first season in open aged racing after dominating Junior Open Sedans last season, Barrow spun himself out of contention and then after starting at the back of the field for the race restart, soon after spun once more and decided to park the car.
Wade McCarthy soon passed Nelson into second spot and as the thirty-one-lap race honouring the late Russell Bent concluded Chrystie had won in front of McCarthy, Nelson, Wilson, and Tristan McGraw.
In Sports Sedan action Brendan Miller part of the track preparation team won the first of three qualifying heat races from the front row before Lee Beach from Lysterfield won the second and Miller again won the third. In the final Miller led every lap whilst Beach was passed before repassing Steve Kershaw from Healesville. Beach tried in vain to chase and pass Miler with Miller arriving at the finish line .229 seconds before Beach, Kershaw, Jackson Barneveld, and Jasmin Molloy.
Linken Paterson then won all three qualifying heats in the Speedway Sedans Australia Top Star Juniors before setting a new twelve lap record in the class final of four minutes thirty-six seconds. He defeated James Oliver from Bacchus Marsh by almost six seconds with Bree Simpson of Woori-Yallock, Kiarna Barton and Christine Oliver.
In the New Star development class of the Speedway Sedans Australia juniors Cruz Farrell who had earlier in the day raced open wheelers at Avalon and finished on the podium there, then won the feature race at Alexandra in his Sedan. Farrell won two of the three qualifiers with Zack Erickson the other before Farrell then won from Erickson, Max Leerson a driver in his first ever night of racing, Tyson Heaphy, and Steane Goverdik-Cosson.
Wrapping up all the racing was the Junior 1200cc Sedans where Braiden Webster won the first qualifier and Will Fallon the second and third before won the feature event from Webster, Bryce Leek, Chase Doherty and Dayne Murdoch.
New records on Saturday include;
Top Stars Junior Sedans
12 Laps – Linken Paterson – Alexandra – 4:36.994 – December 10th 2022
Junior 1200 Sedans
6 Laps – Will Fallon – Alexandra – 2:43.053 – December 10th 2022
Modified Sedans
7 Laps – Brooke Ferguson – Portland- 2:34.223 – December 10th 2022
Alexandra Speedway traditional close in the heat of the summer and as a result will return at the end of February.
Alexandra and District Speedway club thank and acknowledge the following valuable supporters;
Alexandra & Yea Pre-Mix
Alexandra Panels & Towing
Beach Earthmoving
Bendigo Bank
Donnaz Underground
Eastern Suburbs Locksmiths
Elite Racking Installs
Endeavor Petroleum
Exhaust Fix Lilydale
Fallon’s Bus Services
Fineblade
Foodworks
Highline Racewear
Ismail’s Building & Construction
LS Quarry
Matthew & Sons Drilling Services
Metro Tow
Outer Eastern Steel
Raslarr Engineering
Revegetation Victoria
S&N Builders
Smooth Suspension
Town & Country Tennis Courts
Tyrepower Alexandra
Valley Onsite
Victory Lane Racegear
Waverley Exhaust & Brake Centre
Yenckens Hardware Alexandra
Ends Release
Written by Speedcafe contributor DMT Sports Media – Dean Thompson
