Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Tim Atkin returned to Production Sedan racing for the first time this season, and made an immediate impression, when he won the Production Sedan Australian Grand Prix, at the Ian Boettcher Race Parts, Kingaroy Speedway on Saturday night.
The former State and National Champion was a dominant figure amongst the big field, winning two of his three qualifying heats and finishing second in the other, to set up a front row start in the 30 lap main event.
He would start on the front row with Adrian Stott, while Josh Crang and Josh Arthur would start on row two, with Chris Pagel opting to start at the back of the field with a $500 incentive on offer.
Atkin immediately took the lead on a challenging race surface, which ultimately would see more than half the field fail to finish.
Adrian Stott was one of those to meet a quick demise, lasting just five laps, allowing Josh Crang to move to second place and to set out after Atkin.
Josh Arthur and Brett Baxter would have a good battle for third, with the former Queensland Street Stock Champion, and the former National Modified Sedan Champion, swapping positions constantly.
Pagel meantime, after accepting the challenge to come from the back of the field, had made his way to eighth at the half way mark of the race, the same time that Brett Baxter withdrew from the event.
Daniel Henshaw moved to fourth after making steady progress through the field from position ten, while Atkin and Crang continued the battle at the front of the field.
One by one, the opposition dropped out of the race, many with flat tyres, with Henshaw moving to third with seven laps remaining. A lap later, Josh Arthur, moved back to third place as the battle for the minor placing continued.
Atkin held on to win by two car lengths from Crang, while Josh Arthur finished a credible third. Henshaw finished fourth, well clear of fifth placed Chris Pagel who passed Aaron Sander in the concluding stages.
Earlier former Junior Sedan driver, Joel Berkley, impressed all in first appearance in Production Sedans, driving from the back of the field to take victory. Other heat race winners included Josh Crang, Richard Cook, Daniel Henshaw, Adrian Stott along with Tim Atkin.
:: Production Sedans Australian Grand Prix
Heat 1, 10 Laps: 1. M9 Joel Berkley, 2. SB38 Maddi McGee, 3. SB32 Brody Fraser, 4. G17 Neil Keldoulis, 5. SC8 Kayla Stokes, 6. G97 Patrick Brennan, 7. N29 Steve Downes, 8. CR96 Chris Evans (7 laps), 9. B15 Brett Baxter (1), 10. G10 Daniel Henshaw (0). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 1.632, Fastest Lap: 17.839 M9 Joel Berkley
Heat 2, 10 Laps: 1. G15 Tim Atkin, 2. GL05 Richard Cook, 3. SC23 Adrian Stott, 4. M15 Josh Arthur, 5. M10 Russell Cowley, 6. BB7 Dennis Shallcross, 7. G9 Wade Flikweert, 8. L58 Trent Nicolia (0). Time: 3.30.488, Winning Margin: 1.941, Fastest Lap: 18.017 G15 Tim Atkin
Heat 3, 10 Laps: 1. G8 Josh Crang, 2. SC16 Aaron Sander, 3. G2 Chris Pagel, 4. SC61 Jim Cowley, 5. Rk71 Kev Young, 6. G25 Selina Jennings, 7. G62 Hayden Wells. Time: 3.04.891, Winning Margin: 3.812, Fastest Lap: 17.914 G2 Chris Pagel
Heat 4, 10 Laps: 1. G15 Tim Atkin, 2. B15 Brett Baxter, 3. G2 Chris Pagel, 4. SC23 Adrian Stott, 5. M9 Joel Berkley, 6. N29 Steve Downes, 7. M10 Russell Cowley, 8. SB32 Brody Fraser (7 laps), 9. SB38 Maddi McGee (0). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.416, Fastest Lap: 17.384 G2 Chris Pagel
Heat 5, 10 Laps: 1. G8 Josh Crang, 2. M15 Josh Arthur, 3. G97 Patrick Brennan, 4. SC16 Aaron Sander, 5. G62 Hayden Wells, 6. CR96 Chris Evans, 7. G17 Neil Keldoulis, 8. BB7 Dennis Shallcross. Time: 3.05.032, Winning Margin: 1.368, Fastest Lap: 17.651 M15 Josh Arthur
Heat 6, 10 Laps: 1. GL05 Richard Cook, 2. RK71 Kev Young, 3. SC61 Jim Cowley, 4. SC8 Kayla Stokes, 5. G10 Daniel Henshaw, 6. G25 Selina Jennings, 7. L58 Trent Nicolia (0 laps). Time: 3.13.392, Winning Margin: 2.250, Fastest Lap: 17.973 GL05 Richard Cook
Heat 7, 10 Laps: 1. SC23 Adrian Stott, 2. G8 Josh Crang, 3. G97 Patrick Brennan, 4. L58 Trent Nicolia, 5. M9 Joel Berkley, 6. SB38 Maddi McGee (8 laps). Time: 2.43.383 (9 laps), Winning Margin: 0.722, Fastest Lap: 17.600 G8 Josh Crang
Heat 8, 10 Laps: 1. G10 Daniel Henshaw, 2. G15 Tim Atkin, 3. B15 Brett Baxter, 4. SB32 Brody Fraser, 5. G62 Hayden Wells, 6. SC16 Aaron Sander, 7. BB7 Dennis Shallcross, 8. SC8 Kayla Stokes, 9. G25 Selina Jennings. Time: 3.03.974, Winning Margin: 0.124, Fastest Lap: 17.829 G15 Tim Atkin
Heat 9, 10 Laps: 1. G2 Chris Pagel, 2. M15 Josh Arthur, 3. SC61 Jim Cowley, 4. CR96 Chris Evans, 5. RK71 Kev Young, 6. GL05 Richard Cook, 7. N29 Steve Downes. Time: 3.07.432, Winning Margin: 0.608, Fastest Lap: 18.100 G2 Chris Pagel
A Main, 30 Laps: 1. G15 Tim Atkin, 2. G8 Josh Crang, 3. M15 Josh Arthur, 4. G10 Daniel Henshaw, 5. G2 Chris Pagel, 6. SC16 Aaron Sander, 7. SC61 Jim Cowley, 8. L58 Trent Nicolia, 9. G25 Selina Jennings (28 laps), 10. SC8 Kayla Stokes (28). DNF: 11. G97 Patrick Brennan (24), 12. SB32 Brody Fraser (24), 13. CR96 Chris Evans (21), 14. BB7 Dennis Shallcross (19), 15. N29 Steve Downes (16), 16. B15 Brett Baxter (15), 17. M9 Joel Berkley (15), 18. GL05 Richard Cook (14), 19. G62 Hayden Wells (10), 20. SC23 Adrian Stott (5), 21. RK71 Kev Young (2). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.986, Fastest Lap: 17.084 G15 Tim Atkin
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Tim Atkin sends an ominous warning to the Production Sedan ranks after his big win on Saturday night. Photo courtesy of Mr Click