The VMPA Australian Racing Products Series kicked off at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool over the weekend with Dylan Barrow putting on a show and taking a convincing win.
Seventeen cars would front for the show, at the venue that will later this season host the SSA Modified Sedan Victorian Title, and after a great pole shuffle, Kye Walters and Barrow would start the thirty-lap main event from the front row.
Barrow grabbed the initial lead from Walters as the race went green, but Walters was able to sneak by on the inside to lead the opening lap, while Victorian Champion Tristan McGraw was able to get the better of Graham West to move into third.
Stuey Robinson put the #36 machine on the highline and got by both West and McGraw to grab third with three laps complete, while up front Walters was still leading Barrow.
Robinson maintained the highline and was starting to close on the lead duo until the yellow lights came on for a number of cars who came together, setting up a choose cone restart.
Walters went high and Barrow went low and the race resumed, with Robinson again trying to maintain the highside run and crunching the wall on a number of occasions.
McGraw was able to get back by Robinson for third, and as Robinson headed infield, West also moved back into the top four with Brody Christie right behind in third.
From here all eyes were on the battle for the lead, Barrow and Walters swapping slidejobs in every corner, lap after lap as they pulled away from the rest of the field.
Unfortunately with sixteen remaining Walters crunched the turn two wall and slowed, seeing the yellows come on and bringing an awesome battle to an abrupt end.
Barrow led away the restart from West on the bottom, while Christie and McGraw maintained third and fourth.
It didn’t take Barrow long to build up his lead once again while West and Christie were now side by side for second in a multi lap battle, Christie eventually able to get the nose in front.
The laps wound down and just as West began to get back some momentum and put the pressure back on Christie the yellow lights came back on, setting up a five-lap dash to the finish.
Christie ran low on the restart and poked the nose under Barrow, but Barrow was able to put the #17 on the cushion and pull away. Christie eventually moved to the top and followed him round while West stayed low and was holding off Lachlan Fitzpatrick who had gotten by McGraw for fourth.
As the white flag flew McGraw got back by Fitzpatrick but up front it didn’t matter, Dylan Barrow claiming the win from Brody Christie and Graham West in what was an epic race.
The next round of the VMPA Australian Racing Products Series will be held at Southern 500 Speedway, Portland in a fortnight’s time.
Feature, 30 laps: 1. B17 Dylan Barrow, 2. AX32 Brody Christie, 3. BGO56 Graham West, 4. V1 Tristan McGraw, 5. BGO11 Lachlan Fitzpatrick, 6. AV18 Chris Reick, 7. B18 Bella Rizzoli, 8. MB32 Brett Williams. DNF: WAG57 Billy O’Donoghue (25), L23 Drew Harrison (17), RDL46 Kye Walters (14), GV94 Rachel Pratt (14), C36 Stuey Robinson (9), HA14 Heath Baillie (
, P25 Chris Hayden (4). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 1.630. Fastest Lap: 16.726 C36 Stuey Robinson.
VMPA