Current SSA Super Sedan National Champion Joel Berkley has got his Title defense off to the best possible start tonight at Premier Speedway, Warrnambool, going through his opening three heat races undefeated to lead the overnight point score of the 2026 Hire Australia SSA Super Sedan National Title.
Berkley would race from positions six, two and seven in his three heats to go through undefeated, not to mention recording the fastest lap of the night in his opening heat, a blistering 14.293 second lap. This gives him 108 points to lead the overnight standings.
Courtesy of two wins and a third, former National Champion Callum harper is second overall with 95 points while Zac Brims and Brad Pascoe are tied on 87 points for third, with a win, a second and a third each. Mick Nicola Snr and Todd Atkins currently round out the top five in points after fifteen heats were conducted.
The opening heat got off to a flyer, Michael Hally leading the field, but it only lasted two laps before Mat Crawford had a moment in turn two and launched his car on the infield to bring out the yellows. Keith Higgs applied the pressure on the restart and kept it there lap after lap, but was unable to make a move, even after a second restart, Hally claiming the win from Higgs and a charging Peter Nicola.
Jamie Collins was off pole in heat two and raced away, the only car able to stay with him Joel Berkley who charged from sixth to be right on his tail. For the first six laps Berkley tried inside and outside to get by, and then on lap seven it all fell apart, the two lap cars strewn across the track in turn two to bring out the yellows. Luckily, both drivers were reinstated as stewards couldn’t determine the cause, and Berkley didn’t need another chance, diving underneath Collins to take the lead and racing away with Collins coming home second and Brad Pascoe racing into third on the final lap.
It was an all-Tasmanian front row in heat three, with Callum Harper leading away Ellis Dickenson. With four laps complete the yellows came on for a spinning Danny Amato, but it didn’t affect Harper who raced away with the win while Zac Brims put a massive slide job on Dickenson for second with only a couple of laps remaining, the order unchanged from there.
Rob Hamilton got the jump on the field in heat four while Lionel west came under attack from Lucas Roberts and Sean Black, Roberts able to get by at the halfway point. Just as Roberts went for the outside move on Hamilton after chasing him down, West would spin in turn one, bringing out the yellows. After a long stoppage for West, Hamilton would hold strong at the front, holding off Roberts on the line by just 0.023 seconds, while Sean Blakck was third.
The final heat of the opening round saw Mick Nicola Snr off to a flyer, racing away from Todd Atkins while Marcus Alexander was a big move from seventh to third early. Although both Atkins and Alexander would peg away at the gaps, it wasn’t enough, the order unchanged to the chequers.
Heat six was absolutely stacked with talent, Joel Berkley and Peter Nicola fighting for the lead while further back cars were going every which way, including the three-car battle for third between Harper, Mitchell Gee and Sam Hughes. Nicola grabbed the lead from Berkley and Gee got around Harper and Alexander for third, but in the dying stages Berkley closed the gap again, going under Nicola who hit the wall and slowed to bring out the yellows. This set up a green, white, chequer restart, with Berkley able to hold off Gee and Harper to become the first dual winner of the weekend.
Dylan Barrow went from fourth to the lead in the first lap of heat seven, never looking back to claim the win in a non-stop race. Brad Pascoe fought through the field to finish second while Chris Gallagher would be third.
Brock Atkins did the same as Barrow in the previous race in heat eight, going fourth to first in the opening lap. Brother Todd moved into second by the halfway point after getting by Sean Black and from here the order would remain unchanged.
Adam Beechey ran away in the ninth heat, fellow front row starter Dave Gartner unable to match his pace. A restart with three to go bunched the field back up, but again Beechey was able to get away cleanly, going on to take the win from Gartner and Shane Belk.
The final heat of the second round saw Trent Wilson out in front of a hard chasing Brad McMaster while Marcus Alexander raced into third. The top three ran the highline with very little margin for error, and although some mistakes opened the door slightly for fourth placed Zac Brims, there would be no changes until the very last corner when Alexander spun, allowing Brims through.
A depleted field greeted the starter in heat eleven, but it made no difference for Mat Crawford who raced into the lead from pole position. Callum Harper railed the outside and went right around Crawford for the lead on lap four, which left Crawford open to attack. Andrew White, Dylan Barrow, Shane Belk and Chris Gallagher all rose to the challenge over the next few laps, before Crawford and David Mackenzie came together with one to go, bringing out the yellows. It mattered little to Harper though, racing away to become the second dual winner of the night, defeating White and Belk.
Heat twelve was a hectic start, with Zac Brims and Brock Atkins emerging the clear leaders as David Musch held off the rest of the field. Brims and Atkins pulled further and further away every lap, Brims winning by 1.459 seconds over Atkins, with a further four seconds back to Musch.
Cars went three wide in heat thirteen and it was Mick Nicola Snr who emerged out in front of Lucas Roberts and Corey Jetson. This would remain the order for the whole race, Nicola Snr recording his second win of the night.
Brad Pascoe was a man on a mission in heat fourteen, chasing down early leader Kye Walters to take over the point. A yellow light at the halfway distance for a spinning Travis Ramsdale bought him back to the field, but he was still never headed. It did however give Peter Nicola the chance to pass both Walters and Collins for second, while Trent Wilson grabbed the final podium spot in the dying stages.
The final heat of night one saw Paul Blenkiron leading early, with Phil Barton just behind. Berkley used the bottom to arrive on the scene, but was unable to advance from third as Blenkiron and Barton went side by side for the lead. Blenkiron maintained the ppoint but it allowed Todd Atkins to arrive and the leasd four cars went four wide coming out of turn two at the halfway point. Berkley shot through on the outside and raced away, while a few laps later Atkins went high and low to grab second. Berkley had built a huge lead in his few laps at the front, going on to win by over three seconds from Atkins, with Blenkiron third.
Teams will return tomorrow night for a final round of heats before the championship decider gets underway!
OVERALL POINTS AFTER NIGHT ONE
1. A1 Joel Berkley 108
2. T22 Callum Harper 95
3. N29 Zac Brims 87
4. Q18 Brad Pascoe 87
5. V3 Mick Nicola Snr 85
6. V36 Todd Atkins 84
7. V35 Brock Atkins 72
8. V0 Lucas Roberts 69
9. Q44 Trent Wilson 65
10. Q26 Sean Black 63
11. V49 Shane Belk 59
12. V17 Dylan Barrow 59
13. T14 Adam Beechey 59
14. S8 Dave Gartner 58
15. Q98 Michael Hally 57
16. V2 Peter Nicola 56
17. QA11 Mitchell Gee 55
18. Q12 David Musch 50
19. S22 Paul Blenkiron 50
20. T23 Chris Gallagher 49
21. T29 Ellis Dickenson 48
22. T6 Corey Jetson 48
23. N23 Andrew White 48
24. V34 Jamie Collins 47
25. Q11 Rob Hamilton 46
26. T52 Brad McMaster 46
27. Q4 Sam Hughes 43
28. W85 Keith Higgs 42
29. W36 Phil Barton 40
30. V48 Kye Walters 40
31. T4 Marcus Alexander 38
32. T3 David Nichols 36
33. Q6 Zac Pascoe 31
34. V16 Ash Bergmeier 30
35. V32 Mick Nicola Jnr 27
36. Q17 Will Hockley 27
37. V99 Travis Ramsdale 22
38. V59 Danny Amato 21
39. V24 David Mackenzie 19
40. N14 Mark Towers 19
41. T9 Mat Crawford 18
42. Q32 Steve Potts 18
43. V71 Lionel West 17
44. N77 Jackson Brims 5