Berkley Wins Last Lap for Kurt!
Last weekend would mark the final Kurt Murdoch Classic at the Maryborough Speedway and after a tough night of competition, it was Joel Berkley who would stand tall for the second time!
Berkley would make the most of his front row start to race into the lead as the thirty-five lap final went green, with pole sitter Richard Cook dropping back into third as Shane Macdonald followed Berkley on the outside to move into second.
Berkley and Macdonald would start to stretch the gap back to the rest of the field quickly as Sam Grundy moved into third, leading a pack of cars that included Cook, Brodie Hollyman, Jorj Park and National Champion Josh Harm.
The yellows came on for the first time with eleven laps complete as Tanya Matthews came to a stop right in front of the leaders, lining the field up once again.
Macdonald would have a big look underneath Berkley on the restart but was unable to make the move, while further back the battle was heating up for third between five cars. The yellows came out again for a stranded Ryan Demarco, and the restart gave Macdonald the chance he needed, drawing alongside Berkley on the outside, then racing by to take the lead.
Macdonald would now lead Berkley, Grundy, Hoillyman and Park, but again the top two pulled away from the rest of the field, Berkley continuing to apply the pressure on Macdonald.
Eventually on lap twenty-two Jorj Park would race around to grab third while shortly after Berkley retook the lead and Hollyman headed infield, the order now Berkley, Macdonald, Park, Bryce Bayfield and Harm.
Macdonald did all he could to stay with Berkley while Bayfield was fighting hard to hold Harm at bay as Park ran a lonely race in between the two battles, but in the end the order would remain unchanged, Berkley racing on to take the win, his second in the events history, from Macdonald and Park in what was the final Kurt Murdoch Classic.
Official Result
Feature, 35 laps: 1. BB2 Joel Berkley, 2. CR57 Shane Macdonald, 3. WA77 Jorj Park, 4. M18 Bryce Bayfield, 5. SB55 Josh Harm, 6. SC99 Jye O’Brien, 7. GL15 Richard Cook, 8. G17 Neil Keldoulis, 9. BB16 Sam Grundy, 10. RK46 Kory Jennings, 11. M7 Travis Hutchison (34), 12. RK25 Nathan O’Neill (34). DNF: M17 Darryn Reid (28), B12 Brodie Hollyman (21), SB8 Chris Pagel (18), SB17 Ian Bell (14), BB26 Ryan Demarco (13), RK72 Braith Hogan (12), BB77 Frank Packer (10), M36 Tanya Matthews (9), M94 Gary Harris Jnr (6). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.155. Fastest Lap: 15.488 Shane MacDonald.