Official Release 30th March 2024.
Former National Modified Sedan Champion Max Clarke has his campaign for a second title well underway tonight at the Cranes Combined Carrick Speedway, leading the points after night one.
Clarke claimed two wins and a second place to be on top of the tree with one hundred points, while defending National Champion Jarod Waters and local Tasmanian driver Jakobe Jetson are tied for second on ninety-two points having each claimed a win and two seconds.
Joel Berkley is next best on eighty-nine points courtesy of two wins and a fourth while fellow Queenslander Brodie Boss rounds out the top five on eighty-seven points.
David Jacobi made the most of his front row start in heat one, racing his way into the lead while Brett Barron, who even at the drivers meeting was looking unlikely to race on the opening night after losing a driveline in practice, moved into second. Jakobe
Jetson passed Barron back for the position, then Jetson continued his run and grabbed the lead on lap four. Jacobi then came under pressure from the fastest man in practice, Wade McCarthy through the final laps, Jetson going on to defeat Jacobi and McCarthy.
Heat two was action aplenty from the get-go, drivers vying for
position. Bella Rizzoli led the opening lap, but Joel Berkley was quick to advance coming from position three to the lead on the second lap, Brad Herbert and Luke Wilson following him through. The order would remain unchanged from here.
Corey Jetson was immediately into the lead in heat three, but Josh Marston came charging through the field to be second on the second lap, grabbing the lead a lap later as Jetson dropped through the field with a flat tyre. National Champion Jarod Waters would move into second and set out after Marston, with Wade Cleary moving into third. This would remain the order as they crossed the line, however Marston was relegated two spots for contact post-race, giving Waters the win ahead of Cleary.
The final heat of the opening round saw Max Clarke shoot into the lead and he never looked back, recording a big win over Brodie Boss and Matt Nelson who fought hard to grab third.
Round two began with McCarthy and Nathan Macdonald fighting it out on the front row, Macdonald getting in front early while behind them the remaining six cars fought in a close battle. Unfortunately for Corey Jetson his car suffered mechanical woes while running third, while two laps later Joshua Marston also had an issue as he too ran third, bringing out the yellows. Try as they might, no one had anything for Macdonald on the green, white, chequer restart, Macdonald claiming the win from McCarthy and Waters. Unfortunately, Macdonald was then disqualified for failing to attend post-race scrutineering, handing the win to McCarthy.
Heat six was a drag race between Brody Chrystie and Brad Herbert at the start, Christie getting the nod ahead of Herbert, who then came under pressure from Kye Walters. Walters set out after Chrystie but would be forced to settle for second behind him, with Herbert third.
Marco Taurian led away heat seven as behind him cars went four wide into turn one. Berkley would emerge the best of that bunch, moving into third behind Trent Quillerat, before going high and driving right around the outside and into the lead in a huge move. From here Berkley simply raced away, going on to defeat Jakobe Jetson and Taurian.
A depleted field took the green in heat eight, with Dylan Barrow making the most of it to race away. Brodie Boss held down second for much of the race until a push coming out of turn two allowed Max Clarke to slip by, but by then Barrow was too far ahead, as Clarke was forced to keep holding off Boss who was desperate to get back by. In the end Barrow would claim the win from Clarke and Boss.
The final round of night one kicked off with Kye Walters on the front row and he took the opportunity, racing away to lead from the drop of the green to the wave of the chequers. Jarod Waters would race his way into second but couldn’t advance any further while David Jacobi rounded out the top three.
Wade Cleary got the best of a messy start in heat ten, while Dylan Barrow would lock onto his tail and spent the rest of the race desperately looking for a way through. The top two would pull well clear of the rest of the field but the order remained unchanged, while Wade McCarthy finished third.
The penultimate heat of night one saw Harry Auton and Matt nelson on the front row, Nelson getting the nose in front and able to lead the opening lap while Darcy Wilson and Brodie Boss were fighting tooth and nail for third behind them. The duo swapped lanes and positions multiple times over the next few laps, with Boss getting the advantage, then moving into second as the side panel of Auton peeled away. Unfortunately for Nelson the very next lap he biked and hit the turn four wall incredibly hard, somehow able to steer the car infield without causing a stoppage. This left Boss now in the lead ahead of Auton and Darcy Wilson, with the order remaining unchanged.
Max Clarke would power away at the start of the final heat, with Jakobe Jetson and Joel Berkley racing into second and third respectively. Nathan Macdonald, looking for redemption after his earlier heat race mishap, would chase down Berkely and pass him on lap seven, the duo fighting it out but ultimately Berkley claiming the win from Jetson and Macdonald.
With twelve heat races completed (with eleven of them going green to chequer!) the stage is set for an epic final night tomorrow. Drivers will contest one more round of heats before the all important finals to crown the 2024 SSA Modified Sedan National Champion.
Overall Points after Night One
1. N15 Max Clarke 100
2. A1 Jarod Waters 92
3. T7 Jakobe Jetson 92
4. Q9 Joel Berkley 89
5. Q2 Brodie Boss 87
6. V6 Wade McCarthy 82
7. V17 Dylan Barrow 81
8. V46 Kye Walters 74
9. T8 Wade Cleary 74
10. T5 Brad Herbert 68
11. V32 Brody Chrystie 59
12. N36 David Jacobi 59
13. V5 Darcy Wilson 53
14. T2 Marco Taurain 53
15. V61 Matt Nelson 52
16. T27 Joshua Marston 50
17. T29 Harry Auton 44
18. T17 Craig Williams 44
19. Q148 Brett Barron 43
20. Q32 Nathan Macdonald 40
21. T26 Andy Russell 40
22. V18 Bella Rizzoli 36
23. T46 Trent Quillerat 35
24. N81 Quinton Clarke 34
25. T51 Luke Wilson 33
26. V38 Tristan Mcgraw 31
27. T3 Tomas Hext 27
28. T37 Luke Williams 24
29. T6 Corey Jetson 22
30. T24 Jason Price 22
31. T110 Terry Hammond 18
32. T77 Scott Walters 14
