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Speedway Sedans Australia News
Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Callum Harper is the overnight leader of the Speedway Sedans Australia, National Super Sedan Title, after a spectacular opening night at the Heartland Raceway, Moama on Friday night.
Harper, the defending Champion, went through the night undefeated, to be eight points clear of Ash Bergmeier, with Sean Black of Queensland a further five points further adrift. In an interesting turn of events, the trio will face off in heat nineteen on night two.
Wayne Randall would win the opening heat of the Title after starting from the front row. He would defeat Ash Bergmeier and Sean Black.
Heat two would see Ken Pierce spin in turn two on lap two, leaving Neil Witnish no where to go, bringing on the caution lights. Upon the resumption Callum Harper simply drove away from the field to win by nearly half a lap over Michael Nicola Jnr. The race for third was highly spectacular with the next six cars literally crossing the line together with Wayne Dick holding on for third.
Wayne Aylett and Mark Towers spun in turn one on lap five, bringing to a halt a thrilling race for the lead. In a race of ever changing fortunes, Ryan Alexander drove brilliantly to come from the back of the field to join Dave Gartner, Peter Nicola and Darren Anning who were providing a great three way battle for the lead. Alexander passed both Nicola and Anning late in the race to finish second, with just 0.655 separating the top three at the end of twelve laps.
Heat four was marred by a major crash in the main straight which resulted in Daryl Moon rolling over. David Mackenzie, Paul Blenkiron and Paul Kranitis were all mixed up in the crash, which ultimately would see Kranitis retire from the title. Michael Nicola would take the lead from Chris Pavlovich on lap four, before driving away from Pavlovich and Gavin Northfield who filled the minor placings.
There was plenty of action in heat five as well with Matty Pascoe and Steve Latham having a great battle for the lead. Mark Obrien would spin in the main straight on lap seven, before Shayne Lau ended up in the fence after a tail shaft failure with two laps remaining. Mark Obrien would suffer a flat tyre soon after as Steve Latham held on in a thriller as Pascoe, Leigh Williams and Darren Kane joined the battle late, with the four separated by just 0.813.
Chris Pavlovich and Gavin Northfield made contact in the main straight in lap six, which saw them both retire, as Sean Black recorded a narrow win over Mick Nicola Snr and Darren Anning.
Steve Latham recorded a good win in heat seven, while Leigh Williams, Matty Pascoe and Adam Beechey were involved in a close battle for second place. Latham though was too strong, winning by 3.387 seconds.
Heat eight was one of the races of the night, with Lucas Roberts being hounded by Ash Bergmeier and Mark Obrien throughout, with Ash Bergmeier waiting until the last lap to pass Roberts to record a great win.
Callum Harper lapped drives in heat nine, winning by more than half a lap, leaving Ryan Alexander a distant second, while Dave Gartner, Jamie Collins and David Musch were almost lapped by Harper, while filling third, fourth and fifth respectively, in another dominant display by the National Champion.
Michael Nicola Jnr led all the way in heat ten, to account for Peter Nicola who had smoke billowing out of the back of his car in the concluding stages, with Wayne Randall following the smoke screen finishing third.
The final round of heats became more desperate, and more exciting as the track really widened up, with Ash Bergmeier successful in heat eleven and Matty Pascoe too good in heat twelve.
Heat thirteen was drama filled with half the field sent to the rear of the field at some point, with the race having numerous crashes and three green, white, chequered flag attempts to get to the end. Eventually the race was completed, with a further crash as the chequered flag flew, with Sean Black taking the win from Kym Jury and Darren Anning.
Darren Kane would win a close race in heat fourteen, which saw Steve Latham hit the fence heavily in turn three. Previously undefeated, Latham, tried to pass on the inside of turn three, but carrying plenty of car speed, drove straight into the fence and was removed by the tow truck.
Callum Harper looked beaten in the early laps of the final qualifying heat, before driving right around the outside of the field to win the race from Mick Nicola Jnr and Mark Obrien.
OFFICIAL POINTS
1. T22 Callum Harper 108
2. V16 Ash Bergmeier 100
3. Q26 Sean Black 95
4. V23 Mick Nicola Jnr 92
5. Q6 Wayne Randall 87
6. Q15 Matty Pascoe 87
7. S47 Ryan Alexander 84
8. V3 Mick Nicola Snr 81
9. T8 Steve Latham 80
10. V0 Lucas Roberts 73
11. Q36 Darren Kane 70
12. S8 Dave Gartner 67
13. Q4 Leigh Williams 64
14. N21 Darren Anning 63
15. V2 Peter Nicola 61
16. Q99 Mark OBrien 54
17. Q12 David Musch 53
18. V34 Jamie Collins 51
19. N7 Wayne Dick 48
20. T41 Adam Beechey 47
21. Q44 Trent Wilson 47
22. S93 Kym Jury 46
23. Q15x Gavin Northfield 46
24. W8 Chris Pavlovich 42
25. V56 Neil WItnish 42
26. W81 Gary Higgs 39
27. Q41 Kyall Fisher 36
28. V25 Adam Box 36
29. V14 Brent Coleman 33
30. V24 David Mackenzie 33
31. Q22 Dale Christensen 29
32. N33 Mark Towers 29
33. T48 Wayne Dillon 28
34. S22 Paul Blenkiron 28
35. V22 Jason Picone
36. N65 Wayne Aylett 26
37. N56 Kurt Kranitis 21
38. Q76 Ian Brims 14
39. N23 Andrew White 13
40. N57 Paul Kranitis 8
41. Q72 Shayne Lau 6
42. N47x Daryl Moon 6
43. V19 Ken Pierce 5
Photo courtesy of Angryman Photography