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Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Callum Harper has won a thrilling opening round to the Super Sedan Summer Slam at the Corbets Group, Mothar Mountain Speedway, Gympie, passing Darren Kane on the outside, on the final corner to win a forty lap epic, which doubled as round five of the Brims Concrete Super Sedan Series, supported by Ford Wreckers Redcliffe.
After nine qualifying heats which saw Matty Pascoe as the only driver to win twice, the Queensland Champion would start on the front row with Steve Jordan, with Pascoe immediately jumping to the lead.
After two laps, the yellow lights came on for Daryl Moon. On the resumption, Pascoe immediately moved away from the field, leading Jordan, Sean Black, Callum Harper and Darren Kane.
Four laps into the race, Pascoe had already opened up a gap in excess of two seconds. Sean Black would move to second on lap six, moving under Jordan who a lap later dropped to fourth after Harper moved to third.
Ryan Alexander who was sixth at the time, brought on the caution lights for a second stoppage, as the young South Australian went to the infield.
Pascoe again led after the stoppage, but his lead was short lived as the Queensland Champion, and winner of the previous three Feature races, retired from the race in a ball of smoke, when he blew a power steering hose.
This sensational development put Callum Harper in the lead with still twenty eight laps remaining. Sean Black looked to move under Harper in the hairpin, only to spin, causing a further stoppage, with Black sent to the rear of the field.
Blacks demotion, elevated National Champion, Darren Kane, into second place, setting up a classic battle between a former and Current National Title holder.
Harper showed great car speed, and opened a large gap on Kane, in excess of 2.7 seconds after fifteen laps. Steve Jordan was not far behind Kane, while Lachlan Onley had moved to fourth, but was a considerable distance behind Jordan.
At the half way mark, the margin extended further, peaking at 3.56 seconds on lap twenty two, before Kane narrowed the gap, as Harper who was racing at the unique Gympie circuit for the first time, got stuck in lapped traffic.
Bob McCosker was the first car that Harper had to negotiate, and as he did that, the margin between Harper and Kane narrowed markedly. Harper then was unable to pass Kyall Fisher who was in his own battle, which enabled Kane to catch Harper with eight laps remaining.
In passing Fisher, Harper was taken wide, enabling Kane to take the lead with five laps remaining. Many pundits would think that would be the end of the race, but Kane and the fans did not bank on two lap stoppages, one for Ian Brims who was turned around in the hairpin, which would cause a green, white, chequered flag finish.
In a thrilling final two laps, Harper tried to get under Kane, but was unable to do so, but in a rare move, he took Kane on the outside, exiting the hairpin in a drag race to the chequered flag, with Harper winning by 0.222.
This is a cool achievement, particularly as this was our first time around here, Harper said.
The drivers, many with some issues and damage after the opening night, will regroup for round two of the four night series, to be held on Friday night at the Fraser Shores Maryborough Speedway.
:: Super Sedans Summer Slam Night One
Heat 1, 10 Laps: 1. V3 Michael Nicola, 2. B76 Ian Brims, 3. T41 Adam Beechey, 4. Q22 Dale Christensen, 5. C6 Wayne Randall, 6. Q32 Kyall Fisher, 7. G6 Tim OShea. Time: 2.52.462, Winning Margin: 5.013, Fastest Lap: 16.997 V3 Michael Nicola
Heat 2, 10 Laps: 1. S47 Ryan Alexander, 2. Q1 Matty Pascoe, 3. A1 Darren Kane, 4. T22 Callum Harper, 5. N47 Daryl Moon, 6. N21 Darren Anning, 7. Q0 Justin Randall, 8. W36 Phil Barton. Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.401, Fastest Lap: 16.799 Q1 Matty Pascoe
Heat 3, 10 Laps: 1. B10 Steve Jordan, 2. N17 Lachlan Onley, 3. Q26 Sean Black, 4. GL39 Bob McCosker, 5. RK31 Brendan Doyle, 6. C77 Sam Roza. Time: 2.53.682, Winning Margin: 0.395, Fastest Lap: 16.89 B10 Steve Jordan
Heat 4, 10 Laps: 1. W36 Phil Barton, 2. B10 Steve Jordan, 3. S47 Ryan Alexander, 4. Q0 Justin Randall, 5. T41 Adam Beechey, 6. V3 Michael Nicola, 7. RK31 Brendan Doyle (2 laps), 8. C98 Michael Hally (2). Time: 2.53.301, Winning Margin: 0.866, Fastest Lap: 16.920 B10 Steve Jordan
Heat 5, 10 Laps: 1. Q1 Matty Pascoe, 2. Q26 Sean Black, 3. C6 Wayne Randall, 4. Q22 Dale Christensen, 5. C77 Sam Roza, 6. B76 Ian Brims, 7. N21 Darren Anning (2 laps). Time: 2.52.787, Winning Margin: 2.503, Fastest Lap: 16.790 Q26 Sean Black
Heat 6, 10 Laps: 1. T22 Callum Harper, 2. A1 Darren Kane, 3. N17 Lachlan Onley, 4. Q32 Kyall Fisher, 5. GL39 Bob McCosker, 6. N47 Daryl Moon (0). Time: 2.54.464, Winning Margin: 0.662, Fastest Lap: 16.917 T22 Callum Harper
Heat 7, 10 Laps: 1. C6 Wayne Randall, 2. T22 Callum Harper, 3. N17 Lachlan Onley, 4. RK31 Brendan Doyle, 5. Q0 Justin Randall, 6. Q22 Dale Christensen, 7. N47 Darryl Moon. Time: 3.00.085, Winning Margin: 0.200, Fastest Lap: 17.363 N17 Lachlan Onley
Heat 8, 10 Laps: 1. Q1 Matty Pascoe, 2. A1 Darren Kane, 3. B76 Ian Brims, 4. S47 Ryan Alexander, 5. GL39 Bob McCosker, 6. C77 Sam Roza. Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 1.714, Fastest Lap: 16.746 Q1 Matty Pascoe
Heat 9, 10 Laps: 1. Q26 Sean Black, 2. B10 Steve Jordan, 3. T41 Adam Beechey, 4. Q32 Kyall Fisher, 5. W36 Phil Barton, 6. V3 Michael Nicola (9 laps). Time: 2.53.795, Winning Margin: 1.434, Fastest Lap: 17.064 B10 Steve Jordan
A Main, 40 Laps: 1. T22 Callum Harper, 2. A1 Darren Kane, 3. B10 Steve Jordan, 4. T41 Adam Beechey, 5. N17 Lachlan Onley, 6. C6 Wayne Randall, 7. B76 Ian Brims, 8. Q0 Justin Randall, 9. Q26 Sean Black, 10. Q22 Dale Christensen (40 laps), 11. GL39 Bob McCosker (40), 12. Q32 Kyall Fisher (40), 13. RK31 Brendan Doyle (39), 14. W36 Phil Barton (39), 15. N47 Daryl Moon (38), 16. N21 Darren Anning (17), 17. Q1 Matty Pascoe (11), 18. S47 Ryan Alexander (9). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.222, Fastest Lap: 16.799 Q15 Matty Pascoe
Brims Concrete Super Sedan Series Sponsors
Afco Shock Doctor
B&J Car Sales
Think Investment Realty
Brims Concrete
Barnes Drilling
Queensland Speedway Spares
Think Money
Ian Boettcher Race Parts
Tanias Ts
Motorsports Promotions Racegear
McCosker Contracting
Ford Wreckers Redcliffe
Speedway Sedans Australia
Callum Harpers outside last lap pass, sees former National Champion take thrilling win. Photo courtesy of Angyrman Photography
