Article and 9Image Courtesy WAMDA Media.
Anthony King has tonight claimed Round 2 of the 2022/2023 Batchelor Industries WA Modified Sedan Series at Bunbury Speedway in an almost faultless night on board his new Ford Falcon.
The opening heat of the night would be an absolute thriller, as hometown hero Adam Houston led the field away. Branden Fraser would charge his way through the field to race with brother Luke for second and third. Brendan Selleck would also move quickly through the field for a four-way charge to the checkered flag. Adam Houston would finish first ahead of Branden Fraser, who edged out brother Luke by the smallest of margins.
Heat two would see Sam McAuley get underway to the best possible start as he would easily account for a hard charging Jason Higgs and Paul Stevens. Shane Brittain’s return to Modified Sedans would last only a lap after contact with the concrete wall. Brent Crookes would also fail to finish in his Mazda.
Anthony King would lead away the third heat of the night and would not be headed from the outset. Laurie Dowsett would find his way through to second to defeat Jamie Higgs and Allan Mortimer. Merv Penn would not make the call due to mechanical dramas, as would Jason Batchelor.
The fourth heat of the night would see Luke Fraser waste no time in charging to the race lead, a position he would continue to hold for the duration of the heat to defeat Brendan Selleck and Branden Fraser.
The final qualifying heats of the night would see Branden Fraser defeat Jason Higgs and Laurie Dowsett in a fierce contest, while Anthony King would again find himself victorious in the final heat of the night comfortably defeating Sam McAuley and Luke Fraser.
Continuing his strong form through the last two rounds of heat racing, Anthony King has proven to be far too strong for his competitors to gain three positions during the 3YP Transport Shootout to claim the cash bonus and pole position for the twenty-lap feature to come.
With Anthony King and Branden Fraser on the front row for the final, it was Anthony King who made the best of the jump and would lead the opening stanza of the race. Branden Fraser would settle into second place, as Sam McAuley and Luke Fraser battled it out for the minor places.
The yellow lights wouldn’t be far off as Adam Houston lost a wheel on the main straight and was forced to retire from the event. Shane Dubberlin would also soon retire from the event with mechanical issues.
As the race got back underway the battle for second would quickly resume which allowed Anthony King to skip away, while Brendan Selleck would soon retire. Luke Fraser continued to pressure Sam McAuley for third and fourth, as Laurie Dowsett started to buy into the battle as well. Further back Jason and Jamie Higgs were having a brilliant battle with Narrogin’s Paul Stevens before Jason Higgs was forced to retire with a tyre parting company with his car. This would force another yellow light, which would also see the start of the dramas for Branden Fraser, who while sitting in second position would struggle to get away at the restart.
From this point, Anthony King would not be headed and would record the victory in Round 2 of the 2022/2023 Batchelor Industries WA Modified Sedan Series, defeating Luke Fraser and Sam McAuley.
The West Australian Modified Drivers Association must thank all of our series sponsors, including our round sponsor Totally Independent Tyre Service and Mechanical for their ongoing support of the WA Modified Sedan Series. We also thank the Bunbury Speedway for again hosting a round of our series, which was great to be held in conjunction with their 50th anniversary celebrations.
Attention for the 2022/2023 Batchelor Industries WA Modified Sedan Series will now turn to the third round of the series at Tyrepower Manjimup Speedway on Saturday, November 26th.
Official Results: 1. W51 Anthony King, 2. W15 Luke Fraser, 3. W36 Sam McAuley, 4. W14 Laurie Dowsett, 5. W6 Paul Stevens, 6. W84 Jamie Higgs, 7. W74 Allan Mortimer, 8. W77 Steve Beres. DNF: W2 Branden Fraser (16), WA1 Jason Batchelor (16), W88 Shane Brittain (15), W27 Jason Higgs (15), W3 Brenden Selleck (9), W13 Shane Dubberlin, W18 Adam Houston (3). DNS: W17 Merv Penn, W184 Brent Crookes. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.789. Fastest Lap: 20.023 W51 Anthony King.
2022/2023 Batchelor Industries WA Modified Sedan Series sponsors: Batchelor Industries
3YP Transport
RPM Race Products Totally Independent Tyre Service and Mechanical
Southern Stump and Mulching Services
Civil Hirings
Stevens Ceilings
Kachana Beef
KCM Transport
Speedway Sedans Western Australia
Speedway Sedans Australia Turn 2 Funding
LF Graphix