Former National Champion Matty Pascoe sits atop the points tree after night one of competition in the 2025 Blenks Automotive SSA Super Sedan National Title at the Murray Bridge Speedway.
Forty two competitors would start the night and all should return tomorrow, but it was Pascoe with two wins and a second who claimed 100 points to be leading the field.
Defending champion Darren Kane with two wins and a third is next best, followed by Victorian Lucas Roberts (two seconds and a third), while Joel Berkley and David Nicholls are tied on 77 points to round out the top five.
The opening heat was a fast paced race with Stevn Latham leading from the front. The yellows came on early for a slowing Rob Knox but on the restart Latham was away again, taking the win from Barrow and David Nicholls. Unfortunately Latham failed to attend post race scrutineering and was consequently removed from the result.
Heat Two saw Lucas Roberts jump away the start from Kane, Kane chasing hard and the top two pulling away from third placed Trent Wilson and Mitchell Gee. Kane applied pressure and got underneath Roberts in turn four on lap four and maintained the lead from there, defeating Roberts and Wilson.
After the initial start was called back in heat three, attempt two was much better with Jamie Collins getting the jump while cars went three wide behind them. Luke Gunn emerged the best of that pack with Joel Berkley and Darren Giacometti battling it out behind them. Gunn and Berkley closed on Collins, going three wide for the leap on lap five, Berkley able to grab second from Gunn. Berkley then went high in one and slingshot down low through turn two on lap seven to take the lead and although Collins momentarily fought back, Berkley was away and went on to take the win.
Heat Four saw Matty Pascoe into the lead from Dave Gartner. The yellows were out with two complete as a number of cars came together, Kym Leyson getting the worst of it and Brad Pascoe sent to the rear. The restart didn’t go well with Todd Atkins ending up facing the wrong way before even getting to the line, seeing the field bunch up again. Pascoe led away Gartner an that would be the way they remained, with Tyson Moon coming home third.
Heat five saw a disastrous start with a number of cars coming together, Lionel West sent to the rear and Michael Hally unable to restart. David Musch would lead away the field with plenty of pressure coming from Zac Pascoe and Brock Atkins. With two completed the yellows came on again for a spinning West. Zac Pascoe raced into the lead on the restart, while Darren Kane got by Atkins for third a few laps later and Musch the vert next circulation for second. Peter Nicola had a moment in turn four with Kym Hammerstein crashing into him in turn four to bring out the yellows with three to go. After a couple of attempts at the restart Kane would apply the pressure to Pascoe and got by as the white flag flew, defeating Zac Pascoe and Lucas Roberts.
Heat six saw Joel Berkley straight into the lead, followed by Mitchell Gee and Brad Wicks who got past Mick Nicola Jnr on the second lap. Yellows were for Trent Wilson as he spun to a stop in turn four with four laps complete. The order remained unchanged until Gee got around the outside of Berkley with two laps to go, simply racing away with the win.
Heat seven was a rough start, Rob Knox spinning and a number of cars lucky to avoid. Marcus Alexander simply raced away from the field on the restart, Matty Pascoe moving into second, but the yellows came out again with two complete as JJ Hamilton spun to a stop, Paul Blenkiron sent to the rear. Alexander got away to a big lead on the restart but Pascoe didn’t give up, clawing him back lap after lap but it wouldn’t be enough as the chequers flew while Jamie Collins won a spirited battle with Mick Nicola Snr for third.
Heat eight saw the yellows on after just half a lap as Mitchell Rigney spun in the middle of the field and was somehow avoided. David Nichols got the best of the restart with Brad Pascoe right there with him. Steve Latham was third but damage began to slow him and allowed Dylan Barrow through. With three complete the yellows came out again, this time for Tyson Moon who came to a rest up against the turn four wall, lucky to not go upside down. Barrow stole second on the restart from Pascoe, but Pascoe fought back and reclaimed the position, Nicholls going on to win from Pascoe and Barrow.
Heat nine saw Trent Wilson get the jump from the front and he never looked back, racing away from Todd Atkins and Darren Kane.
Nine cars took the green in heat ten but four cars wouldn’t make it out of the back straight, coming together and leaving them stranded across the track. Attempt two wasn’t much better, newly elevated pole sitter Mitchell Rigney then spinning in front of the field. Steve Latham got away to the lead this time as new pole sitter JJ Hamilton headed infield with a flat tyre, seeing Mick Nicola Jnr into second and Mitchell Gee to third, the order remaining unchanged in the run to the finish.
Dave Gartner went straight to the lead in the penultimate heat of night one, with Tyson Moon chasing hard. The yellow lights came for Tristan Green who spun in turn one and Moon retired infield under the caution. Gartner led away and now second placed Callum Harper began to apply the blowtorch, racing into the lead but Gartner able to get the nose in front, 0.039 seconds ahead on lap two and 0.045 seconds on lap three before Harper got the advantage of just 0.086 seconds ahead on lap four. From here Harper raced away to the win while Brock Atkins got by Gartner for second in the last couple of laps.
The final heat of the night saw Matty Pascoe into the lead quickly with Lucas Roberts chasing hard and moving to second. Rob Hamilton fought back against Roberts and the duo went side by side for many laps, with Brad Pascoe joining the battle in the closing stages, Matty Pascoe defeating Lucas Roberts and Brad Pascoe.
This would bring night one to a lead and with one more round of heats getting underway tomorrow night prior to the finals, it is still anyone’s game!
Official Points After Night One
1. Q15 Matty Pascoe 100
2. A1 Darren Kane 95
3. V0 Lucas Roberts 79
4. Q39 Joel Berkley 77
5. T3 David Nicholls 77
6. QA11 Mitchell Gee 76
7. V17 Dylan Barrow 72
8. Q44 Trent Wilson 67
9. T4 Marcus Alexander 66
10. V34 Jamie Collins 63
11. T22 Callum Harper 62
12. V32 Mick Nicola Jnr 62
13. S18 David Gartner 61
14. Q18 Brad Pascoe 59
15. N57 Brock Atkins 58
16. T8 Steven Latham 53
17. V36 Todd Atkins 58
18. T12 Luke Gunn 50
19. Q6 Zac Pascoe 49
20. V3 Mick Nicola Snr 46
21. V24 Brad Wicks 41
22. V16 Ash Bergmeier 40
23. Q12 David Musch 38
24. Q11 Robin Hamilton 33
25. N47 Tyson Moon 30
26. S12 Kym Hammerstein 25
27. V59 Danny Amato 25
28. Q98 Michael Hally 22
29. S22 Paul Blenkiron 22
30. V12 Darren Giacometti 21
31. S31 JJ Hamilton 20
32. W2 Ian Wright 19
33. V2 Peter Nicola 18
34. S28 Mitchell Rigney 17
35. W6 Tristan Green 15
36. W68 Rob Knox 15
37. T71 Robert Bord 14
38. V71 Lionel West 12
39. V99 Travis Ramsdale 11
40. T26 Peter Johnston 5
41. S34 Kym Leyson 4
42. S45 Chris Ferguson 4
Photo Credit Picko’s Photo’s
