Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Rain played havoc around Australia on Saturday night, with some events washed out, while others were under threat all night, and Murray Machining and Sheds Speedway, Murray Bridge was no exception with both the Street Stock and Junior Sedan Feature races washed out.
Prior to the rain, all three qualifying heats were hotly contested with Matt Maynard winning the first Street Stock heat, leading all the way. Maynard had to hold off the fast finishing Cade Cox, Carey Weston and Craig Buchanan in a thrilling finish. The four drivers were separated by 0.685 after ten laps.
Carey Weston won the second heat after starting on the third row. Weston took the lead on lap three, defeating Paul Hayes and Darren Flatman.
The final qualifying heat after a couple of stoppages was easily won by Nigel Reichstein, who opened a very big advantage as the chequered flag fell, with Paul Hayes and Craig Buchanan filling the minor placings.
Meanwhile in the Junior Sedans Tyson Greig won the opening heat, accounting for Aaron Tranter and Mitchel Greig.
Drew Flatman continued his good form winning the second heat comfortably, with Jake Richter and Tom Richter crossing the line practically together for second and third respectively.
The final qualifying heat saw a big victory to Aaron Tranter defeating Tyson Greig. Tom Richter, Mac Caldecott and Tamika Pitcher finished third, fourth and fifth respectively in a close finish for the minor placings.
:: Junior Sedans
Heat 1, 8 Laps: 1. S10 Tyson Greig, 2. S45 Aaron Tranter, 3. S5 Mitchel Greig, 4. S96 Tamika Pitcher, 5. S8 Mac Caldecott, 6. S99 Jake Richter, 7. S23 Kirra Lee Pitcher, 8. S7 Jemma Chapman, 9. S24 Chelsea Gwynne (6 laps), 10. S77 Matthew Richter (4). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: N/A, Fastest Lap: 17.953 S45 Aaron Tranter
Heat 2, 8 Laps: 1. S112 Drew Flatman, 2. S99 Jake Richter, 3. S4 Tom Richter, 4. S2 Ky McEwin, 5. S23 Kirra Lee Pitcher, 6. S7 Jemma Chapman, 7. S24 Chelsea Gwynne, 8. S11 Ryan Buchanan (7 laps), 9. S55 Sharni Pitcher (6), 10. S5 Mitchel Greig (6). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 2.229, Fastest Lap: 18.902 S112 Drew Flatman
Heat 3, 8 Laps: 1. S45 Aaron Tranter, 2. S10 Tyson Greig, 3. S4 Tom Richter, 4. S8 Mac Caldecott, 5. S96 Tamika Pitcher, 6. S112 Drew Flatman, 7. S11 Ryan Buchanan (6), 8. S16 Corey Richter (6), 9. S77 Matthew Richter (4). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 4.543, Fastest Lap: 18.721 S112 Drew Flatman
Feature Race, 12. Laps: Washed Out
:: Street Stock
Heat 1, 10 Laps: 1. S55 Matt Maynard, 2. S27 Cade Cox, 3. S17 Carey Weston, 4. S7 Craig Buchanan, 5. S86 Bailey Heinrich, 6. S2 Anthony Buchanan, 7. S14 Nigel Reichstein, 8. S9 Andrew Hardacre, 9. S62 Trae Ballantyne. DNF: 10. S12 Darren Flatman, 11. S22 Tony Prideaux. Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.337, Fastest Lap: 17.776 S55 Matt Maynard
Heat 2, 10 Laps: 1. S17 Carey Weston, 2. S8 Paul Hayes, 3. S12 Darren Flatman, 4. S19 Phil Watson, 5. S86 Bailey Heinrich, 6. S55 Matt Maynard, 7. S2 Anthony Buchanan, 8. S75 Cameron Monaghan, 9. S0 Moss Buchanan, 10. S66 Keenan Richards, 11. S101 Ashlee McEwin (8 laps). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 1.242, Fastest Lap: 19.108 S17 Carey Weston
Heat 3, 10 Laps: 1. S14 Nigel Reichstein, 2. S8 Paul Hayes, 3. S7 Craig Buchanan, 4. S27 Cade Cox, 5. S22 Tony Prideaux, 6. S66 Keenan Richards, 7. S9 Andrew Hardacre, 8. S0 Moss Buchanan, 9. S75 Cameron Monaghan (9 laps), 10. S101 Ashlee McEwin (9), 11. S62 Trae Ballantyne (9). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 5.471, Fastest Lap: 17.691 S14 Nigel Reichstein
Feature Race, 20 Laps: Washed Out
Despite the late rain, Street Stock action was thick and fast. Photo courtesy of Linda Savage