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Speedway Sedans Australia News
Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Collie local Beau Riley is the overnight points leader of the 2018/19 WA Production Sedan Title after going through the opening day undefeated, but with four drivers tied for second just eight points behind, it is certainly tight at the top.
Riley has 108 points courtesy of his three wins while Clint Noakes, Kane McDiarmid, Rod Musarra and Hamish Macalpine are all tied on 100 points with two wins and a second place each. Australian Champion Joel Berkley is next best followed by former WA Production Sedan Champion Drew Ogle, the son of the inaugural WA Production Sedan Champion Darren Blight in Jake Blight and the former National and State Champion Ron Belfield, with Karratha�s Jack McAuley rounding out the top ten on points.
The opening heat saw Hamish Macalpine surprise many in his Cortina to lead early and go on to win from Rick Musarra and Garry Sutton who held off former champion Drew Ogle in the closing stages in what was the only heat in the opening round to go nonstop.
Heat two saw Daren Currell and Clint Noakes battling out for the lead, Noakes finally making his move for the lead with two laps to go only to have the yellow lights come on for Mike Kinnear who came to a stop. Currell would lead away the field and Noakes was unable to duplicate his previous move, Currell winning from Noakes and Shane Dubberlin.
The third heat saw National Champion Joel Berkley moving straight around the outside of the field and into the lead, while behind him Jake Blight worked his way through from the back row, sitting in second on lap four. The yellows came on with four remaining as Jayke Malcolm and Brad Mitchell tangled, Mitchell hitting the front straight wall hard and ending his title campaign before it really got started. In the last few laps the lead duo were side by side, Blight hitting the front and winning from Berkley with Richard Baker coming home third.
Heat four saw defending WA Champion Barry Rose have a dream run up the inside and into lead, chased hard by Hayden Norman who was fighting off Jack McAuley. Norman and Rose would make slight contact as they battled for the lead with Rose spinning and bringing on the yellows while Norman was sent to the rear for his part. The race resumed but the yellows would come out again shortly after as Jason Oldfield ended up facing the wrong way. As the cars circulated under yellows Rose came to a stop and was unable to resume, losing his lead and seeing Kane McDiarmid take the win from McAuley and Warren Oldfield.
The fifth heat saw Jordan McGinnis slowing on the opening lap with mechanical issues, becoming another whose title was over early. A few more yellow light stoppages would follow in succession, Rod Musarra eventually defeating Tim Maughan.
The final heat of the round also saw numerous yellow light stoppages before one of the biggest incidents of the day when Alex Williams spun in turn three while making a move for second, seeing Coby Stevens spin to avoid, while Newman�s Bernie Matkovich piled in with Rob Nickels and Josh Stewart also involved. Beau Riley went on to defeat Travis Castagna.
Round two kicked off with Joel Berkley leading from green to chequer in heat seven, the second race of the day to go nonstop.
The next heat would see a great battle between Ogle, Rickie Nuccini and Jake Blight for the lead, swapping on numerous occasions. After a yellow light stoppage reset the field it became a battle in two as Blight took over the lead from Ogle, the duo fighting it out for the remaining laps and Ogle putting together some spectacular laps to steal the lead in the final corner and win by just 0.033 seconds.
Heat nine saw Rose due to start on the front row but due to being in a borrowed car he was forced to begin from the back. Rod Musarra lead for much of the race, being pressured the whole way by Clint Noakes and swapping the lead a couple of times, Noakes eventually crossing the line ahead of Musarra.
The tenth heat saw the biggest incident of the night, with Josh Stewart and Ricky Williams making contact down the back straight and Williams going upside down and executing two complete rolls, landing back on his wheels. He emerged unhurt and was able to take his place in his next heat, while Beau Riley hunted down the rest of the field and shot past them to claim the win.
Heat eleven saw Kyle Sayer shoot away from the field to take the win while Hamish Macalpine charged to second.
The final heat of the second round then saw Ron Belfield survive a restart after Nuno Mendes cannoned into the turn three wall to claim a strong win.
The final round of heats kicked off with Tim Maughan in the lead only to have a half lose, somehow everyone avoiding him and the race continuing with Macalpine into the lead and then surviving a green, white, chequer restart to take his second win of the day from Rickie Nuccini and Jake Blight.
Heat fourteen saw the yellows come on for Ryan Mitchell who spun in turn four, then as the yellows came on Jayke Malcolm and Jamie Oldfield got stuck together in turn two as they fought for the lead, causing a small delay as they were separated. The restart saw Oldfield grab the lead while McAuley worked the outside to move into second. All of a sudden though, Beau Riley got by both at the same time to lead with two to go and went on to take the win.
Kane McDiarmid held off a fast finishing Kyle Sayer in heat fifteen while heat sixteen saw multiple lead changes between Alex Williams and Rod Musarra, Musarra eventually claiming the win from Williams while Jason Oldfield held off a hard charging Ron Belfield for third.
The penultimate heat saw Mike Kinnear lead straight away as Ogle and Coby Stevens threaded their way through the field, Ogle eventually taking the win while Frank Does got past Kinnear for second in the closing stages. Clint Noakes then led from the front in the final heat of the night despite being pursued by Joel Berkley in what was the quickest race of the day.
Points After Night One
1. W40 Beau Riley 108
2. W23 Clint Noakes 100
3. W31 Kane McDiarmid 100
4. W12 Rod Musarra 100
5. W00 Hamish Macalpine 100
6. A1 Joel Berkley 92
7. W73 Drew Ogle 89
8. W71 Jake Blight 87
9. W61 Ron Belfield 76
10. W96 Jack McAuley 68
11. W95 Kyle Sayer 68
12. W8 Daren Currell 66
13. W27 Mike Kinnear 64
14. W51 Jamie Oldfield 62
15. W29 Tim Maughan 62
16. W41 Rickie Nuccini 57
17. W84 Jason Oldfield 49
18. W3 Frank Does 48
19. W83 Daniel Ameduri 47
20. W17 Coby Stevens 47
21. W2 Travis Castagna 46
22. W6 Hayden Norman 45
23. W21 Rick Musarra 44
24. W199 Phil Lycholit 44
25. W49 John Castagna 44
26. W34 Damon Trouchet 44
27. W666 Peter Katona 43
28. W58 Alex Williams 42
29. W36 Richard Baker 41
30. W112 Warren Flavel 41
31. W22 Jayke Malcolm 40
32. W39 Jeff Kendall 38
33. W14 Shane Dubberlin 37
34. W5 Ryan Penn 37
35. W18 Garry Sutton 37
36. W119 Josh Stewart 37
37. W86 Wayne Leviston 36
38. W78 Jacky Moroney 31
39. W15 Paul Squires 30
40. W192 Shane Devonshire 29
41. WA1 Barry Rose 28
42. W92 Ricky Williams 28
43. W25 Darren Nelson 27
44. W127 Rob Nickels 27
45. W99 Benny Curtin 26
46. W136 Joe Wilson 24
47. W20 Graeme Riley 24
48. W19 Sean Bowen 23
49. W131 Shannon Cherry 22
50. W55 Murray Cleasby 20
51. W7 Terry Main 19
52. W28 Martin DeVries 18
53. W72 Nuno Mendes 18
54. W9 Ryan Mitchell 16
55. W11 Daniel Day 12
56. W33 Bernie Matkovich 10
57. W58 Leon Wood 8
58. W10 Ashley Baker 6
59. W13 Brad Mitchell 5
60. W113 Jordan McGinnis 3
Details courtesy of Scott Beattie