Author : Jason Crowe – SSA Media
Barry Rose has won a spectacular Bill Sibbald King of the Road on Saturday night at the Make Smoking History Collie Speedway, which also turned out to be a race of attrition.
On a bleak, damp night, the racing was sensational, with the six qualifying heats producing some brilliant racing, culminating with two times National Champion, Ron Belfield and 2016 National Champion Tim Green starting on the front row.
With light rain falling practically all night, Green would take the early lead, with Rose moving to second, while Belfield and Wayne Leviston would be close by in third and fourth.
A mid pack collision between Ryan Mitchell and Travis Castagna in turn four spread-eagled the field, with Castagna sitting precariously close to the curb, as the lights remained green as the rain started to fall.
Wayne Leviston would retire early, and a stoppage on lap eight bunched the field when Ron Belfield appeared to lose the steering on his Torana in turn one. A lap later upon the resumption, Paul Bennett joined a growing band of retirees on the infield.
Meanwhile, Barry Rose had opened a significant gap on the field, with a great battle raging between Tim Green, Beau Riley, with Travis Castagna joining the battle despite being a lap down. He would soon retire, and would be joined by Tim Green, leaving just eight cars for the final fourteen laps.
Rose had his Sigma running on rails, as Beau Riley moved to second, with Brad Mitchell third, as Rose systematically put his opposition to the sword, lapping up to third place at the end of forty grueling laps.
Rose set the quick lap of the race, and won by the biggest ever margin in the prestigious race (13.681), with only Beau Riley and Brad Mitchell on the lead lap, with Rose finishing right behind Mitchell. Greg Robinson and Daniel Day would finish a lap down, Leon Wood and Kelsey Beard two laps down, while Graeme Riley would complete thirty seven laps, and would be the last driver to collect the chequered flag.
For Rose, it was his fifth consecutive feature win at the venue and his tenth feature win of the season, equal with Matty Pascoe for the most by a senior driver for the season.
OFFICIAL RESULT
Feature, 40 laps: 1. W61 Ron Belfield, 2. W10 Tim Green, 3. W86 Wayne Leviston, 4. WA1 Barry Rose, 5. W40 Beau Riley, 6. W9 Ryan Mitchell, 7. W77 Greg Robinson, 8. W63 Paul Bennett, 9. W43 Brad Mitchell, 10. W22 Jamie Graham, 11. W13 Shannon Cherry, 12. W11 Daniel Day, 13. W53 Leon Wood, 14. W12 Travis Castagna, 15. W20 Graeme Riley, 16. W57 Kelsey Beard, 17. W65 Keith Fitzgerald, 18. W95 Kyle Sayer, 19. W2 Nuno Mendes, 20. W7 Leticia Hamon.
RESULT
1. WA1 Barry Rose, 2. W40 Beau Riley, 3. W43 Brad Mitchell, 4. W77 Greg Robinson (39), 5. W11 Daniel Day (39), 6. W53 Leon Wood (38), 7. W57 Kelsey Beard (38), 8. W20 Graeme Riley (37).DNF: W10 Tim Green (26), W12 Travis Castagna (22), W9 Ryan Mitchell (14), W63 Paul Bennett (9), W61 Ron Belfield (8), W86 Wayne Leviston, W13 Shannon Cherry (4). DNS: W2 Nuno Mendes, W7 Leticia Hamon, W22 Jamie Graham, W65 Keith Fitzgerald, W95 Kyle Sayer. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 13.681. Fastest Lap: 20.937 WA1 Barry Rose.