A healthy crowd attended the Bairnsdale Speedway Association meeting last Saturday night, enjoying a good variety of close racing action.
The highlight of the night was the President’s Cup for compact speedcars, won by Australian champion Justin Paull, while local standout Beau Stuchbery claimed his fourth consecutive division two hot rod final at Bairnsdale.
Other winners included Mick Nicola Junior in super sedans, Jacob Vuillermin in standard saloons, and Liam Ingram in junior standard saloons.
Paull was always the man to beat in the President’s Cup despite losing the first heat to Portland racer Bowen Donkers. He led every lap in heat two, with Shane Brewer from Canberra finishing second and Paull’s sister, Tania Hallett, in third.
In the 20-lap final, Trevor Perry joined the field from the rear after failing to qualify, with compact speedcar competitors voting to allow him to race. Paull dashed into the lead at the green flag, while Duane Cordina, Donkers, Hallett, and Brewer battled for the chasing positions. Perry soon joined the fray, but Paull powered away to finish with another Presidents Cup victory, ahead of Cordina, Perry, Hallett, and Donkers.
Mick Nicola Junior continued his dominance in super sedans, winning every race, including three heats and the final. His narrowest heat margin was 3.5 seconds, and he claimed the final by six seconds over Travis Ramsdale, Lionel West, and Dave Mackenzie, the only other finishers.
Division two hot rods saw Aaron Laidlaw return to Bairnsdale for the first time in almost a year, winning heat one in a close battle with Keven Stoopman. Stuchbery passed Ben Crittenden to win heat two and capitalised on a spin in heat three to claim victory again.
He then led all 10 laps in the final, finishing a second ahead of Laidlaw, with Chris Greaves, Andrew Cormack, and Kate Stuchbery completing the top five.
After destroying a gearbox in a previous standard saloon final, Jacob Vuillermin returned with a new two-year-old gearbox. He won heat one, while Gus Argoon claimed heat two after a door-to-door battle with Chris Miles. Heat three went to Jacob Head, with Vuillermin winning again, and Josh Thomas took the final heat after major work on his car between rounds.
In the 12-lap feature, the fastest 12 laps ever recorded at Bairnsdale, Vuillermin led early and crossed the line first in a time of just over four minutes and one second, ahead of Thomas, Argoon, Head, and Josh Cormack.
Junior standard saloons were racing for one of the last times before their Victorian title at Drouin Speedway. Jayden Curtis won heat one after favourite Liam Ingram suffered mechanical issues. Ingram returned to win heats two and three in close contests with Nikolas Pritchett.
In the feature, Curtis collided heavily with the concrete wall and was assisted off the track by paramedics, later checked at hospital. Ingram went on to win comfortably by almost three seconds, with Pritchett second, followed by Ashton Joynson, Tailen Wells, and Chloe Cormack.
Bairnsdale Speedway will have a four-week turnaround before the next meeting on February 28.
