The team and I were in great spirits coming off the back of a win at Archerfield the last time we raced, so the Easter Trail was “bittersweet” for us.
The Easter Challenge included the final two rounds of the Ultimate Sprintcar Championship (held at Hi-Tec Oils Toowoomba Speedway over two massive nights) and also Round 13 of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series (held at Archerfield Speedway.)
Night 1 – Good Friday 15th April – Toowoomba Speedway.
I timed in nicely at 5th overall. On Heat 1 I moved forward a couple of spots which was great for my points. Heat 2 I only managed to move forward one spot but that was enough for me to be 8th overall, making the dash.
I ended up finishing in 6th position from the dash and started the feature race from 6th. The car was doing well, I was driving nice and keeping up with the front guys. I managed to get myself into 4th over the first 20 laps.
The race had 4 laps to go, and I found a nice race line around the top. The other guys were going to the bottom as I railed around the top. In turn 4 the 3rd place car lost it and crashed into the wall, flipping right in front of me and with nowhere to go I hit him.
I crushed my top wing and my header pipe. I was sent to the rear of the field because I was in the accident (rough rule mind you on some occasions but anyway that’s the rule). Given my header was crushed they called out one of the crew to look at it – instead of risking it we parked it on the infield and watched the last 4 laps.
We were not happy about the DNF but pleased with my driving and the fact that we were able to run with the front guys for 31 laps. Something to take away from the race meet!
Night 2 – Saturday 16th April – Archerfield Speedway.
The weather was fine when we arrived but we had a shower of rain during qualifying. Qualifying 2nd in my group I was 3rd overall, but due to the increased rain 2 groups did not get to qualify. They ended up scrapping qualifying and doing 2 heat races by random draw.
I started 6th in the first one and moved forward one spot. I started 12th in the second heat and finished 2nd. This gave me enough points to be 3rd overall and because of the rain earlier in the night they cancelled the dash and we went straight to the feature.
I had a great start and the car felt really good. On turn 4 2nd place checked up a heap and then 3rd place car spun out and was facing me just as I was exiting the corner. Our right rear tyres hit each other’s, and I flipped the car down the main straight. I did not even get to complete a lap in the feature! Crashed out again 2 nights in a row (both nights not being my fault) but nothing I could do about it.
We were set to stay at Toowoomba track but instead we had to come home. We didn’t get much sleep in as we had to get up early to clean and fix the car. Luckily there wasn’t too much damage and the team fixed it relatively easy. We loaded the truck up again and headed to Toowoomba for the final night of the Queensland Easter Trail.
Night 3 – Easter Sunday 17th April – Toowoomba Speedway.
After the last 2 nights we were really keen for a good result. We knew we had the speed to be up the front, as we provided that the last 2 nights, we were just missing some good old fashioned “luck”! Despite our last 2 nights DNF in the feature, we were going there very positive. We were well and truly out of the overall winner’s contention, so were hoping for the feature win for the night. Well, as it would be, that didn’t turn out too good either.
We time trialled ok at 8th overall. Started the first heat 7th and finished 7th. I was hit by another car spinning me into the fence, but luckily it was only minor damage and I was able to be pushed off again, restarting from the rear but managing to get back to 7th.
Heat 2 I started in 6th position and got up to 5th but on the exit of turn 4 another car slid up into me making me climb the wall with my right hand side tyres. I got that high up on the fence that my right rear hit a fence pole and ripped off the car, snapping the diff in half and also bending the front end.
The team raced back to the truck to get the spares out and as soon as the car returned, we all started work stripping it. A massive thanks must go to our crew and the other teams that helped us to repair it in time so we could get back out on track for the B main.
Starting the B main in 3rd I moved to the lead with 5 laps to go winning the B main. The car felt a little weird but nothing too much. I started the feature A- Main from 17th but was unable to move forward as it was slick and I was struggling to pass cars.
I stuffed up in the middle of turn 3-4 and put it in the fence all on my own. I’m not sure what happened – I simply stuffed it, sorry team. I bent the car pretty badly too which isn’t good.
We have to totally strip the car now to get it straightened and back together for Archerfield in 2 weeks times for the Australian title.
Results Below:
Friday – Toowoomba
Hot Laps time: N/A
Time Trials: 10.741 1st in my group (5th overall)
Heat 1: started 8th finished 6th
Heat 2: started 8th finished 7th
Dash: 6th
B-Main: N/A
A-Main/Feature: started 6th finished DNF
Saturday – Archerfield
Hot Laps time: N/A
Time Trials: rained out
Heat 1: started 6th finished 5th
Heat 2: started 12th finished 2nd
Dash: rained out
B-Main: N/A
A-Main/Feature: started 3rd finished DNF
Sunday – Toowoomba
Hot Laps time: N/A
Time Trials: 3rd in group (8th overall)
Heat 1: started 7th finished 7th
Heat 2: started 7th finished DNF
Dash: N/A
B-Main: started 3rd finished 1st
A-Main/Feature: started 17th finished DNF
A massive thanks to my crew Michael, Todd and Dad and also to my family for all their help and support over the weekend. It was a tough weekend for us all and I am incredibly grateful to all of you.
Thanks to all my sponsors for their continued support.
Sprint Shack
Englis Race Engines
The next race meet will be the Australian Titles at Archerfield – Saturday 30th April & Sunday 1st May.
Really hope to see you all track side …
