A big few weeks of action was kicked off tonight at the Perth Motorplex, with the first in a series of Blue Ribbon events held, and as has been the case so often before, it was ‘The Great’ Dayne Kingshott who finished on the top step of the podium, winning the 47th Annual New Year’s Speedcar Derby.
Travis White, coming from pole position in the twenty lap final event, was the man immediately in the lead but was pressured quickly by fellow front row starter Dan Golding. Steven Henderson, who qualified out of position three, started well but got spat out the back of the field very quickly after having a moment coming out of turn two, allowing Dayne Kingshott to move into third followed by Tom Payet, guest driving in the Graham Jones Racing #4 machine.
The top four began to pull away as Keenen Fleming, coming from the very back of the field, made his way into fifth place and set out after Payet.
All of a sudden Golding went low on White to grab the lead, with Kingshott doing the same but on the highline, both passing White at the same time and Kingshott leading Golding by 0.042 seconds as they crossed the line to complete lap four.
From here Kingshott continued to use the highline to pull away, with Golding persisting down low and then Payet and White trading slidejobs on the highline for third.
As White and Payet continued to race each other, Fleming was able to close the gap and be right on Whites tail, waiting for his chance to sneak through.
Payet all of a sudden got a break on White and looked for a way past Golding, while Fleming took his chances and also piled the pressure on White.
The next few laps saw Payet go around Golding to grab second, then a lap or so later the yellows came on as Gary Mann spun to a stop in turn one with half of the race completed.
On the restart, Kingshott pulled away from Payet, with White having a resurgence and grabbing third from Golding.
The next restart came two laps later as Henderson went high for a pass on Yates down the main straight, the two making contact and Henderson touching the wall and spinning around.
Another two laps were completed of the high speed freight train when Beau Doyle spun in turn two, Stuart Yates also spinning to avoid. At the same time Gary Mann went up in cloud of smoke in turn one to become the first to retire infield.
Unfortunately the next start didn’t last long as Yates spun again in turn one without another lap being completed and he was sent infield for his efforts.
As the race went green once again, Kingshott was away with Payet showing his nose briefly, before Kngshott accelerated away, with White in hot pursuit of Payet.
Fleming finally got around Golding for fourth but in the final laps the field spread out with no further changes, Kingshott claiming his fifth Derby and twenty third at the Motorplex venue. Tom Payet came home second while Travis White was officially third.
The next event for the Speedcars will be next month, when Manjimup Speedway plays host to the massive WA Speedcar Championship on the 2nd of February. It is going to be a big month of racing, so stay tuned for all the latest details in coming weeks!
Release by DTN Media. Picture Courtesy Richard Hathaway and Jones Racing.
Official Results
Heat One, 8 laps: 1. 38 Travis White, 2. 23 Glen Mears, 3. 32 Stuart Yates, 4. 17 Dan Golding, 5. 15 Rob Golding, 6. 19 Steven Henderson. DNF: 26 Keenan Fleming (4), 97 Gary Mann (2), 9 Vaughan Manders (1), 24 Dayne Kingshott (1), 4 Tom Payet (0). DNS: 51 Beau Doyle. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 2.810. Fastest Lap: 16.873 Travis White.
Heat Two, 8 laps: 1. 24 Dayne Kingshott, 2. 4 Tom Payet, 3. 38 Travis White, 4. 19 Steven Henderson, 5. 17 Dan Golding, 6. 9 Vaughan Manders, 7. 51 Beau Doyle. DNF: 97 Gary Mann (4), 23 Glen Mears (4), 15 Rob Golding (4), 26 Keenan Fleming (3), 32 Stuart Yates (3). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 2.941. Fastest Lap: 16.597 Dayne Kingshott.
Feature, 20 laps: 1. 24 Dayne Kingshott, 2. 4 Tom Payet, 3. 38 Travis White, 4. 26 Keenan Fleming, 5. 23 Glen Mears, 6. 17 Dan Golding, 7. 9 Vaughan Manders, 8. 51 Beau Doyle, 9. 19 Steven Henderson (19). DNF: 97 Gary Mann (14). DQ: 32 Stuart Yates. DNS: 15 Rob Golding. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 1.428. Fastest Lap: 17.212 24 Dayne Kingshott.
Podium winners - Tom Payet (2nd), Dayne Kingshott (1st) and Travis White (3rd). Pic: Graham Jones Racing
