It may be just the second event of the 2022/23 season, but already Speedcar nominations have eclipsed the numbers seen in recent seasons, meaning this weekend's City of Kwinana Westernapolis at the Perth Motorplex will be one not to miss!
Making the show even more special is that it will be the now annual Neville Lance Twin 14’s feature event, meaning double the feature races in honour of one of our club legends!
Twenty-two nominations have been received at the time of writing, and if all cars show up it will be the strongest numbers seen on track for WASDA since the 2019 John Day Classic, where twenty-one cars competed.
Kaiden Manders was best on opening night, recording a strong feature race win to add to his ever-growing tally at the Motorplex venue. The Graham Jones Racing #4 machine is always on song and the team is desperate to grab this win ahead of some of the big shows coming up in the WASDA calendar soon.
Lee Redmond returned to Speedcar racing on a full-time basis last week and his commitment showed quickly as he raced to a fine second place finish in the feature after earlier claiming a heat win. He may be a veteran driver, but Redmond showed that he still has what it takes, and it is surely only a matter of time before he finds himself back in the winner’s circle.
Third in the last show was Daniel Harding, narrowly holding off teammate, and team owner, Daniel Golding in fourth. Both drivers were on the pace at the last show and will once again not only be trying to outdo each other but to also make their way their way back onto the top step of the podium now that they have each had a taste of that sweet Speedcar success last season.
Fifth place across the line in the opening night feature was Keenan Fleming, who also opened the season with a bang as he claimed the first heat race win of season 2022/23. Fleming was solid throughout the night but isn’t content to settle for fifth and will be fighting hard to get back on the podium this Saturday, if not challenging for the win.
A whole host of drivers were plagued by issues on opening night, with Tom Payet going upside down in an incident with Matt Watkins, Russell Taylor having his night come to an early end on the back of the tow truck and Lee Austen, who came within a whisker of completing the feature race before he too was forced infield.
All four drivers are back in the field this weekend, as is Ross Heywood and Beau Doyle, both of whom were unable to take the green flag in the opening night feature race due to mechanical issues. Both the Doyle and Heywood teams have been burning the midnight oil to ensure they are ready for this weekend and fingers crossed their efforts are met with a just reward.
Numbers are boosted this weekend by the return of Vaughan Manders and Rob Golding (both suffering engine damage at a practice session that forced them to miss opening night), Alfonso Guadagnino (running a limited schedule due to work commitments) and Cory Smith (who rolled over in practice a few days prior to the first meeting and wasn’t able to repair the car in time.
Travis White adds some further star power to the field, while we also have rookie drivers Joel Watson and Aron Sharp nominated, as well as names like Beau Rogers, Garry Mann (aboard the new chassis he won at the end of last season), Stuart Yates and Patrick Watson, giving us all we need for another huge show.
Drivers will be split into two groups for hot lap qualifying, with points on the line and times setting the heat race grids for each group, with fastest from the rear.
Points will again be on the line for the heats, with the combined qualifying and heat races points setting the feature grid for the first fourteen lap feature, with one added twist: after the completion of the heats there will be a ball draw to determine an invert of 4, 6 or 8!
The first feature race will be held, with a trophy presented to the winner as an official feature race (which means of course feature points towards the Championships!), while the finishing order of the first feature will set the grid for the second feature on the night.
A huge format, a huge field, a huge night ahead!
See you trackside racefans as we again pay tribute to ‘Big Rev Nev’ Neville Lance!
Release by DTN Media.
Pics Courtesy JSP/DTN Media.
Official Nominations – 22
2 Ross Heywood
4 Kaiden Manders
6 Alfonso Guadagnino
7 Tom Payet
15 Rob Golding
17 Daniel Golding
26 Keenan Fleming
30 Aron Sharp
32 Stuart Yates
38 Travis White
51 Beau Doyle
52 Lee Redmond
57 Vaughan Manders
65 Russell Taylor
71 Daniel Harding
75 Joel Watson
76 Patrick Watson
85 Beau Rogers
88 Matt Watkins
89 Cory Smith
95 Lee Austen
97 Gary Mann