Australian Sprintcar champion Dave Murcott proved too strong for his rivals in round three of the East Coast Logistics Crispy Memorial Series at Ausdeck Patios Archerfield Speedway on Sunday afternoon (May 3). Postponed from the night before after two days of heavy rain throughout the region left the track unusable on Saturday, the Sunday fixture was a throwback to the earliest days of racing at Archerfield in what was also the 500th event staged at the venue by the promotional team of John and Kathy Kelly.

Murcott was fast from the outset, cutting the quickest lap in time trials and then consolidating his place at the top of the order with solid runs in his heats and a runner-up finish in the Lucas Oils Dash. Starting from the outside front row for the 30-lap feature event, Murcott assumed the lead on the opening lap and then led every circulation to finish ahead of Andrew Scheuerle and Darren Jensen, who enjoyed his best result since returning home from World Series commitments.

Bryan Mann finished in fourth spot, with a strong run from Kevin Titman elevating him into fifth ahead of Mark Pholi, Brent Kratzmann, Richard Morgan and Brandon Rawlings, with Mick Sauer rounding out the top ten. Andrew Liebke was next in line and the last car on the lead lap, with Steven Johnson, Brett Thomas and north Queensland veteran Mike Walsh completing the finishers. The only casualties were Steve Rowell, Mitchell Gee and Ben Hilder, all of whom exited in the same incident on lap 12.

Murcott, Mann and Titman topped the time clock in qualifying; Murcott proving quickest of all with a 12.039 second lap. In his best time trial performance for a long time, Jensen was fourth quickest and this proved pivotal in him securing such a strong result in the feature event. Scheuerle, Rowell, Sauer, Kratzmann, Gee and Brent Aprile were next best, with good performances further down the order from the likes of teenage duo Callum Walker and Lachlan McHugh, the latter making his Sprintcar competition debut.

Despite starting mid-pack following the heat inversion, Murcott zoomed to the front in the opening heat to defeat Walsh and Sauer. Johnson struck trouble early when he tipped over after contacting the turn four wall.

Morgan proved too swift from pole position in heat two, downing Mann and Hilder.
Pholi survived the best efforts of Aprile to win heat three, with Gee finishing in third spot.

Aprile downed Hilder and Gee in heat four, with Morgan doubling up to take heat five in advance of Titman and Scheuerle.

After failing to finish his opening heat, Rowell bounced back to win the final preliminary and book a place in the Dash, leading home Jensen and Pholi.

Top qualifier Murcott selected a four inversion for the Dash and Jensen took full advantage to take the race and secure pole position for the feature. Murcott advanced to second spot ahead of Mann, Scheuerle, Pholi, Morgan and Rowell, while Aprile made a spectacular early exit when he rolled heavily on the opening lap and was subsequently unable to start the main event.

The East Coast Logistics B Main featured several spirited exchanges in the fight to secure a top four spot and it was Liebke who ultimately prevailed over Johnson and Walsh, with Johnson edging out Anthony Lambert for the final berth in the feature field.
In the Queensland Lightning Sprint Championship, Sean Iacono proved too strong in the 25-lap feature event, moving into the lead on lap two and withstanding the late advances of Kurt Wilson to clinch the crown. Although Wilson narrowed the gap in the final few laps, Iacono maintained his composure to emerge with the title in his keeping. Defending champion Scott Genrich recovered from a spin on lap 12 to finish in third spot ahead of Peter Campbell and Ethan Eyears, who led the opening lap after starting from the outside from row.

Pole qualifier Dion Prowse saw his title hopes dashed on the opening lap when he spun in turn three and retreated to the infield. The only other drivers to complete the event were Lindsay Clapham, Gavin Gilbert and Kirsty Kelly.

Heat wins were shared around between Prowse, Wilson, Eyears and Genrich.

Queensland champ Kaydon Iverson scored an all-the-way win in the 15-lap Tyrepower 600 Super Series Grand Final, leading Kristin Brown and Trent Johnson to the chequer. After throwing away a heat win with a spin that ultimately relegated her to row four on the feature grid, Brooke Wanless advanced to finish fourth ahead of Scott Farmer. Royce Harvey, Adrian Farrell and rookie Ryan McNamara were the only others to go the distance.

Despite finishing second in the feature, her results throughout the night - which included a win in the opening heat - were enough to ensure that Brown emerged as the Tyrepower 600 Super Series champion, capping a very strong season. The remaining heats went the way of Johnson and Farmer.

It was business as usual in the Modlite feature race with less than a second separating winner Lachlan McHugh from second-placed Terry Leerentveld. William Butler was a distant third, followed home by Steve Collins and Jarrod Steen.

Next Saturday night (May 9) at Ausdeck Patios Archerfield Speedway will host the Queensland Dirt Modified Championship and the annual 50-lap Midget marathon in another big double-header program.