Mount Gambier’s Steven Lines has claimed his first win of the 2015/16 Enzed World Series Sprintcars season, with a gutsy mid-race highline drive around eventual runner up Luke Dillon through lapped Traffic at Murray Bridge Speedway, South Australia.

Dillon started the night with his 5th Revolution Racegear Quicktime award of the season and played it safe in his heats to start the A-Main on the front row alongside pole sitter, Jamie Veal, and ahead of the second row pairing of Lines, who had heroically won both of his heats from the second last row, and James McFadden.

Brad Keller and Kyle Hirst were the first victims of an unpredictable race track, coming together on the second lap sending Keller into a roll and Hirst to the infield. However the race continued for another 19 laps without a pause, featuring a long list of order-shuffling passes throughout the field that was highlighted by a fascinating dice between fellow Warrnambool comrades, Jamie Veal and James McFadden before Daniel Pestka relinquished his top five spot with an engine issue slowing down rapidly in the front straight and leaving B-Main winner Mark Caruso to launch over Pestka’s tail tank to a crunching stop.

With ten to go, Murcott made an early pass on Tatnell which stewards deemed to be on the inside of the restart cone, while Randy Hannagan was also able to get past the Krikke Motorsport #2, leaving the 9-time champion to assume seventh, while McFadden and Veal continued to trade positions at almost every turn.

Lines would hold on for a dominant win over Dillon and McFadden, ahead of Veal, and Hannagan, followed by Murcott who has been relegated two positions for his earlier passing indiscretion.

In an interesting twist, Tatnell and Veal are now locked on equal series points at 2398 a piece, 100 points ahead of Lines, followed by McFadden, Dillon, and Hirst in the series championship.

In other news, Ryan Jones left the venue early after a first heat crash destroyed his car, leaving the Schlamm Engineering team to build a new car before heading across the Nullarbor.

David Murcott’s early pass penalty was not his only indiscretion of the evening. The former two-time Australian champion was also on report for an incident that involved him pulling the plug leads out of Matt Dumesny’s car as he exited the race track as a silent protest against the young Sydney-sider after a collision with the #4 Natrad entry left Murcott once again facing his heat race crashing hoodoo.

The tour now enters it’s final stage as the teams head to the western swing, beginning at the Perth Motorplex on February 13, followed by Albany on February 19, Bunbury on Feb 20 and the two-night Grand Final at the Perth Motorplex.

Photo credit: Picko’s Photos