Despite the windy conditions, some great racing was seen at Sunline Speedway on Saturday night. Due to some other venues being cancelled due to rain, some extra drivers joined in, bolstering fields in several classes.

Modified Sedans had 14 drivers contest the South Australian Title, proudly sponsored by Haseldine Automotive and United Speedway Association. 6 heat races were on the program, with each driver contesting 3 of them. David Smith and Ty Galley claimed 2 wins each, with Martin Hawson and Clint Noakes claiming a heat win each.

Galley would start the 20 lap main event from pole position, ahead of Smith, Noakes, Hawson, Wade McCarthy and Angelo Halacas. The early running was littered with cautions with drivers attempting to win the race in the first few laps. Several cars withdrew from the race due to damage or mechanical issues, the most notable being Galley who had a flat tyre whilst holding a large lead. Once the dust settled, Western Australian Noakes claimed the Title ahead of Smith, Hawson, McCarthy and Allen Mortimer rounding out the top 5.

Junior Sedans were contesting Round 3 of their Track Championship as well as Round 1 of the Robert Gwynne Memorial. 14 drivers had 2 heat races each, a top 6 dash before a 20 lap feature. Despite starting at the rear due to being a late nomination, Heath Thorne claimed both of his heat wins, with Drew Flatman and Paige Goldsack-Gwynne taking a heat win each. After dominating the dash and setting a 6 lap record, Thorne would start the feature ahead of Flatman, Jordan Grillett, Ky McEwin, Jake Richter and Goldsack-Gwynne. All drivers should be congratulated for their driving, with the 20 laps going non-stop. Thorne was the class of the field, winning by almost a lap ahead of Flatman and Grillett as well a lowering the 20 lap record by over a minute!

Junior Sedans Track Championship top 5 after Round 3 – 1st Jordan Grillett 281pts, 2nd Drew Flatman 240pts, 3rd Ky McEwin 179pts, 4th Paige Goldsack-Gwynne 166pts, 5th Thomas Richter 136pts
Robert Gwynne Memorial standings after Round 1 – 1st Heath Thorne 132pts, 2nd Drew Flatman 116pts, 3rd Paige Goldsack-Gwynne 102pts, 4th Jordan Grillett 97pts, 5th Ky McEwin

Street Stock benefited the most with the cancelation of other venues, with an additional 7 cars arriving to have a 15 car field contesting 4 heats with each driver racing in 2. Rhys Heinrich won both of his heat races with Adrian Wright and Tony Prideaux taking a heat win each. Heinrich would start the 15 lap Feature from pole, ahead of Wade Fell, Cade Cox, Matthew Maynard, Prideaux and Cheyanne Richter-Uren. Heinrich was able to build an early lead and maintained this throughout the duration to claim the win, ahead of Cox, Maynard, Darren Thorne and Jo Storer.

Modlites had a smaller field than has been seen at the venue for a while with only 7 cars being able to make it to the track. Brian Chadwick and Brook Alexander claimed the 2 heat wins on offer. Alexander would go on to claim the win in the 12 feature ahead of Justin Plaisted, Chadwick and Nathan Launer.

Only 3 Super Sedans made it to the track and put on some demonstration laps, with Jason Gantz, Steve Schwarz and Michael Brown putting on a show for the crowd.

Tough-As Products Grand Champion is starting to take shape after 3 Rounds. Many drivers are taking an interest in how the standings are evolving after each meeting, taking into consideration of the weighted points structure. Current top 5 are – 1st Joel Heinrich (Wingless Sprints) 510pts, 2nd Brian Chadwick (Modlites) 450pts, 3rd Matthew Kennedy (Wingless Sprints) 445pts, 4th Brook Alexander (Modlites) 420pts, 5th Drew Flatman (Junior Sedans) 410pts.

Sunline Speedway’s next meeting is to be held on Saturday 19th May with 7 classes currently scheduled to compete. Junior Sedans will have their final Round of the Robert Gwynne Memorial as well as Round 4 of the Track Championship. They will be supported by Wingless Sprints, Super Sedans, Modified Sedans, Street Stocks, Modlites and AMCA’s. Keep up to date with all the latest news by visiting the Sunline Speedway website and Facebook page.