Boxing
Day was yet again a great night for all classes of Speedway with a
great crowd on what turned out to be a very, very, cold night.
The track was great and smooth making the Lightning Sprint racing very enjoyable.
It
was great to see Darren Lockett back from Perth with his rotary
power car showing the car is up there with the best of them.
Race 1 (10 lap heat)
Bobby Redpath drew pole position for Luke. The car continues to improve with Bobby's knowledge. Luke Redpath was looking to get the first race
under his belt to increase points in the Clipsal Series.
Kerry Boyd on P2, his work cut out with Hale in P3 and Pitt in P4.
Pitt
tangle with Barrett in lap 8 taking Barrett out of the race and putting
Pitt officially to rear of field for the restart, but Pitt restarted
in P5 and was penalized by the stewards to finish last.
The race ended up as a match race between Redpath and Hale with Redpath taking out the win.
Final results were 1st Redpath (10)
2nd Hale (25)
3rd Lockett (5)
Race 2 - (10 lap HEAT )
Second
heat was again a great race with the reverse grid making the race more
difficult for those who got top points in the first race.
Kerry Short was off pole with new driver Adam Boyd in “Cookies” car getting some real pressure from Henri in P3, Pitt in P4 and Redpath off the back.
Within
two laps Pitt had taken the lead with Henri challenging. But by lap 5,
Redpath was all over Henri before he retired. After the restart lap 7 when Redpath took the lead with a slide job in turn 3 but washed up to let Pitt back through, which continued the fight through turn 1 and 2 resulting in contact between the two cars on the back straight, Redpath came out on top which opened up a gap for Hale to get through as well. The same match race between
Hale and Redpath continued with Redpath taking out the honors.
Final results were 1st Redpath (10)
2nd Hale (25)
3rd Pitt (16)
Race 3 … FINAL (15 lap FINAL )
Well the Final was a ripper.
With max point for the heats, Redpath had P1, Hale on P2 and Lockett P3. Pitt on P4.
Redpath
nailed the start, much to the annoyance of Hale who had to chase Redath
to apply pressure. Redpath, followed by Hale cleared out to race it
out between themselves.
Lockett battled with Pitt until Pitt lost out and then Henri did everything to get past Lockett.
Redpath made one mistake in turn 2 coming in too hot, and Hale pounced on the lead.
So
it stayed that way until lap 11 when the second yellow flag reformed the
field. Hale managed to maintain the lead and at lap 14 when there was
another yellow, the race was declared.
Final results were
1st Hale (25)
2nd Redpath (10)
3rd Henri (33)
Commentary by …. Peter Hale
CLIPSAL WSS SUPER SERIES RESULTS
1st - Andrew Barrett (149 points)
2nd - Nathan Hale (136 points)
3rd - Luke Redpath (135 points)
CONSISTENCY PAYS OFF FOR BARRETT
12 Dec 2010 CLIPSAL SUPER SERIES ROUND 2
(Substitute for Round 4 of 12 Round Super Series)
Yet again, the rain washed out the Saturday night and the programmed was run on the rain date option of Sunday 12 Dec.
Ten
(10) cars managed to make the event which was great to see as it makes
for a late Sunday night finish and tired people for work on Monday
morning.
Once again the track was prepared for the
Sprinters and was super smooth, but a little slippery. So tyres were
again being destroyed, but the track was a pleasure to drive on.
Race 1 - Sponsored By Paintright Devonport (10 lap heat)
Hale drew pole position out of the hat for this race and was going to be hard to beat from this position.
Pitt
drew P2 in his rebuild car from last weeks major cartwheel crash in
Hobart and as the results suggest, the car was not yet back to its peak
with some electrical problems plaguing Pitt throughout the night.
The
race was clean without stoppages and Hale kept all behind him with
Redpath not able to make up ground on the 25 car of Hale.
Barrett had moved from 6th on the grid to 3rd but could not make up any further ground.
Final results were 1st Hale (25)
2nd Redpath (10)
3rd Barrett (52)
Fastest lap… 15.10… by Hale.
Race 2 - Sponsored by Juicy Isle (12 lap FINAL )
Once
again due to time restraints we were limited to only two events so the
second race for the evening was the final of our Super Series.
Pole position over the previous 3 heats, including Hobart gave pole position to Redpath (10) , with Henri (33) on P2
The pace was hot with both Redpath and Henri going for it with Hale in third waiting for any opportunity to pass.
That
came on lap 4 when Redpath lost control and was hit heavily by Henri,
destroying the right rear wheel and axle. Redpath suffered little damage
in the altercation and managed to restart at the rear of the field as
it required when he was the cause of the stoppage.
This left the
gate wide open for Hale who maintained the lead until the next yellow
flag on lap 11 when Redpath, who had given it all he had to catch up from the rear making it to 4th before the right front radius rod broke (due to heavy contact earlier in the race) letting the axle give way, and coming to an abrupt stop in turn one (Luke was happy not to have finish up on all four wheels!)
In the dash for the line
Barrett (52) made a major effort to pass Hale (25) but the 25 car of
Hale was well suited to the track conditions and took out the final in
style for his first Feature Win for the season.
Final results were 1st Hale (25)
2nd Barrett (52)
3rd Pitt (16)
Fastest lap… 14.91… by Hale.
Comment
It
is worth noting that with 4 race meetings completed for the season
there has been a different points winner for the night on each occasion.
Round 1 – Substituted to Hobart - Max points ….. Luke Redpath
Round 2 - Latrobe… Max points ….. Bruce Pitt
Round 3 – Hobart Max points ….. Geoff Henri
Round 4 - Subsituted to Latrobe Max points ….. Nathan Hale
This shows that there are several cars capable of taking out the night which is a great start for our season.
Commentary by …. Peter Hale
REDPATH TOP POINTS FOR WSS SUPER SERIES NIGHT ONE
4 Dec 2010 - CLIPSAL WSS SUPER SERIES ROUND 1
(Substitute for Round 1 of 12 Round Super Series)
The
Clipsal Super Series was planned with a two night, one in Hobart and
one in Latrobe. It planned as a support event to the World Series
Sprintcar nights, also over the two nights.
Points for the two nights would be totaled and the series winner named.
With
washouts on the Clipsal Series 1 and 4, so the night points for this
Super Series would now be counted for the Clipsal Season Championship to
make up for the washed out series 1 & 2.
Rain and
programming were going to be limiting for the two night Super Series and
as it happened, we were only able to get four of the six races planned.
Still the Series gave some great racing with a dead smooth track requiring changes in set up to suit.
Race 1 - (10 lap heat)
The
track was near perfect but hard on tyres. But a flat track is always
great to drive on. Pitt and Redpath were hard at it starting from the
rear of the grid with Hale getting the jump and starting to lead .
Pitt and Redpath tangled and caused a stoppage.
Soon
after the restart, Pitt car did a massive cartwheel down the track in
turn 2 causing severe damage, just as Hale again managed to get out from
P4 to the lead. Another restart but the end of the night for Pitt.
By
now Redpath was getting going and chasing Hale. The Hale car then
started to slow, with all the restarts and rolling laps, it had run out
of fuel. The race had taken 15 minutes to complete the 10 laps at around
15 sec a lap.
Final results were 1st Redpath (10)
2nd Barrett (52)
3rd Henri (33)
Race 2 - (10 lap heat)
The second heat was a little less damaging to the cars although tyres were destroyed with the hard , but smooth track surface.
Despite the hard surface it was a track the drivers liked.
Final results were 1st Henri (33)
2nd Redpath (10)
3rd Hale (25)
Due to the World Series Sprintcar (WSS) events and the threat of rain, the lightning Sprints were unable to get a Final.
Points from the our Super Series would be carried over to the second night of the WSS.
Rain was a real threat again for all heading to Hobart but as it turned out, the night went off without any rain delays. Cars were again down in numbers but predicting a winner was a challenge.
Race 1 - (10 lap heat)
Geoff Henri (33) had his engine rebuilt after a disastrous hole in the piston issue the week before. As it turned out, it was 4 pistons, so a great effort from Geoff to get to the Hobart meeting.
Henri (33) drew pole position and no one was brave enough to pass him as he did more off road bouncing than normal.
Hale (25) held it together to get a 2nd with Luke Redpath (10) 3rd, doing all he could to pass. The Redpath (10) car was now fitted with power steering and Luke found the lack of 'feel' a challenge, but was no doubt thankful for the ease of holding the car on the track.
The suspension on the Kerry Boyd car (6) proved not to be up to the task and he stripped the spline on the right hand torsion bar arm, forcing him to the infield.
Race 2 - (10 lap heat)
Redpath (10) started P1 in this race and led the field for 3 laps until a Caution, then with some confusion was sent to the rear. From here, Henri (33) overtook the field from P6 within a lap. From then on it was a matter of holding station where possible, but Hale (25) managed to get all tangled up on the last lap and spun to the infield getting a DNF.
The repair work on Boyd car (6) with the stripped spline, proved not enough to handle the load and the rear suspension collapsed on the first lap.
Henri (33) showed them all how it was done again with a clear win against Pitt(16) doing all he could to spoil the party.
Barrett (52) was consistent to get a 3rd and Redpath (10) a solid 4th, after doing his best to put the car on its lid.
With the rebuilt engine in the Henri (33) car, making sure there was no lack of methanol, a new record may have been set with Geoff chasing extra methanol after having used 40 litres in 20 laps in the previous 2 races. Must have been the coldest engine on the track, as methanol is often used to cool an engine.
Feature - (15 lap FINAL)
With his two previous wins, Henri (33) started on P1 with Pitt (16) on P2 ready to have a go to prevent a third win by Henri.
Despite giving it all he had, Pitt was unable to pass Henri. Finally on lap 9 Pitt lost control and did a nice little pirouette and fell on its side. No real damage, but he was unable to take any further part in the race.
Redpath (10) took up the challenge on the high line and challenged Henri on several occasions. Quite a spectacle if you like cars jumping about, completely out of control but getting a solid 2nd.
Barrett (52) kept a watching brief but had to settle for 3rd.
FEATURE WINNER – Geoff Henri off P1
Peter Hale
PITT WINS ROUND 2
LIGHTNING SPRINTS - Latrobe Bendigo Bank Arena
6 Nov 2010 CLIPSAL SERIES ROUND 2
Welcome to the new web site and I trust that we can keep you up to date on this seasons racing.
The first round of the CLIPSAL SERIES was at Carrick but was unfortunately washed out. The weather was kinder on the next Saturday night at the Bendigo
Arena.
Cars were down on what we would like to have seen, but those running were fast and racing was exiting.
Race 1 - Sponsored by West Ulverstone IGA & Tas
(10 lap heat)
Bruce Pitt (16) was on pole and was unbeatable with 2nd and 3rd being fought out between Nathan Hale and Andrew (Bart) Barrett (52).
Luke Redpath (10) found the new V6 Magna powered car a bit of a handful as he struggles to find the right set up to suit the new power plant and extra weight. Geoff Henri (33) started the season by putting a hole in a piston, probably running a little lean on methanol, and Trevor (Trev) Brandes (11) had fuel supply problems and was probably lucky ‘not’ to put a hole in the piston. Both cars are repaired and ready to go for the next meeting. The race lap times were around the 14-15 sec range showing that all were still finding their way on the opening race for the season.
Race 2 - Sponsored by Fairbrother Bodyworks
(10 lap heat)
In this race Barrett (11) started on pole and found some great form as he led from start to finish. Hale (25) in a very badly handling car, managed to keep Pitt 16) at bay resulting in a 2nd with Pitt in 3rd.
The 25 car was later discovered to have the wrong ‘blocking’ set up after the Carrick Practice day.
The Latrobe track had developed a large rut on turn 3-4 and if you hit it at the wrong angle, the car went wherever it wanted to. A scary feeling!
Feature - Sponsored by Gowan Toyota
(10 lap FINAL)
The pole position for this race had to been drawn out between Barrett (52) and Pitt (16).
From the start, Pitt got clear and Hale, starting from P3, challenged Barrett for 2nd.
Redpath (10) had managed to sort out some of the handling problems of the new V6 and came through the field to challenge Hale (25) and dropped Barrett (52) back to 4th.
But passing the 25 was a little more difficult as the 25 car bounced all over turns 3-4. Hale lost a lot of momentum with the handling and Luke was able to pass Hale down the back straight, on the last lap, to pip him for second. Hale 3rd and Barrett 4th.
FEATURE WINNER – Bruce Pitt off P1 with fastest lap at 13.82 secs
Despite the lack of cars for the night, the racing was close and provided a good spectacle for an opening night.
We are all looking forward to see which car come out on top in the next event.
Tasmania 
