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In The News - 2006 / 2007

Former national champion Robbie Farr, of Queensland, has struck the first major blow in his bid to win the Murcott's 24-Hour Australian sprintcar championship at the International Speedway at Latrobe.

After topping early qualifying on Friday night and eventually taking second-fastest time, Farr won Saturday night's 25-lap preliminary final in an action-packed night of racing.

West Australian Ryan Farrell, who topped Friday night's time trials, continued his form on Saturday to qualify on pole position for the preliminary final.

Farrell jumped away to an early lead from former Devonport driver David Murcott, now based in Melbourne, and Farr, who had qualified on grid three.

Launceston veteran Robin Dawkins was the top Tasmanian, starting out of grid four, with reigning Tasmanian champ Adrian Redpath, of Latrobe, in fifth.

Murcott was determined to do well on his former home track and found a way past Farrell in lapped traffic, but only held the lead for a short time as Farr charged past him to take the top spot.

The race was stopped soon afterwards when Sydney driver Mitchell Dumesny crashed heavily on the front straight with an end-for-end roll.

At the restart, Farrell jumped Murcott, but the former Devonport driver came back at him half a lap later, and subsequent contact sent Murcott into a wild roll and damaged Farrell's rear suspension, ending the night for both hopefuls.

Back in the pack, reigning Australian champion Brooke Tatnell, of Sydney, had been looking ominously threatening, despite starting from grid nine, and was gradually working his way towards the front.

At the time of the Murcott-Farrell incident he was in fourth, but was bumped up to second for the re-start.

Redpath had also got the better of Dawkins and was elevated to third when hostilities resumed.

The remaining 10 laps were fairly uneventful.

Farr took the chequered flag from the defending champion, who closed the gap in the final stages, with Redpath a close third.

Farr's one and only Australian championship win was in 2004, but he is now a step closer to a second title.

A crowd of more than 15,000 is expected at the Latrobe International Speedway over the next three days for the Murcott's 24-Hour Australian Sprintcar Championship.
The championship has attracted a field of almost 50 cars from all states, including reigning champion Brooke Tatnell, who has flown in from his US base to defend his crown.

The talented field also boasts a number of former Australian champions, state champions and former national champions from other divisions before they stepped up to speedway's equivalent of Formula One.

Included among the contenders are former three-times champion Max Dumesny, of Sydney, who is also a six-times World Series champion and won one of the two World Series rounds hosted by Latrobe in December.

Dumesny, who also won his first Australian title in Tasmania back in 1991, will be looking for a similar result this weekend.

While the World Series is spread over 16 rounds, the Australian title is considered the biggest one-off speedway event in the country. Other hopefuls include former national champion Robbie Farr, of Queensland, Australia's fastest woman on clay, Kelly Linnigen, and up-and-coming WA hot-shot Ryan Farrell.

Tasmania will have a strong representation on home soil, with the best chances of a local upset likely to come from reigning Tasmanian champion Adrian Redpath, of Latrobe, and Launceston's Jason Dawkins, both second-generation sprintcar racers.

The championship will get under way tomorrow from 7pm, with official practice and time trials, followed by corporate rides in one of only two two-seater sprintcars in existence in Australia, as well as rides for competition winners from several promotions run in recent weeks in conjunction with the championship.

Saturday's racing starts at 6pm, with 12 heats and a preliminary final run for valuable championship points, plus support racing from street-stock sedans and Formula 500 speedcars.

On Sunday there will be four more heats, two semi-finals and the all-important 40-lap final to decide the Australian champion. Support racing will again coming from street stock sedans and Formula 500 speedcars.

Gates open at 3pm both days. Racing starts at 6pm.

Ulverstone super Sedan driver Jason McPherson put on yet another spectacular drive in the 50-lap event at Hobart International Speedway on Friday night.
McPherson came into the meeting the favourite to win after he took a trifecta a fortnight ago, and didn't disappoint with awesome driving.

McPherson's second and third heat placings put him back in a provisional position of sixth for the pole shuffle and, ultimately, fifth for the final.

Hobart favourite Leon Cleary was the biggest mover in the pole shuffle and not only beat Ulverstone veteran Phillip Townsend, but continued to move through the remaining cars and land pole position. Fellow southerner Steve Latham found himself on the outside of Cleary in second after a win and a second in his heats.

After several re-starts in the final, McPherson put the pressure on the leading cars as he attempted to make a move around the outside of the field and successfully pass Townsend to settle in third.

Cleary and McPherson came together in a fight for second place, a contest decided when Cleary broke an axle and was forced to retire.

McPherson closed on Latham and the pair put in an entertaining side-by -side battle, providing the experience and driving ability to win without making much, if any, contact.

Another stoppage gave McPherson another chance to find the right line around Latham, which he did a few laps later taking the risk of the move around the outside of Latham.

McPherson explained that he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"After the last meeting (when he won the Kelvin Ransley Memorial) I felt a lot of pressure to do well tonight," he said.

"It's nice when people think I'm going to do so well but it does make you think harder about having a good result. It's such a good feeling to win this event."

McPherson now returns to Ulverstone to prepare for his next ambition -- the $30,000 Grand Prix at Latrobe next weekend.

Hobart will host its next meeting on February 10.

Tasmanian speedway fans can look forward to the biggest field of super sedans ever seen in the state this season, when more than 20 of the state's top drivers hit the track tomorrow night at Hobart International Speedway.

A field of 20-plus cars, including interstate competitors, will take to the track to vie for the honours and higher than normal prize money in the annual Super Sedan Grand National.

The race is the second highest paying event in the state.

Only the Latrobe Grand Prix, which will be run next weekend, offers greater prize money.

Ulverstone's Jason McPherson will be the favourite tomorrow night, after an outstanding drive that won the Kelvin Ransley Memorial in Hobart a fortnight ago. McPherson wrapped up victory with a spectacular trifecta.

He convincingly won both his heats before crossing the line more than half a lap ahead of second place getter, Bruno Jetson.

While McPherson won handsomely at the most recent meeting, he can expect stiff competition from the field of top V8 racers.

Tasmanian champion Jarrod Harper is back after blowing his engine at Latrobe a month ago.

Harper will be keen to get the extra track time and make sure everything is right for the Latrobe Grand Prix next weekend.

Racing on the infield track gets underway at 4pm and gates open at 2pm.

Hobart International Speedway hosts its final meeting of 2006 tomorrow night.

The super sedan series has produced some of the best racing seen in the state in several years.

The southern favourite duo of Bruno Jetson and Steve Latham are battling to stay at the top of the points ladder.

Jetson and Latham are the only southern racers in the top five, Latham leading Ulverstone's Jason McPherson by just eight points.

Tasmanian champion Jarrod Harper, of Hellyer Beach, is third.

Fellow southerner Mick Bagorski has also been producing some of the best racing of his career this season.

The Super Sedan guys will be contesting round five of the series at Latrobe today.

Then it will be round six in Hobart tomorrow night. On the support program, the modified production sedans will make a rare appearance at the Hobart track, along with the Tas sedans, who turned up to the last southern meeting with a massive 20-car field.

For the Tas sedans it will mean the final chance to get their cars right and achieve a good result before the annual Tas Sedan Classic, which will be held at the Hobart venue's next meeting.

The Classic is one of the most important races of the year, second to only the state championship.

The local top-running duo of Chris Gallagher and Dwaine Sonners, both of New Norfolk, are sure to put on some awesome racing as they continue their usual streak of running nose to nose to cross the line in first place.

However, they are guaranteed to have some stiff competition from Steve Jetson, who missed last meeting and will be trying to make up lost ground.

The junior sedans may show up with a slightly diminished field -- compared with their usual numbers of 10 or more -- after they did a bit of crashin' and bashin' at Carrick's Boxing Day meeting on Tuesday night.

New Norfolk's Josh Triffit made hard contact with the wall, injuring his ankle with a suspected fracture, while the Bursons car of Josh Claridge followed suit and also hit the wall.

Claridge got his foot caught inside the car in the process.

The biggest event in the juniors at Carrick was when Emma Dobson, 17, had a spectacular roll-over, one of the biggest flips seen so far this season.

Emma will, however, be present tomorrow night, as the team works overtime to get the car ready.

Emma's brother Shaun, 14, will also be in contention, and has so far been unbeatable.

Shaun has won every final at every track this season.

However, with the juniors' first Tasmanian championship only weeks away, the other junior drivers will be keen to break his winning streak and give themselves a good starting point for the title.

The Bombers Cup will round off during the New Year's Eve program, with the usual entertainment sure to be on the cards. State title-holder David Hart will be a favourite.
However, the best tip for the night would be the defending Cup winner, Andy Russell.

Russell, who is also a former state champion, has won the main event twice and the Cup three times.

He has a long track record of success in the bomber division and it is not unusual to see him win three out of three events on any given night.
Gates open at 2.30pm.

Children's entertainment starts at 4pm and racing begins at 6pm.