Gee Grabs Mt Gambier Glory
Gee Grabs Mt Gambier Glory…11/03/07…NASR/SSA Media Release
Newly crowned Australian champion Michael Gee continued his remarkable run of success with a slashing win in round six of the 2006/2007 National Super Sedan Series at Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway on Friday night (March 9). After qualifying his Weatherall Prestige Autobody Ford Taurus in position five, Gee swept into the lead on lap three and was simply unstoppable as he stormed to victory in the opening round of the Speedway Racing News Triple Crown.
Victorian champ Lucas Roberts enjoyed a much deserved change in fortunes, starting from pole position aboard his Heartland Raceway Pontiac and ultimately finishing in second spot after drifting back as far as fourth in the early stages of the 30-lap feature event. New South Wales champion John Leslight, fresh from a win in Western Australia last weekend, annexed third spot ahead of South Aussie sensation Dan Miller and defending series champ Wayne Randall.
Rockhampton’s Michael Doblo secured his best result in NSSS competition with a sixth-place finish ahead of early race leader Darren Kane, who collected the Oval Express Best Presented Car and Crew Award in addition to the AFCO Lucky Sevens. Local favourite Dave Gartner, Wayne Belk and Michael Tomkins rounded out the top ten. Wayne Brims was next in line and picked up the Sport Engines Hard Charger Award for his effort in advancing from the back row of the grid. David Nichols was the best of the Tasmanian contingent in 12th spot, followed by fellow islander Jarrod Harper, Bill Miller, Wayne Miles, Keith Higgs and Brad Smith.
Heat race wins were shared between Gee, Roberts, Leslight, Doblo, Higgs and the unheralded Daniel Miller, whose performance belied a lack of experience at the elite level.
Kane was sensational in the Dash races, advancing from third to win the JB Couriers B Dash over Miller, Doblo, Gartner, Randall and Paddy Ward before backing up to annex third spot in the Speedway Sedan Digest A Dash behind Roberts and a hard charging Higgs. Leslight, Gee and Miller completed the field in the A Dash.
Bill Miller took out the Bilstein B Main over Miles, John McGeorge and Smith, all of whom advanced to the feature race field. Tony Barklimore and Brett Hignett were the best of the rest, followed by Peter Nicola, Ashley Bergmeier, Wayne Brims, Steve Jordan, Michael Hickey, Kym Cotterell, Colin Neville and Wesley Hose. However, Brims and Nicola utilised provisionals to join the feature field.
The start of the feature event saw Kane continue his heroics, surging into the lead on the opening lap ahead of Higgs, Gee and Roberts. The first restart came on lap three when Ward, Miles and Smith were involved in an incident in turn four. Immediately after the resumption, Gee assumed the lead and took control of the race. The second and final interruption came on lap 10 when McGeorge, who had been advancing one position each lap and was looking strong, spun and was collected by Miles, Ward and Peter Nicola.
Having taken over second spot, Roberts quickly found himself under pressure from Leslight and these two remained in close company through to the chequer as Kane and Higgs inexplicably dropped out of podium contention. Dan Miller impressed everybody with his drive into fourth position as the highest placed non-contracted driver. In finishing fifth, Randall has maintained the series lead, albeit by a reduced margin.
Hard luck stories throughout the night included Michael Nicola, Steve Vaughan and Queenslander Geoff O’Keeffe, all of whom failed progress beyond the heats.
A Main – Michael Gee, Lucas Roberts, John Leslight, Daniel Miller, Wayne Randall, Michael Doblo, Darren Kane, Dave Gartner, Wayne Belk, Michael Tomkins, Wayne Brims, David Nicholls, Jarrod Harper, Bill Miller, Wayne Miles, Keith Higgs, Brad Smith DNF – John McGeorge, Paddy Ward, Peter Nicola
B Main – Bill Miller, Wayne Miles, John McGeorge, Brad Smith, Tony Barklimore, Brett Hignett, Peter Nicola, Ashley Bergmeier, Wayne Brims, Steve Jordan, Michael Hickey, Kym Cotterell, Colin Neville, Wesley Hose
Contingency Awards:
Oval Express Best Presented Car and Crew: Darren Kane
Speedway Sedan Digest Pole Winner: Lucas Roberts
Sport Engines Hard Charger: Wayne Brims
AFCO Shock Doctor Lucky Sevens: Darren Kane
2006/2007 National Super Sedan Series progressive pointscore (top ten): Wayne Randall 5334, John Leslight 4938, Michael Gee 4440, Darren Kane 3922, Steve Jordan 3897, Wayne Brims 3220, Paddy Ward 2978, Peter Nicola 2945, Dave Gartner 2724, Wayne Belk 2574.
The 2006/2007 NASR/SSA National Super Sedan Series is proudly supported by the following sponsors: Speedway Racing News, Sport Engines, Art by Mickey, AFCO Shock Doctor, Aussie Trackwear, Speedway Sedan Digest, Weatherall Prestige Autobody, Performance Wholesale, JD Couriers, Race Hard, Oval Express, Bilstein Shock Absorbers, McCall Communications, Ian Boettcher Race Parts, Speedway Sedans Australia (ASCF), National Association of Speedway Racing (NASR)