Third National Title To Dominant Kane

11/05/17…Webadmin…courtesy Jason Crowe SSA Media

Darren Kane has won his third National Super Sedan Title on Sunday night, after winning a thrilling Speedway Sedans Australia, National Super Sedan Title at Albany’s Attwell Park.

Kane defeated Dave Gartner, Mat Pascoe, Phil Barton and Mick Nicola after forty grueling laps, in a race which had just three stoppages.

Kane started out of position nine in the National Title, and systematically made his way through the field in a spectacular main event, witnessed by a massive crowd at the Albany venue.

Ryan Alexander and Michael Miller would start on the front row of the field, but it would not be a happy race for Miller who only lasted three quarters of a lap, as the South Australian broke a panard bar and almost rolled the car as a result.   Alexander in the opening lap had opened a commanding lead on the opposition, but it amounted to naught, as the race was brought to a complete re-start.

Alexander would again get the best of the start when the race resumed, with Pascoe getting a great start, moving to second place, while Mick Nicola and Phil Barton moved to third and fourth, at the expense of Warren Minshull who dropped from third to fifth.

Lucas Roberts’ race would be over after five laps, when he hit the fence on the back straight, resulting in a second stoppage.

The next seventeen laps would be some of the most exciting Super Sedan racing seen anywhere, as Alexander and Pascoe fought for the lead, while Barton and Nicola did likewise for third place.   On lap eleven Darren Kane moved to fourth place and joined Barton, Pascoe and Alexander in a four way battle for the lead, a battle that lasted for the next eleven laps.  The four drivers raced two and three wide, as the quartet caught lapped traffic.

Kane made a brilliant and decisive move in the main straight on lap twenty, passing both Pascoe and Barton to move into second place in the main straight, before passing Ryan Alexander in turn one on lap twenty three.  A lap later Kane moved under Chris Pavlovich and Dean Shore in turn four, as the pair then spun in front of Ryan Alexander, who was left with nowhere to go, ending the twenty three year old’s brilliant title.

The final seventeen laps would see Darren Kane open a small lead over Matt Pascoe, but over the remaining laps it extended as Pascoe came under increasing pressure from Barton and Dave Gartner in a great three way battle.  Gartner, who started from position twelve, moved into second place, while Pascoe dropped to third and then had to hold off further challenges from Barton, who drove brilliantly.

But Kane was too good, moving further ahead, lapping consistently quicker than the remainder of the field in the concluding stages, driving his way to a third National Title.   Dave Gartner finished second in the title for the second year in a row, and the third of his career, after admitting to having the best race of his weekend in the final.  Matt Pascoe capped off a great month, winning the Queensland State Title, then the West Australian Title last weekend and then finished his West Australian campaign with an excellent third placing.

Phil Barton proved highly popular with the near capacity crowd with his fourth placing and as the first West Australian home in the A Main, while Mick Nicola rounded out the podium with a fifth placing, fifteen years after he won the title at the same venue.

Defending Champion, Callum Harper, never really got into the race, starting tenth, finishing ninth.

Fifteen of the twenty starters finished the race on a brilliant race surface, which required no water all night and offered no dust, which pleased both drivers and fans alike.

Super Sedan A Main Lineup – 40 laps: 1. S36 Ryan Alexander, 2. S47 Michael Miller, 3. W7 Warren Minshull, 4. V3 Mick Nicola, 5. Q15 Mat Pascoe, 6. W36 Phil Barton, 7. W82 Gary Higgs, 8. V16 Ash Bergmeier, 9. Q36 Darren Kane, 10. A1 Callum Harper, 11. S8 Dave Gartner, 12. V0 Lucas Roberts, 13. W8 Chris Pavlovich, 14. N17 Lachlan Onley, 15. W81 Dustin Higgs, 16. W34 Dean Shore, 17. W3 Damon Trouchet, 18. W99 Lee Aylett, 19. W53 Ryan Gnson, 20. W10 Kyle Larson

Result
1. Q36 Darren Kane, 2. S8 Dave Gartner, 3. Q15 Mat Pascoe, 4. W36 Phil Barton, 5. V3 Mick Nicola, 6. W7 Warren Minshull, 7. N17 Lachlan Onley, 8. W82 Gary Higgs, 9. A1 Callum Harper, 10. W81 Dustin Higgs, 11. V16 Ash Bergmeier (39), 12. W34 Dean Shore (39), 13. W99 Lee Aylett (38), 14. W3 Damon Trouchet (38), 15. W53 Ryan Gunston (38). DNF: W10 Kyle Larson (32), S36 Ryan Alexander (23), W8 Chris Pavlovich (22), V0 Lucas Roberts (5), S47 Michael Miller (0). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 5.117. Fastest Lap: 16.091 Q36 Darren Kane.