LMRA Sizzle In Final Show Before W.A. Title Last weekend at the Perth Motorplex the Late Model drivers here in the west had their final chance to do some laps prior to this weekends Western Australian Championships at Manjimup Speedway, and the way they went at it you would of thought they were already racing for the crown. The racing was red hot as sixteen of the west’s best went for it on the Kwinana high banks, and it didn’t matter whether they were racing for first or tenth the racing was some of the best seen at the Motorplex by the big bodied sedans. Many of the sports biggest names had their turn showing their skills, but in the end it was Brad Blake who showed them all a clean pair of heels to take the points on the night. He bounced back form a disappointing sixth in his opening heat to register two wins. The surprising thing was who won the other race. Veteran ‘Big Bad’ Bert Vosbergen grabbed a last corner win in the opening race of the night when he followed Warren Oldfield for the entire race, until Oldfield was baulked by lapped traffic. Oldfield had looked the goods all the way and was starting to stretch his lead by a couple of car lengths over Vosbergen, who took it to the young charger for most of the event. Vosbergen only needed the one opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands to take out a fine and long over due win. Blake may have won the other two events, cementing his favouritism for this coming weekend, but he didn’t have it all his own way. Warren Oldfield showed what he was capable of doing prior to mechanical problems in the final, and brother Jamie showed excellent speed early in the night. Jay Cardy was another to have a good night finishing with two third place finishes, and was destined for a top three in the final till a spin dropped him to the back of the pack. Marc Giancola had a consistent night until problems in the final, having some great battles with the likes Kevin Bell and Ryan Halliday. Others to impress included the two former AMCA champions Michael Holmes and Jac Dolmans and former Australian #1 Brad Ludlow. Both of the former AMCA pilots had some fine drives through the night in what are fairly new cars for both of them, while Ludlow started to sort the new chassis out as the night progressed After all three races the official placings were : Brad Blake 295, Jay Cardy 293, Michael Holmes 281, Bert Vosbergen 277, Marc Giancola 274, Warren Oldfield 274, Mark Webster 273, Brad Ludlow 270, Kevin Bell 270, Ryan Halliday 267, Jac Dolmans 265, Ryan Ludlow 259, Simon McNabb 254, Keith Gorman 245, Jamie Oldfield 175, Mark Matthews 160. Blake said afterwards in the pits “The car was great and I just love racing with ‘Stumps’ (Warren Oldfield) as you know, it was good to put on a race and I was gonna wait till the last five laps to get rid of him (laughs) but unfortunately he didn’t finish” The racing was pretty intense last Saturday at the ‘Plex’ but one thing is for sure, it will step up another level once they hit the big oval down in the south west at Manjimup Speedway chasing the coveted West Australian #1. Late Model Racing Australia would like to thank the series sponsor RACIN Tyres & Accessories suppliers of Hoosier Tires & R2C Performance Air Filters as well as series support sponsors Hot Shot Settlements, Duralite Trailers, Holmes & Associates, Able finance, Norring Grain, MOTOfoto, Battery King, AJN Transport, JT Transport, Litchfield Motorsport, Xtreme Pix, Kings 4 Cars, Roads 2000, Western Pacific, MOTOsport Management, Hutch Contracting, Dragon Industrial, Snap On Tools by Trevor Williams, Team Lucas, SAS Project Management, JD Premier Fitouts, BCM Motorsports Marketing & Promotions,
Release By Brad "Fat Rat" Steele |
