Vosbergen The Victor After Tough Battle
Craig Vosbergen was the clear winner of the 3rd round of the R2C Pro Dirt Series at the Perth Motorplex on Saturday night.
Twenty two late models put on a fast paced action packed show for the spectators on an extremely demanding track that took its toll on a lot of drivers and their cars.
The first two heats of the night the V8 division was split into two groups. Ben Ludlow won the first heat out of ten cars and last year’s Motorplex champion Brad Ludlow won the second heat out of 11 cars. Brad Blake was unable to make the first heat after encountering mechanical difficulties after hot laps.
The third heat of the night got off the a great start until the yellow lights came on, causing a double file restart, bunching the 22 car field together and unfortunately Ben Ludlow and Ryan Halliday came together at the front of the field on turn two, leaving the rest of the field behind them with nowhere to go. Some cars were able to continue the race and a lucky 14 finished behind Brad Ludlow who took the win.
After much work in the pits from dedicated drivers and crew members most of the late models made it back on the track for the final race, except Jason Oldfield whose car received too much damage from the previous race and Mick Rawcliffe with a mechanical issue.
Vosbergen had the fastest lap on the night in the feature race. Vosbergen made the rough track look smooth with his exceptional driving skill while a few struggled on the unusually harsh surface.
“I thought last week was hard but that was alot harder,” Vosbergen said after the win.
Warren Oldfield was second this time around after winning at the Motorplex’s season opener but was physically sore after the race from hurting his shoulder after hitting a rut, while Brad Ludlow struggled to hold on for third, racing for much of the race with a flat left front tyre, the result of a collision with Brad Blake after trying to avoid a stopped car.
The hard charger in the final was Jamie Oldfield who came from 19th to finish in 6th in the 14 lap feature event.
With round 3 won and done the late models will now turn their attention towards the Late Model West Australian State Title in Kalgoorlie this weekend.
Motorplex Race Results
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1st Ben Ludlow, 2nd Craig Vosbergen, 3rd Ryan Halliday, 4th Warren Oldfield, 5th Jason Oldfield, 6th Michael Holmes, 7th Jason Moyle, 8th Paul Stubber, 9th Bryn Haythornthwaite. DNF: Chris Biddle.
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1st Brad Ludlow, 2nd Jay Cardy, 3rd Jeremy Hale, 4th Koran Atkinson, 5th David Nylander, 6th Jamie Oldfield, 7th Matt Goodlad, 8th Simon McNab, 9th Nat Muir, 10th Peter Seaton, 11th Mick Rawcliffe.
Heat 3 (14 Laps): 1st Brad Ludlow, 2nd Craig Vosbergen, 3rd Brad Blake, 4th Warren Oldfield, 5th Matt Goodlad, 6th Jay Cardy, 7th David Nylander, 8th Jason Moyle, 9th Koran Atkinson, 10th Simon McNab, 11th Nat Muir, 12th Michael Holmes, 13th Bryn Haythornthwaite, 14th Peter Seaton. DNF: Jeremy Hale, Ben Ludlow, Ryan Ludlow, Jason Oldfield, Jamie Oldfield, Paul Stubber and Mick Rawcliffe.
Feature (14 Laps): 1st Craig Vosbergen, 2nd Warren Oldfield, 3rd Brad Ludlow, 4th Matt Goodlad, 5th David Nylander, 6th Jamie Oldfield, 7th Jason Moyle, 8th Koran Atkinson, 9th Ben Ludlow, 10th Nat Muir, 11th Michael Holmes, 12th Jeremy Hale, 13th Ryan Halliday. DNF: Bryn Haythornthwaite, Chris Biddle, Brad Blake, Paul Stubber, Jay Cardy, Peter Seaton, Jason Oldfield, Mick Rawcliffe and Simon McNabb.
Late Model Racing Australia would like to thank its 2011/12 corporate partners:
R2C Competition Filters
Able Finance
Racin Tyres & Accessories
MTi group
Hoosier
Tillco Engineering
Western Pacific
Snap On Tools – Trevor Williams
Empire Graphics
Goldfields Windscreens
Southside Engine Centre
Ultra Tune Morley
Immaculate Detailing
Hutch Contracting
Dragon Industrial
Snap On Tools Kalgoorlie
Lucas Oils
Blake Auto Centre
Moyle Engines
SWB Photography
MDR Trans
