The West Australian State Title, that doubled as Round 4 of the R2C Competition Filters Pro Dirt Series, was held at Kalgoorlie International Speedway Saturday November 19, and after a torrid 35 lap Feature the new Champion is Warren Oldfield. Sixteen teams made the 600 km long trek from Perth to Kalgoorlie to contest the title. The weather was perfect, and the track was well prepared, so there were no excuses. The field was split into two groups, with three heats for each driver to determine the start order in the Feature. The first heat didn’t commence well, with three restarts, one being a racing incident that left the defending state champion Craig Vosbergen out of the race after heavy contact with a spun car. Michael Holmes in the #91 ex Steve Francis machine drove away from the rest of the field, impressing everyone with his dominating victory. Warren Oldfield led the second heat race from start to finish, with Brad Ludlow hot on his tail. Ludlow was unable to make a clean pass though, and had to settle for second. Craig Vosbergen was on a mission to make up for lost opportunities in the third heat, blowing the rest of the field away as soon as the green was waved. Rookie David Nylander showed an impressive improvement in his driving skill, successfully holding off Brad Ludlow and Warren Oldfield to take second place. The line up for the fourth heat finished the way it started, with Ben Ludlow winning, followed home by Jay Cardy and Brad Blake. Koran Atkinson lost second after spinning, and was sent rear of field. Warren Oldfield won the fifth heat by over half a lap from Jason Moyle, who had Michael Holmes hot on his tail. David Nylander went too wide while running fourth, hitting the main straight fence, leaving him unable to finish the race. The sixth, and final heat race in the championship, saw Brad Ludlow shoot from the pack like a bullet, with no one able to catch him. Jeremy Hale was successfully keeping Brad Blake out of second place, but spun on his own with a few laps to go, giving Blake the position from Jamie Oldfield. All sixteen cars were on the track for the Feature and the action started from the second the green flag was unfurled. It was going to be a very tough contest, with many competitors wanting the glory of a state title victory. The feature race was fast and dusty, after a few yellow light restarts. Warren Oldfield once again got off to a great start to lead the race. The surprise packet of the meeting though was Michael Holmes, who on a mid race restart, pulled a smooth inside move on Ludlow, to slide into second. He then proceeded to pull away, and challenge Oldfield for the lead. The battle between the leaders had the crowd on the edge of their seats, with both drivers showing a very impressive amount of skill in how to handle a powerful Late Model. Unfortunately for Holmes his brilliant run ended when they hit lapped traffic, forcing him infield, costing him valuable positions. When the chequered flag dropped Warren Oldfield was a clear winner, leading the race from start to finish. Warren said he was flooded with an enormous amount of relief when he passed the chequered flag. The honour of being crowned state champion is the highlight of any driver’s career, and the results prove that Warren Oldfield is fully capable of standing on the top step of the podium in any major race. Oldfield now looks forward to his first meeting as the new State Champion, as the Late Models head south to Albany for Round 5 of the R2C Competition Filters Pro Dirt Series on November 26. WA State Title/R2C Competition Filters Pro Dirt Series Round 4 – Feature Race Results
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