Speedway
THE Street Stock State Title ran at the Narrogin Speedway at the weekend.
Collie was represented by five local drivers and several other members of the Collie Racing Drivers Association. One was Jaimie Oldfield who went on to win the title.
After a relatively clean night of racing on Saturday when drivers had mechanical issues but little crash damage, Sunday was full of drama.
The track was smoother but dryer and it was soon evident drivers were pushing themselves to the limit to gain the points to qualify for the final.
Several cars received severe damage, some by their own doing.
Ethan Genev led his final heat all the way and as he entered the main straight for the final time slammed into the concrete wall. He went on to finish the race in first place but it wasn't all plain sailing from there.
As he drove down the back straight the car came to a stop with a ruptured fuel line spilling petrol into the wheel well at the back of the car. The exhaust pipe ignited the fuel resulting in one of the most serious looking car fires in speedway for a long time. Genev was out of the car safely and worked with the crash crews to try and extinguish the flames.
Pit marshall Adele Crowe called on the competitors in the pits to assist with fire extinguishers and this ultimately saved the Genev car from potential serious damage.
Racing was held up for a lengthy time as the track had been severely dampened at the fire site.
Meanwhile Genev's car was pushed back to the pits where the crew and many others worked on repairs.
Miraculously Genev was able to clean the car up and have it on the track for the championship final.
Crowe, after assisting as pit marshall at 25 state and several national titles in WA, has announced her retirement and will no doubt be remembered for her initiative in calling the drivers out to rescue Genev's car.
Of the five Collie drivers, Jaxon Gardiner failed by one point to qualify for the C Main final having suffered serious front-end damage in the first night of racing. A new front end assembly was put in on Saturday night and although completing the final heat race, Gardiner fell short on points needed.
Greg Avins also had mechanical issues on the first night with a damaged steering rack which caused him a loss of points and was then required to contest the B Main final from which he qualified for the A Main and finished 12th.
Josh Davies qualified directly into the A Main and went on to finish ninth.
Davies had fewer issues but raced with a well-worn engine which was down on pace for the title.
Paul Briggs was the highest Collie qualifier stating the A main from position eight.
He had a strong battle with Brett Brennan of Bunbury who eventually finished fourth. Briggs retired on lap 18 with a fair amount of smoke coming from the car following a power steering failure and also a loss of a water pump causing the engine to overheat. A consolation for Briggs was setting the fastest one lap time in the final.
Genev started the A main out of position 10 and with about five laps remaining moved into fourth place but the with the differential failing on the last turn to the checkered flag he dropped back to sixth.
In a thrilling and dramatic A Main, after transferring from the B Main.
It was raced in tricky conditions with rain falling for the majority of the main event.
Jamie Oldfield beat brother Jason Oldfield, Daniel Ameduri and Brett Brennan.
Oldfield's progress through the field was conspicuous at first, as the field did a brilliant job in the conditions.
After finishing third in the B Main, Oldfield moved to 16th after the opening lap and 15th on lap four.
By lap six he had moved to 14th, and a lap later it was evident he was on the move as he moved to 12th.
As the race intensified, and the rain was at its heaviest, Oldfield moved to ninth, and two laps later with a great passing move on the outside, jumped up to sixth place.
He remained in fifth until lap 20, where he passed two cars to move to third, and a lap later passed his brother on the outside in the back straight to take the lead in an exciting finish.
The race started with Dale Cockman and Matt Amato on the front row where Cockman getting the better of the start.
Jason Oldfield very quickly moved to second place as Matt Amato fell back to fourth, after also being passed by David Padmore.
With rain falling, the drivers did a remarkable job in the conditions, with Peter Herbert the first to retire on lap six after hitting the fence, but he was able to get off the track without causing a stoppage. The first stoppage would see Warren Oldfield end on the infield and a resultant stoppage, Dave Watson who was disqualified by officials for not taking up his correct position in the restart.
On lap ten, Daniel Ameduri started to make his move, passing Amato who dropped back to fifth. Wayne Thomson meanwhile hit the fence in the main straight, and Paul Colmer had no where to go, ultimately ending Thomsons run.
The rain was at its heaviest at the stoppage, with the real possibility that the race would not be able to continue. The race did continue, and the drivers drove brilliantly on the greasy track, which quickly improved and soon after as the rain eased, drivers were again setting the same times they were throughout the weekend.
Jamie Oldfield's impressive run through the field became more prevalent as he moved to fifth after just twelve laps, as Cockman continued to lead. The battle intensified with six cars fighting for the lead at the half way mark, with Padmore, Jason and Jamie Oldfield, Daniel Ameduri and Ethan Genev all locked together.
Behind that group Paul Briggs had been in a long battle with Brett Brennan, but retired on lap 18. In a small consolation for Briggs, he would set the quick lap of the A Main.
In a thrilling affair, Jason Oldfield took the lead on lap 20, but Jamie Oldfield, who had made several great outside passing moves, had one more up his sleeve, passing Jason Oldfield on the outside in the back straight.
The pair traded paint, and sparks came off the wall and Jamie Oldfield took the lead.
David Padmore tried to pass Jason Oldfield coming out of turn four and spun himself out of the race, after being one of the dominant drivers all weekend. Dale Cockman also slipped well back through the field, ending his chances.
Ethan Genev moved to fourth place with Padmore's demise, but was well behind the leader. Jamie Oldfield drove away to win in a brilliant display in at times greasy conditions, taking his second WA Street Stock crown. Jason Oldfield finished second, while Ameduri would finish third. Genev would run out of noise in the main straight, in a heart breaking end to his weekend, elevating Brett Brennan to fourth place.
The B Main was marred by two bad accidents, with Peter Walker and Jarrod Rick having a high impact crash in the front straight.
Both required medical attention. After a lengthy delay, Paul Bowman was involved in a violent rollover in turn three, which resulted in him needing medical attention as well.
Eventually Daniel Salter beat Warren and Jamie Oldfield and Greg Avins, who grabbed the final transfer spot late in the event.
In the C Main Peter Walker and Bob Wakefield advanced to the B Main after an entertaining affair.
Earlier, the final round of heats were won by Dave Watson, Kieran Norman, Ethan Genev, Paul Colmer, Tim Coxall and Matt Amato.
Finals results:
C Main - 19 Laps: 1. W81 Peter Walker, 2. W38 Bob Wakefield, 3. W16 Colin Metcalfe, 4. W2 Damon Lyall, 5. W104 Donna Vanzetti, 6. W17 Danny Stubbs, 7. W61 Wayne Glasson, 8. W777 Myra Oborne, 9. W41 Leanne Couper, 10. W6 Shane Kulker (16), 11. W74 Nathan Renfrey (15), 12. W24 Barry Roberts (15), 13. W32 Ben Ferris (11), 14. W98 Josh Partridge (11), 15. W27 Michael McCague (11), 16. W5 Mark Kulker (7), 17. W73 Richard Hicks (5), 18. W110 Clayton Blee (0). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.367, Fastest Lap: 19.897 W6 Shane Kulker
B Main - 20 Laps: 1. W76 Dan Salter, 2. W85 Warren Oldfield, 3. W51 Jamie Oldfield, 4. W11 Greg Avins, 5. W92 Shane Devonshire, 6. W75 Michael Comley, 7. W28 Tim Coxall, 8. W10 David Fall, 9. W70 Barry Hunter, 10. W38 Bob Wakefield, 11. W66 Clint Udecz , 12. W52 Paul Bowman (16 laps), 13. W18 Jason Higgs (14), 14. W19 Sean Barrett (14), 15. W54 Mark Furphy (9), 16. W81 Peter Walker (7), 17. W47 Jarrod Rick (7), 18. W71 Reece Jones (2). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.638, Fastest Lap: 19.959 W76 Dan Salter
A Main - 35 Laps: 1. W51 Jamie Oldfield, 2. W84 Jason Oldfield, 3. W83 Daniel Ameduri, 4. W20 Brett Brennan, 5. W82 Matthew Amato, 6. W4 Ethan Genev, 7. W46 Hayden Norman, 8. W0 Paul Colmer, 9. W43 Josh Davies, 10. W76 Daniel Salter, 11. W26 David Padmore, 12. W11 Greg Avins, 13. W45 Brad Pierce, 14. W95 Dale Cockman (31), 15. W12 Paul Briggs (18), 16. W15 Wayne Thomson (10), 17. W34 Kieran Norman (10), 18. W85 Warren Oldfield (8), 19. W44 Peter Herbert (6). DQ: W58 Dave Watson (9). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 1.722, Fastest Lap: 19.857 W12 Paul Briggs.
