WORLD SERIES HISTORY MADE AS ANDERSON TAKES FIRST WIN
Albury’s Grant Anderson has claimed his first World Series Sprintcars feature win at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway joining his father David in the Australian Speedway history books to become just the fourth father-and-son duo to claim World Series wins.
George and Brooke Tatnell, Ray and Brett Lacey along with Max and Mitchell Dumesny were the only other father-and-son feature race winners of the series, with the Dumesny’s joining the exclusive club ten years ago after Mitchell’s memorable win at Parramatta where he collided with Robbie Farr on the final straight to cross the line upside down.
Anderson’s win however was far less dramatic but no less deserved, having campaigned as a contracted driver in the past with the elusive dream of one day beating the best in the business in the nation’s most time honoured speedway championship.
After qualifying second quickest in his flight behind a staggering 9.986 second lap from Warrnambool’s Cory McCullagh, Anderson acquired a pair of fifth placings in his heats, locking him directly into the Gold Shootout, and subsequently onto a front row start for the 35-lap feature event.
The 20 car grid had a notable omission however, with series leader Kerry Madsen unable to advance from the B-Main after a heat race retirement from a tangle with Darren Mollenoyux undermined his points tally.
James McFadden also had to undergo B Main duties to salvage his night, winning convincingly and starting the A-Main from an unfamiliar seventeenth on the grid.
David Murcott claimed pole position but elected to start on the outside of the front row, forcing Anderson to start from the inside, and while the topside of the track looked to be the fastest way around the high banked circuit, Anderson immediately took advantage of the opportunity to start from pole and found the lead before the end of the first lap.
Anderson led every lap to the end in a ferocious race that was amazingly free of stoppages, while Murcott held on to second and McCullagh claiming the last spot on the podium after starting from the second row.
“This is such a confidence boost for our whole family and team. It’s not a big budget and I’ve been criticized in the past for not being any good on heavy tracks, but to be able to win in this quality of field on a track like that is a massive achievement and we’re very proud,” Anderson said.
The Horrell Motorsports team were in impressive form off the track, rapidly changing a motor between the Gold Shootout and the A-Main to propel Steven Lines to a fourth-place finish, and back into the lead of the Speedweek points tally, opening up a gap of 76 points over Madsen, with a further 69 points back to McFadden who finished the night fourteenth.
Jamie Veal advanced four positions to finish sixth and claim the American Racer Hard Charger Award while Californian Cory Eliason also advanced four spots to finish twelfth.
The fourth round will be hosted tonight by Avalon Raceway, before returning to Warrnambool for the Speedweek Grand Final on January 1.
Pic: The podium of Grant Anderson, David Murcott and Corey McCullagh.
WORLD SERIES HISTORY MADE AS ANDERSON TAKES FIRST WIN
Albury’s Grant Anderson has claimed his first World Series Sprintcars feature win at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway joining his father David in the Australian Speedway history books to become just the fourth father-and-son duo to claim World Series wins.
George and Brooke Tatnell, Ray and Brett Lacey along with Max and Mitchell Dumesny were the only other father-and-son feature race winners of the series, with the Dumesny’s joining the exclusive club ten years ago after Mitchell’s memorable win at Parramatta where he collided with Robbie Farr on the final straight to cross the line upside down.
Anderson’s win however was far less dramatic but no less deserved, having campaigned as a contracted driver in the past with the elusive dream of one day beating the best in the business in the nation’s most time honoured speedway championship.
After qualifying second quickest in his flight behind a staggering 9.986 second lap from Warrnambool’s Cory McCullagh, Anderson acquired a pair of fifth placings in his heats, locking him directly into the Gold Shootout, and subsequently onto a front row start for the 35-lap feature event.
The 20 car grid had a notable omission however, with series leader Kerry Madsen unable to advance from the B-Main after a heat race retirement from a tangle with Darren Mollenoyux undermined his points tally.
James McFadden also had to undergo B Main duties to salvage his night, winning convincingly and starting the A-Main from an unfamiliar seventeenth on the grid.
David Murcott claimed pole position but elected to start on the outside of the front row, forcing Anderson to start from the inside, and while the topside of the track looked to be the fastest way around the high banked circuit, Anderson immediately took advantage of the opportunity to start from pole and found the lead before the end of the first lap.
Anderson led every lap to the end in a ferocious race that was amazingly free of stoppages, while Murcott held on to second and McCullagh claiming the last spot on the podium after starting from the second row.
“This is such a confidence boost for our whole family and team. It’s not a big budget and I’ve been criticized in the past for not being any good on heavy tracks, but to be able to win in this quality of field on a track like that is a massive achievement and we’re very proud,” Anderson said.
The Horrell Motorsports team were in impressive form off the track, rapidly changing a motor between the Gold Shootout and the A-Main to propel Steven Lines to a fourth-place finish, and back into the lead of the Speedweek points tally, opening up a gap of 76 points over Madsen, with a further 69 points back to McFadden who finished the night fourteenth.
Jamie Veal advanced four positions to finish sixth and claim the American Racer Hard Charger Award while Californian Cory Eliason also advanced four spots to finish twelfth.
The fourth round will be hosted tonight by Avalon Raceway, before returning to Warrnambool for the Speedweek Grand Final on January 1.
Pic 1: Grant Anderson savours the moment atop the wing of the #V37.
Pic 2: The podium of Grant Anderson, David Murcott and Corey McCullagh.