Pascoe Powers to Brisbane Win

SSA Media Release

Queensland champion Matt Pascoe proved too swift for his opposition in the opening round of the Supercheap Auto Archerfield Speedway Super Sedan Track Championship on Saturday night (January 14), leading throughout the 30-lap feature race aboard his Proline NQ Plastering Contractors Sweet-Dodge.  Current National Super Sedan Series point leader Darren Kane finished a gallant second ahead of Ian Brims and Wayne Randall, with Wayne Brims completing the first five.

Jason Campbell bounced back from his spectacular rollover at Parramatta to finish a fine sixth after qualifying third, beaten only by five of Australia’s best in another notable performance.  Likewise, Barry Craft and Greg Maher also impressed and were always in contention, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.

Paul Geary dropped a couple of spots to finish ninth ahead of Dale Christensen and Steve Pearce, who was making his first appearance of the season.  David Musch, Colin Moss, Jack Childs and Rodney Craft completed the field on a night when Super Sedan rookie Travis Barron (flat tyre) was the only driver who failed to go the distance.

The late start to the Brisbane Super Sedan season was certainly worth the wait with a strong 16-car field putting on a great display on a two-lane racetrack. Heat wins were shared between Pascoe, Campbell, Wayne Brims and Ian Brims, whose superb last corner outside pass on Geary in heat three was enough to secure pole position for the Dash.

In the Dash, Pascoe pounced from the outside front row to defeat Ian Brims and Campbell, with Kane advancing his Castrol Edge Dominator-Mazda RX8 to fourth ahead of Wayne Brims and Randall.  Not surprisingly, Pascoe subsequently elected to start from the outside front row for the feature.

When the green flag flew to get the feature underway, Pascoe pounced to lead Ian Brims through the opening lap before a restart ensued when Childs spun in turn four.  At the resumption, Pascoe wasted little time in distancing himself from the field, establishing a sizeable lead that remained static for much of the race, despite some close encounters with lapped traffic.  Kane, meanwhile, moved ahead of Campbell on lap three and then deposed Brims from the runner-up spot on lap 14.  A late-race restart enabled Kane to close the gap but he was unable to usurp Pascoe from the premier position.  The battle for third intensified as the laps wound down, with Brims withstanding the best efforts of Randall despite sparks emanating from the rear of his Brims Concrete Sweet-Dodge. Meanwhile, Wayne Brims moved ahead of Campbell with just three laps remaining and launched a valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful, bid for a place on the podium.  Craft and Maher were next best and far from disgraced, with the rest of the field finishing a lap in arrears.    

Results

Heat 1 - 10 Laps: 1. N111 Wayne Brims, 2. Q1 Matt Pascoe, 3. Q32 Wayne Randall, 4. Q47 Barry Craft, 5. Q22 Dale Christensen, 6. Q24 Jack Childs (9 laps). DNF: Q48 Rodney Craft. 

Heat 2- 10 Laps: 1. N76 Ian Brims, 2. Q36 Darren Kane, 3. Q97 Jason Campbell, 4. Q9 Paul Geary, 5. Q13 Greg Maher.  DNF: Q2 Steve Pearce (7 laps). 

Heat 3 - 10 Laps: 1. Q97 Jason Campbell, 2. N76 Ian Brims, 3. Q9 Paul Geary, 4. Q22 Dale Christensen, 5. Q31 Travis Barron, 6. Q24 Jack Childs, 7. Q12 David Musch, 8. Q48 Rodney Craft. 

Heat 4 - 10 Laps: 1. Q1 Matt Pascoe, 2. Q36 Darren Kane, 3. N111 Wayne Brims, 4. Q32 Wayne Randall, 5. Q47 Barry Craft, 6. Q13 Greg Maher, 7. Q66 Colin Moss, 8. Q2 Steve Pearce. 

Dash – 6 laps: 1. Q1 Matt Pascoe, 2. N76 Ian Brims, 3. Q97 Jason Campbell, 4. Q36 Darren Kane, 5. N111 Wayne Brims, 6. Q32 Wayne Randall

Feature Race - 30 Laps: 1. Q1 Matt Pascoe, 2. Q36 Darren Kane, 3. N76 Ian Brims, 4. Q32 Wayne Randall, 5. N111 Wayne Brims, 6. Q97 Jason Campbell, 7. Q47 Barry Craft, 8. Q13 Greg Maher, 9. Q9 Paul Geary, 10. Q22 Dale Christensen, 11. Q2 Steve Pearce, 12. Q12 David Musch, 13. Q66 Colin Moss, 14. Q24 Jack Childs, 15. Q48 Rodney Craft. DNF: Q31 Travis Barron. 

The next round of the Archerfield Speedway Super Sedan Track Championship is scheduled for March 17.  However, the Super Sedan action continues next weekend (January 21) at Kingaroy Speedway with round five of the Hotondo Homes (Rockhampton) Super Sedan Championship Series.