EVENT RECAP: WAKEFIELD PARK MOTOR RACING

Endurance racing for Pulsars and Excels was the feature of the Wakefield Park Motor Race Series second and final round on November 21 and 22.

MRF TYRES APRA CHAMPIONSHIP:
A third place in the final race of the season – the enduro for the faster group – enabled Josh Craig to take back-to-back MRF Tyres Nissan Pulsars titles. Earlier he set the stage with a win and a third in the 30-minute sprint races. 

With a huge 50-car entry, the field had to be split into two halves for four sprint races with promotion and relegation in place. They were followed with a pair of one-hours where the championship would be decided.

Matt Boylan was second in the series as they entered the final round and was fourth in race one and runner up in the second sprint outing. He went into the final outing needing a win while Craig had to place worse than tenth.

The other title contenders were Josh Haynes and Michael Osmond. Haynes was bundled back to fourth in the first race on the first lap before he mounted a great comeback to win. He then followed up with a fourth in race two. A sixth and an eighth left Osmond the job ahead.

Boylan was the early race leader in the final before Haynes passed him and led to the compulsory pitstops. Dimitri Agathos had the best stop to take the affective race lead but lost out to Boylan, Haynes, and Craig almost immediately. Boylan was again in front before Haynes regained the lead and took the race win. 

Boylan was on the comeback but was hit when passing a backmarker at turn nine. He suffered right front wheel and suspension damaged and his race was done. Chis Manning was elevated to fourth ahead of Osmond and Brianna Wilson who was later penalised five laps for a compulsory stop infringement.

In the other one-hour for the second group, Matt Leenman put in a strong second half hour to win ahead of Jamie Canellis. Harry Inwood was an early leader and was a strong contender until his decision to change front tyres. His pace fell away and he finished third ahead of Greg Dufficy and the shared entry of Rod Albronda and Marty Miller.

In the lead-up sprint races, Tom Khouri won the first narrowly ahead Leenman. Wilson fought through from seventh to take the second which meant she could join the fast group for the one-hour race.

SERIES X3 EXCELS:
A second and a win in the two one-hour races for the Series X3 NSW Enduro Cup gave 16-year-old debutant Sam Christison and Justin Ruggier the final round honours. Driving on their own, Cody Burcher and Preston Bruest were second and third. For Bruest that was good enough to take the title.

Coming into the round, Wil Longmore was the points leader, and he won the first one-hour. Christison held a handy lead at the compulsory pitstops, but the team miscalculated the mandatory time duration and Ruggier had to settle for second. 

Tim Colombrita and Jessica Martin shared the fastest car in qualifying and finished third ahead of Burcher, Breust, Ben Crossland, Drew Gould and Alec Morse, and Harrison Field.

Breust was second behind Christison in the top ten shootout for race two. Breust won the second race start before dropping to sixth in the matter of just a few laps. Christison took over the lead and with Ruggier went onto a dominant win.

After a fail to finish in the first, Bailey Sweeney entered a long battle with Longmore before he secured second place. Longmore would experience electrical gremlins and he lost all engine power that forced his retirement. Behind Burch and Bruest, Crossland led home Field, and Matt Woodward. After a spin at Turn 2 that put them to the back of the field, Gould and Morse recovered for eighth.

LEGEND CARS:
Lachlan Ward was in a class of his own among the Legend Cars. He won all five races – one of which was a reverse grid race – and took them with ease.

His nearest challenger was Shane Tate who scored seconds in both Saturday races. But any chance of taking the round folded with going off at turn two and getting stuck in the sand trap in race three. After that he came back for a third and a second in races four and five.

Electrical dramas meant Josh Hourigan would start race one from the back and came through for third. But a continuance of the dramas, put him down in race two and out of race three. But after that he came back for a third and second to finish off. Meanwhile Stuart Bond and Cody McKay share the thirds that were on offer.

STOCK CARS & INVITED:
It was meant to be Stock Cars & Invited but given the short notice, there was on a handful of the latter to compete. In his OzTruck Silverado Stephen Chilby was unbeaten taking out each comfortably. 

Brett Mitchell in his OzTruck Maloo was the best of the challengers after was second in three races despite being off the road a couple times. He was a retirement from the last when the tailshaft went on the pit straight.

Derek Hocking (Holden Commodore VE), Robert Marchese (OzTruck) with two, and Danny Burgess (OzTruck) shared third places over the two days and the latter finished the weekend off with a second in the last.