Gavin Fletcher Wins 2014 Modified Sedan Title at Moranbah
12/06/2014…Pam Franz…courtesy of SSA Media Jason Crowe
Gavin Fletcher has won his maiden Modified Sedan Title tonight at the Moranbah Speedway, taking the lead at the half way mark to record a great win, in the Queensland Modified Sedan Title.
Fletcher left the best until last, winning his only heat race of the weekend in the final qualifying race (Heat 25), which placed him seventh going into the main event. He defeated Allan Nash who started from position eight, and Brendan Kennedy who started from position nine.
The race started with Brett Barron and Aidan Raymont starting from the front row, with David Jacobi and Mark Raymont starting from row two.
Barron got the best of the start, and Jacobi quickly moved to second, with Raymont relegated to third. Raymont moved back to second on lap four, with Adam Jorgensen moving to third, after a slight mistake from Jacobi saw him slip through the field.
Defending Champion, Shane Macdonald’s horror weekend, would conclude on lap six, the first retiree from the race.
A stoppage occurred on lap nine for Tegan Jennings, with Jennings forced to retire with a flat tyre.
Two laps later on lap eleven, Adam Jorgensen was sent to the rear of the field, elevating Fletcher to third place, behind Barron and Aidan Raymont.
From the ensuing restart, Fletcher was all over Raymont, and made the move into second place on lap fourteen, as Todd Doyle also passed the former Australian Champion.
Positions remain unchanged for the next six laps, with a great battle for the lead and positions in the leading pack, with Fletcher taking the lead on lap twenty one.
Two laps later a restart was called, and Raymont was sent to the rear of the field, after contact with Todd Doyle. Doyle soon after moved to second place, as Barron made a mistake and like Jacobi earlier, went back through the field.
Nash and Kennedy started to make their moves, moving to third and fourth respectively, with Barron back in fifth place with ten laps to go.
Fletcher had started to open a handy break on the opposition, and with five laps remaining, his main danger was eliminated, with Doyle suffering a flat tyre. Nash moved to second and Kennedy third, and that would be the way it finished, with Fletcher winning his first title by a convincing 4.271 seconds and in the process, set a new lap record of 16.356.
Rodney Pammenter who started from position eleven finished a credible fourth, while Jorgensen passed Barron on the last lap to finish fifth and sixth respectively.
Earlier, Lucas Gibson won the C Main, while Quintin Clarke, Shannon Blackburn, Jessica Raymont and Peter Gray advanced to the A Main, after finishing in the top four of the B Main.
RESULTS
C Main – 7 Laps: 1. C25 Lucas Gibson, 2. CN26 Brett Brady, 3. CN39 Jason Barnard, 4. CR73 Lee Volk, 5. MB25 Brandon Atto, 6. CN4 Dave Manly. Time: 2.02.851, Winning Margin: 0.412, Fastest Lap: 17.172 CN39 Jason Barnard
B Main – 20 Laps: 1. L81 Quintin Clarke, 2. SC22 Shannon Blackburn, 3. G29 Jessica Raymont, 4. CR78 Peter Gray, 5. CR32 Nathan MacDonald, 6. SC86 Darren Pearson, 7. L15 Max Clarke, 8. MK75 Myles Gilroy, 9. MK17 Matt Hawkings, 10. RK43 Brenton Scott, 11. CN39 Jason Barnard, 12. CR23 Robert Trapp, 13. C25 Lucas Gibson, 14. T66 Ross Bullimore (7 laps), 15. SC23 Jeff Smith (7), 16. CR73 Lee Volk (7), 17. CN3 Ben Cross (6), 18. MB25 Brandon Atto (3), 19. SB3 Darren Baldwin (2), 20. MK47 Karl Geisler (2). Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 0.803, Fastest Lap: 16.691 T66 Ross Bullimore
A Main – 40 Laps: 1. C42 Gavin Fletcher, 2. BB2 Allan Nash, 3. SC14 Brendan Kennedy, 4. CR8 Rodney Pammenter, 5. T25 Adam Jorgensen, 6. SB48 Brett Barron, 7. CR78 Peter Gray, 8. SC22 Shannon Blackburn, 9. N81 Quintin Clarke, 10. G28 Aidan Raymont, 11. BW21 Chris Ohl, 12. N36 David Jacobi, 13. G29 Jessica Raymont (39 laps), 14. MK52 Cameron Birch (39), 15. G25 Mark Raymont (39), 16. BB7 Todd Doyle (35), 17. SC37 Craig Franz (23), 18. MK19 Wayne Gilroy (11), 19. G22 Tegan Jennings (9), 20. Q1 Shane MacDonald (6). DNS: RK15 Brodie Boss. Time: No Time, Winning Margin: 4.271, Fastest Lap: 16.356 C42 Gavin Fletcher (RECORD)