Raymont Top Points After Night 1 at National Modified Sedan Title
19/04/14…Pam Franz…courtesy of Jason Crowe SSA Media
Defending Champion, Aidan Raymont, has put himself in the best possible position to defend his Australian Modified Sedan Title, after going through the opening night undefeated, in front of a big crowd at Albany’s Attwell Park.
Raymont leads Mark Carlin and Aydan Trewern who both recorded two victories, while Greg Worling and Rodney Pammenter are fourth and fifth respectively.
The racing was befitting an Australian Title, with three wide racing in every race, which gave the big crowd plenty to be happy about. The night produced ten different winners from the fifteen qualifying heats, with hardly any damage.
The opening heat was a thriller with Mark Carlin coming from the back of the field to defeat Martin Hawson on the line. Carlin drove a brilliant race, passing every car on the outside. With five laps remaining, Carlin was still in fourth place, as he battled with Laurie Dowsett and Martin Hawson, while West Australian Champion, Kye Blight lead the race. Blight would suffer mechanical issues, and would drop back through the field in the concluding stages, elevating Hawson to the lead. Carlin pursued Hawson for three laps, and in a thrilling finish he passed Hawson on the line to win by 0.036. Laurie Dowsett would claim third.
Heat two would not be a good one for Lindsay McAuley, suffering a flat tyre while in a prominent position. Greg Worling meanwhile, took full toll of his front row start with a solid victory, downing Matt Kata and Brett Barron.
Heat three provided plenty of action, with John Pursers’ campaign getting off to the worst possible start, failing to finish as the Monaro overheated. Ross Bullimore and Neville Bylund would make contact in the main straight resulting in a restart. The resultant restart would see Bylund spin again in turn four, as Victorian Dave Dolic went infield with his car continually cutting out. The home crowd came to life as Aydan Trewern (right) who started out of position five took the lead on the second last lap, defeating Rodney Pammenter and Christopher Hayden.
Jason Pearce and Clint Noakes started on the front row of heat four, and the pair would finish first and second at race end, but it would be Noakes as the victor. Pearce would hold off the challengers, with Michael Hamon finishing third.
Aidan Raymont would lead all the way in heat five, but he didn’t have it all his own way, with Matt Noakes trying continually to pass the defending Champion. In another thrilling finish, Raymont would hold on to win by a mere 0.123, with Todd Doyle finishing third.
After narrowly missing out on victory in his opening heat, Martin Hawson was way too good, as he recorded a win in heat six. Hawson easily accounted for Clint Noakes and Jason Pearce by 3.698 seconds, but Noakes and Pearce who raced side by side for the majority of the race were only separated by 0.200.
After winning heat five in a thrilling finish, Aidan Raymont showed his class in heat seven. After starting from position four, he quickly assumed control of the race to defeat Lindsay McAuley and Gavin Lorensen.
Mark Carlin and Rodney Pammenter (right) would race side by side for three consecutive laps in heat eight. Carlin would take the win, but contact in the concluding stages, which would see Pammenter make contact with the fence, was deemed an unfair move by the officials, relegating Carlin to second. Sam McAuley of Western Australia would finish third.
Greg Worling made great progress during heat nine to come from the back of the field to finish third. He was aided by a five lap restart, as a result of contact with another driver, which would see the New South Welshman spin in turn four. Just ahead of him, two Albany based drivers, Laurie Dowsett and Aidan Trewern raced side by side for several laps, with Dowsett getting the upper hand to win in another close finish, this time 0.239.
Heat ten would see two false starts, followed by Ross Bullimore losing a wheel in turn four. Neville Bylund would set the quick lap of the race, on his way to defeating Michael Hamon and Barry Hall.
John Pursers horrow run continued in heat eleven, spinning in front of the field in turn one on the opening lap. Pursers’ car suffered damage in the ensuing contact, with also involved Trevor Mills. Sam McAuley would join Purser soon after with a flat tyre. In a brilliant three way battle, Rodney Pammenter, Matt Noakes and Aidan Raymont (right) would continually trade the lead. With a lap remaining Noakes went to the outside of Pammenter, with Pammenter running wide in an attempt to block the move. Raymont went underneath the pair to win in another close finish.
Calon Ball would hit the fence in turn one in heat twelve, after just four laps, ending his race. Greg Worling meanwhile had hit the front, after starting from position five, and recorded his second win of the night, with Lindsay McAuley and Clint Noakes filling the minor placings.
Mark Carlin started on the front row of the grid in heat thirteen, and that was as close as his opposition got to him, as he won by the biggest margin of the night (7.741), accounting for Daniel Drewett and Laurie Dowsett.
Heat fourteen provided another brilliant finish, with Jason Pearce, Todd Doyle and eventual winner Michael Hamon, racing very closely throughout the twelve laps. Hamon defeated Doyle by 0.190, with Doyle, Pearce and Glenn Pagel crossing the line a mere 0.625 behind Hamon.
The final heat of the night, would see Aydan Trewern take the win, after giving eventual runner-up Peter Gray a big lead. Trewern quickly closed the gap and took the lead at the half way mark of the twelve lap qualifier. Steve Beres would finish third.
OFFICIAL POINTS
1 A1 Aidan Raymont 108
2 V42 Mark Carlin 100
3 W12 Aydan Trewern 100
4 N33 Greg Worling 95
5 Q28 Rodney Pammenter 92
6 W57 Mick Hamon 87
7 W23 Clint Noakes 87
8 W14 Laurie Dowsett 82
9 V72 Martin Hawson 81
10 W22 Jason Pearce 74
11 Q37 Todd Doyle 64
12 W21 Matt Noakes 64
13 W29 Lindsay McAuley 61
14 V69 Daniel Drewett 55
15 W19 Neville Bylund 54
16 Q49 Brett Barron 53
17 W17 Matthew Kata 48
18 W77 Steve Beres 46
19 V25 Christopher Hayden 46
20 Q10 Gavin Lorensen 45
21 V15 David Smith 43
22 V81 Rodney Burr 43
23 Q44 Glenn Pagel 40
24 W18 Adam Houston 40
25 W83 Sam McAuley 39
26 Q32 Nathan Macdonald 38
27 Q78 Peter Gray 37
28 N62 Trevor Mills 36
29 W91 Jeff Steele 35
30 Q66 Ross Bullimore 34
31 W13 Barry Hall 34
32 Q27 Shane Macdonald 33
33 W8 Calon Ball 33
34 W74 Allan Mortimer 26
35 Q93 Jason Beer 24
36 Q2 Allan Nash 24
37 W47 Peter Fraser 24
38 W11 Sean Theyer 23
39 V3 David Dolic 19
40 N36 David Jacobi 18
41 W4 Miranda Ball 17
42 W71 Kye Blight 17
43 Q6 Bradley Stein 16
44 W9 John Purser 16
45 W46 Jason Batchelor 12
46 W61 Jake Blight 10