A NEW single-lap record to sprintcar ace Bobby Daly and a stirring Legends Cup win to Jason May in the SDAV hot rods were the highlights of a big night of action at Rushworth Speedway on Saturday.
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Daly produced a sensational 13.254 lap in the feature race to ink his name in the record books.
Sprintcar action was from the 525 crate engine variety, which are otherwise known as LS Chev engines.
Three feature race qualifiers set the scene for fast laps late in the night under the cold air, when Shane Steenholdt and then Andrew Neilsen put down high 13 second lap times in qualifying heats.
Daly, Mark Laity and Neilsen won the three qualifiers.
A non -stop start to finish 20-lap feature race for the final was a three way battle between Daly, Steenholdt and Dillon Siely, with just one second separating all three when they crossed the finish line.
Daly ripped around the track in 13.254 seconds to set a new Rushworth Speedway record and take the top spot on the dais over Steenholdt and Siely, with Adam Greenwood eight and a half seconds back in fourth and Mark Laity on his tail in fifth spot.
SDAV hot rods once again battled for their Legends Cup and it was Jason May who would pick up the win.
Stan Marco Senior was second and James May finished third.
After clashing in each and every GV open saloon heat race, with Adam Box winning all three of their clashes, Box and Phil Lamb took their battle into the feature race where Box again held sway over the champion of the class Lamb.
Box crossed the line just over a second in front of Lamb after a great race long battle, while Michael Wicks was third ahead of Rachel Pratt and Thomas Conboy.
Consolation for Lamb was he took away the fastest lap of the night for the class when he clocked 17.860 in the feature race.
In the GV production sedan final, Wayne O’Keefe and Daniel Wilson put on a sensational battle, while the class champion Leigh Jeffery, who tried his hardest to pick up an elusive feature race win for the season, was having a great race with Shane Hutchins.
O’Keefe, who earlier won two of the three qualifiers, finished the winner just .169 of a second ahead of Wilson, who won the other qualifier during the evening with Jeffery, Hutchins and Scott Smith rounding out the top five.
O’Keefe also set the fastest time in his third heat of 19.074.
Another close finish in the GV ladies saloons came down to the two lead protagonists of the season Jacqui Fitzpatrick and Chloe Lamb, with Fitzpatrick winning two of the three qualifiers and Lamb the other.
Fitzpatrick in a close finish was able to hold on to the win with a .844 margin over Lamb, Cassie Wicks, Belinda Chalcraft and Kelly Nadort who rounded out the top five.
Ally Moore who had earlier finished second and third in qualifying races unfortunately couldn’t maintain that run in the final and a 19.069 lap time by Fitzpatrick in the final had her faster than the production sedan boys.
The GV junior sedans field returned to normal as far as results are concerned for Lachie Fitzpatrick who was fastest in the heats with two wins from three, while Issiah Hodge took the other win.
Fitzpatrick then went a little faster in the final with a best time of 19.230 as he took another feature win, this time from Tyler Gahan, Tristan McGraw, Daniel Smith and Hodge.
Rushworth Speedway closes the race season in two weeks' time with super sedans and the Grand Prix Midget Ironbark Classic joining the club sedans to thrill race fans on May 27.
