By Dean Thompson
NYORA RACEWAY
Nyora Raceway has pulled off the biggest speedway show in years with huge entertainment offered on Saturday night.
Crowds were glued to Monster Trucks, Rollover Cars, a Jet Van and fireworks, and were also able to see traditional Speedway racing and a Demolition Derby as well.
Nyora’s number-one Dirt Modified race driver Daryl Hickson continued on his winning ways in his class; Victorian Standard Saloon Champion Rhys Lansdown won his feature race and three times state champion in Unlimited Sedans Warrick Taylor won the feature for his class.
The racing portion of the show saw the following results.
Hickson won heat one of the Dirt Modifieds ahead of Michael Ardley and Bendigo racer Paul Tindal.
Nyora and Hot Rod legend Lloyd Hobson was back behind the wheel of the family Dirt Modified normally driven by his son Todd and finished fourth.
Matt Reddecliffe picked up a win ahead of visiting racer Kevin Greene in the second heat with Reddecliffe timing on one lap under the fifteen-second mark.
Reddecliffe won heat three, with heat four seeing Hickson also doubling up with heat wins ahead of Tindal and Shane Ardley.
The previous Dirt Modified event at Nyora ran ‘flag-to-flag’, and did the same this time around with Hickson scorching around the track just four seconds short of his race record.
Hickson defeated Reddecliffe with Michael Ardley in third; Greene was next and Hobson in fifth spot.
There was plenty of local racers in the Standard Saloon action with Bunyip driver Mitch Blencowe winning heat one with a five second margin back to Chris Miles and Jack Yeomans.
Mornington Peninsula-based racer Ash Dean started with a win in his first heat race in front of Mark Miles and Jeff Blencowe.
Poowong’s Owen Cecil won heat three in front of Andrew Miles and Brodie Robertson, while Victorian champion Rhys Lansdown – visiting from Wahgunyah on the Murray River – claimed victory ahead of Matt Leek and Mitch Blencowe in the fourth heat.
Owen Cecil’s younger brother Harry won the fifth heat race in front of Mark Miles and Mitch Blencowe, while Chris Miles claimed a win in the sixth heat race ahead of Gus Argoon and Owen Cecil.
Standard Saloon feature action began with Catani’s Mark Miles leading early from Owen Cecil and Lansdown, who moved passed Cecil on lap seven into second.
A move on Miles didn’t come until lap thirteen of fifteen and from there Lansdown created a little gap between himself and the Miles to win with Cecil in third, Chris Miles in fourth and Harry Cecil in fifth spot.
With a Victorian title coming up at Nyora Raceway the Unlimited Sedans took advantage to get some laps in with times getting close to the track record.
Nyora member Warrick Taylor claimed heat one in front of Darren Forrest and Victorian champion Peter Cox.
Another Nyora member Travis Ramsdale won the second heat race by almost half a lap ahead of Cox and Taylor.
Cox won the third and final qualifier in front of Daryl Nicolson from the nearby Drouin club and Travis Ramsdale.
A fifteen-lap final finished the night, with Cox leading the early laps with Ramsdale in second before Taylor came through to the front.
Forrest and Ramsdale exchanged spots as Cox dropped out of the race and Forrest found himself in second before Ramsdale snatched the spot back.
The race finished with Taylor wheeling the big Late Model chassis car around consistently under sixteen seconds finishing two seconds ahead of Ramsdale, Forrest, Cory Ramsdale and Gavin Ough.
Ending the nights competition was the Demolition Derby.
The massive crowd was in full voice for the big event with a number of local heroes amongst the entrants, including Batman in the Bat Mobile, the Stig, and others.
Taking the win was Jackson Basten, a regular on the Demolition Derby circuit.
