Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series qualifying came to a close while Group Three eliminations began in front of a massive crowd and a carnival atmosphere at Willowbank Raceway on Saturday.
The early morning air proved favourable for many Group Two competitors still qualifying while some in the championship hunt in the seven Group Three categories were culled during Round 1 eliminators.
Craig Geddes took Competition Eliminator qualifying by storm running two-tenths under the national B/D record with a 7.111 elapsed time ensuring he is the man to beat on Sunday.
Q2 was a session full of big numbers as Robert Coleman went .05 under the BB/GA record on a 6.963 for 2nd and defending champ Al McClure went .01 under the BB/FCA record with a 6.375 second pass to secure 3rd. Tony Bellert matched the A/DA national record on a 6.848 ET solidifying 4th on the list.
But Geddes was the man and after just missing out on the Competition Eliminator championship last year and is feeling confident of going one better in 2015.
“We thought it would run 7.118 or 7.119, that was what we were really hoping for so it was a big surprise to see 7.111,” said Geddes.
“We came here with the goal of trying to top qualify, run the record and get the bonus points.
“The car is on song and we’ve got a pretty reasonable handle on it. It’s been a steep learning curve but we’re quietly confident we can go a few rounds and hopefully Al (McClure) goes out early and we can bump him off this year!”
Super Stock title chaser Steve Norman had already run .1 under the national C/APA record going into Q3 but he managed to improve once again going .15 under the record with a 7.834 to claim top position for raceday.
Kim Fardella improved to 2nd place going .07 under the D/G record followed by Fred Soleiman, Rob Nunn and Brett Glover who all ran record setting pace on Day 2.
“We didn’t want to go that far under the index but we’re in a really good position as far as the points and I’m just trying to stretch a gap between us and Brett Glover from Perth,” said Norman.
“He’s a good boy and they are all good crew over there but I just want to make that gap bigger. We’re more than happy to be where we are in the championship, we’ve been close before but not this close.
“The boys and the girls on the crew are outstanding.”
The top two qualifiers in Competition Bike remained unchanged from Friday as Ross Smith was confirmed number one followed by Blair Pennington. Rob Cassar dropped one place to 6th while Daryn Schuster moved up from 12th to 9th. Smith and Pennington will each have the chance to reset their respective B/AB and C/AB national records when eliminations begin tomorrow.
Scott Porter ran under the national AA/SC record by .03 seconds in the final qualifying session with a 6.312 to take pole in Super Compact. Chris Tait’s 6.683 held firm to hand him 2nd position from Mark Jacobsen, Matt Lisle and newly crowned two-time champ Domenic Rigoli.
Earlier on Saturday morning, the opening round of eliminators were completed for Group Three of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.
Defending Supercharged Outlaws champ Doina Day benefitted from the first or worst rule when Day red lit and watched on as Dave Wallace touched the centreline disqualifying him from a certain win.
That meant Day stayed in the hunt for a second title but she will have to get past fellow contender Donald Freind who advanced on a solo. Paul Stephen is also still alive and if he can advance past Jake Donnelly, he will meet the winner of Day and Freind in Round 3 for all the marbles.
Joint Top Sportsman leader Stuart McBain was ousted from the championship race in Round 1 as was 3rd placed Paul Russo leaving Steven Fowler on the verge of clinching the title in Round 2 on Sunday. Fowler advanced past David Roderick but should he lose in Round 2 that opens the door for Graeme Hargrave to steal an unlikely win from 8th in the standings.
Unexpectedly Modified championship leader Michelle Osborn was eliminated in Round 1 by Rolinia Tremayne however Osborn can still win the title if Chris Farrell, Paul Stewart and outsider Jess Turner fail to advance through the points rounds tomorrow.
The Super Sedan championship remains a fatal four way as David Yanko, Stephen Griffin, George Tipouikidis and defending champ John Kapiris all advanced past Round 1.
Edgell Mallis was a surprise elimination in Modified Bike leaving Ian Read and Joe Khoury left to fight it out for the championship. Read and Khoury went through at the expense of Reegan Ward and Rowan Lind.
The Super Street championship is now a two horse race with two-time Super Sedan champion John Kapiris bowing out leaving Enzo Clemente and Harry Harris to fight it out after they negotiated safe passage to Round 2.
In Junior Dragster Eden Ward and defending champion Toby Austin, in his last appearance as a Junior, survived their opening matchups to keep their title hopes alive. Josh Baker and Jordan Spencer suffered defeat simultaneously eliminating both drivers from the running but Jake Cartledge maintained his chances with a first round victory.
Super Gas enjoyed the day off on Saturday and will kick off eliminations on Sunday.
Racing continues from 9am on Sunday.
For results from Day 3 of the Fuchs Winternationals please click here.
Images courtesy: dragphotos.com.au