New Zealand’s Chris Kernohan has surprised everyone by winning the 2018 Webbcrete Australasian Junior Sedan Championship, going through the heats and final undefeated.

To begin the night, the six New Zealand racers had an opportunity to test out the new track with some hot laps, before they had an all Team New Zealand race. This would be another interesting battle, with a number of drivers battling it out for position. Chris Kernohan would fail to finish with some mechanical dramas, but would redeem this later in the night. Samuel Ashton would drive a brilliant race to defeat Jayden Fraser and Alana Buckthought.

When it came to the Australasian Championship heats, some brilliant racing was witnessed. Luke Malcolm would claim the first heat of the night in style, before New Zealand would get their first heat win against the Aussies in the hands of Chris Kernohan. Geraldton’s Bradley Short would then win the third heat of the night.

Come round two of the heat racing, Jorj Park and Zac Minshull would add their names to the winners list, while Kerohan would once again win his heat, defeating Bradley Short.

Kalgoorlie’s Dylan Parkes would win the seventh heat of the night, ahead of Jackson Derrick and Blake Webb who returned after a hit with the concrete wall in Esperance last weekend. Chris Kernohan would win heat eight, gaining the maximum 108 points and earning himself pole position for the twenty lap A Main. Jorj Park would also win his second heat of the night, claiming the lucky last of the evening.

With sixteen automatic qualifiers going straight into the A Main, a field of nine were to start the B Main. Jade McKeagg would display amazing sportsmanship, giving up her car for Kiwi Alana Buckthought to drive, after her car expired. With four to transfer to the A Main, a number of drivers fought hard to move through to the next final. Taj Vanzetti drove a brilliant race to take the win ahead of Samuel Ashton, Alec Vanzetti and Mitchell Baker who narrowly defeat Alana Buckthought to move through to the A Main.

Come the twenty lap A Main, a stellar field of twenty of the best racers assembled into a four wide salute for the crowd, which looked simply awesome (a video will be posted to the JSRA Facebook Page). Chris Kernohan and Dylan Parkes would start from the front row, which was a fitting, as Kernohan was driving one of the Parkes Racing cars.

As the race got underway, the first to retire would be Jackson Derrick who went no where from the start and failed to complete a lap. Bradley Short would spin in turns three and four, which would bring on the yellow lights and a complete restart.

When the race restarted, a number of drivers were desperate to get to the front. Some contact would be made throughout the field, with a couple of cars hitting the back straight concrete wall, but bouncing off and resuming battle. For Ryan Marshall, this would signal the end of his Trans Tasman racing, suffering steering damage to the Swift Racing Daihatsu Charade. Joshua Ahead would soon retire from the event as well.

Out in front, Chris Kernohan had already opened a sizeable margin ahead of Zac Minshull, while Blake Webb, Luke Malcolm and Jorj Park raced hard for the minor places. Bradley Short after being sent to the rear of the field started to charge back through and in no time, was back in the top 10. A restart would be called when Jorj Park and Dylan Parkes would make contact on the front straight, which saw Dylan Parkes sent to the rear of the field.

Hayden Mortimer and Dylan Parkes would both retire soon after the race resumed. The battle for third continued with Blake Webb and Jorj Park fighting hard, as Luke Malcolm started to fall off the pace with dramas onboard his Mitsubishi Lancer. Bradley Short also started to by into the battle for third, with the three drivers racing within close proximity. This would soon end in tears, with contact down the back straight resulting in some damage to the front end of Blake Webb’s Daihatsu Charade, which saw him make contact with Bradley Short.

The red lights would come on, with concerns over Bradley Short and a possible injury. Luckily it was later confirmed that there was no major injury, which was great to hear. At this point, the race would be declared after 10 laps, which gave Chris Kernohan, the well deserved victory in his last race on Australian soil. Zac Minshull drove a brilliant race to finish second ahead of Jorj Park, Jayden Fraser and Corey Ameduri.

A big thank you must go to Jason Shannan Webb from Webbcrete for their much valued sponsorship of this weekend, along with the entire JSRA Committee who have worked overtime to ensure the last two weekends were a success.

Attention for the JSRA will now turn to Round 6 of the JSRA Country Super Series, which heads to Southern Forest Machinery Raceway, Manjimup on Saturday April 7th.

Official Results
Junior Sedan A Main: 1. 92M Chris Kernohan, 2. W7 Zac Minshull, 3. W74 Jorj Park, 4. 92R Jayden Fraser, 5. W83 Corey Ameduri, 6. W343 Tanika Webb, 7. W84 Beau Oldfield, 8. W3 Bronty Fraser, 9. W120 Alec Vanzetti, 10. W121 Taj Vanzetti, 11. W9 Mitchell Baker, 12. 23R Samuel Ashton DNF: W27 Jackson Derrick, 15H Ryan Marshall, W119 Joshua Ahearn, W18 Hayden Moritmer, W23 Dylan Parkes, W22 Luke Malcolm, W108 Blake Webb, W19 Bradley Short

A big thank you to the following sponsors for making this weekend possible:
Webbcrete
Drywell Plants
Torque Wear Australia
Whale Plumbing & Gas
OK Racemotors
Barry & Vickie Rochford
Sharelle Rochford
Supercheap Auto Morley
Supercheap Auto Belmont
Supercheap Auto Gosnells
Repco Kelmscott
Repco Midland
Derrick’s Auto Ag

 

This weekend, the Central Midlands Speedway Association’s Moora Speedway will come alive with the 2018 Australasian Junior Sedan Championship, a precursor to the upcoming WA Junior Sedan Title at the same venue.

The international event has attracted a fine field of Junior Sedan drivers from all of WA, plus six of the best Ministock racers from different parts of New Zealand.

Headlining the nomination list this weekend are a number of drivers that have been towards the pointy end of Junior Sedan fields this season. Luke Malcolm, was super quick in Esperance last weekend and will be hoping for some luck to come his way in Moora this weekend. Luke’s close mates Blake Webb and Jackson Derrick have also experienced success this season and will no doubt be looking for some valuable track time at the Moora venue this weekend.

Midwest racer Bradley Short will also be an early favourite, as will Kalgoorlie’s Dylan Parkes. Although Parkes didn’t have the best of runs in Esperance last weekend, he will be sure to bounce back this weekend. Two drivers that you can never discount, are Broome racers Zac Minshull and Jorj Park. Both are extremely quick racers, that work their way to the front of the field this weekend.

This weekend, a number of drivers that you’d normally see in the New Star division, will race against the states best in this “all in” event. The leading driver would have to be Ellenbrook’s Beau Oldfield. With the racing gene well and truly infixed in this young racer, Oldfield has already achieved some major race victories and will be one to watch this weekend.

Leading the Kiwi charge will be Chris Kernohan. Chris won the all Kiwi race last weekend and will look to take it up to Australia’s best again this weekend, but will have Jayden Fraser and Ryan Marshall knocking on his heals. All three drivers were extremely quick in their first drives in Australian Junior Sedans last weekend, and will be be sure to watch.

Racing gets underway in Moora this Saturday night from 6pm, with nine qualifying heats ahead of the all important final. Make sure you don’t miss out on seeing Australia and New Zealand’s future stars of speedway, as they look to take victory in a rare International racing event.

If you cannot be at the event, the JSRA Facebook page has you covered, with full race results being uploaded to Facebook after each event.

Official Nominations
W5 Jade McKeagg
W7 Alex Swift
W9 Mitchell Baker
15H Ryan Marshall
W17 Travis Strelley
W18 Hayden Mortimer
W19 Bradley Short
W22 Luke Malcolm
W23 Dylan Parkes
23R Samuel Ashton
24R Caleb Ashton
W26 Jasmine Arnold
W27 Jackson Derrick
35S Alana Buckthought
W59 Erika Vary
W71 Zac Minshull
W74 Jorj Park
W83 Corey Ameduri
W84 Beau Oldfield
92M Chris Kernohan
92R Jayden Fraser
W108 Blake Webb
W119 Josh Ahearn
W120 Alec Vanzetti
W121 Taj Vanzetti
W122 Connor Vanzetti
W343 Tanika Webb

This weekend’s racing action is proudly supported by the following business’s that have come on board and sponsored the event. We thank each and every one of them very much for their support and thank the entire JSRA Committee for their tireless work in organising this event in conjunction with the Central Midlands Speedway Association.

Drywell Plants
Torque Wear Australia
Whale Plumbing & Gas
OK Racemotors
Barry & Vickie Rochford
Sharelle Rochford
Supercheap Auto Morley
Supercheap Auto Belmont
Supercheap Auto Gosnells
Repco Kelmscott

Blake Fletcher has dominated the Junior Sedan proceedings this weekend at the McD Contracting, Esperance Speedway, winning Saturday’s Round 5 of the JSRA Country Super Series, along with Sunday’s Overall Top Star Points. To add to the excitement, the local driver, who was filling in as a reserve for Team Australia, also crossed the line first in the final of the Team Australia vs Team New Zealand, Teams Challenge.

The event which was proudly sponsored by Rohan and Raechel Fletcher from SOS Welding, attracted good nominations for both nights of racing. To add to the excitement, six of New Zealand’s best Ministock racers were in the field, driving totally unfamiliar cars for the first time. Ryan Marshall, Samuel Ashton, Caleb Ashton, Alana Buckthought, Jayden Fraser and Chris Kernohan took to Esperance Speedway for the first time in the Australia Junior Sedan and surprised many with their pace early in the night.

On Saturday, the battle for first position was on from the very beginning in the New Star division. Jhy Pack, Kayne Dellar, Brandon Buszan and Montana Pack were all in with a chance of taking out the fifth round of the JSRA Country Super Series. Kayne Dellar would claim the first heat, before Buszan claimed both the second and third.

Come feature time, the race was on from the drop of the green flag, however it was Buszan who made the best of the start and would ultimately open a handy buffer for the entire race, as the rest of the field battled for minor positions. Buszan would be too strong, defeating Kayne Dellar and Jhy Pack.

A field of nineteen Top Star Junior Sedans converged on the South-Coast venue, with the six kiwis in the field. Bryden Southwell, Seth Hinsey, Blake Fletcher and Jackson Derrick would each win a heat throughout the night, while Luke Malcolm would cross the line first on two separate occasions, earning some valuable series points.

With a full field for the twenty lap final, there was no doubt that any of the drivers were in with a chance of victory. Blake Fletcher and Luke Malcolm would start from the front row, however it was Bryden Southwell that would make a brilliant start, quickly moving into second. Blake Webb would also make a great jump, passing a number of cars heading into turn 1.

Bryden Southwell would soon find himself in the race lead, however this would be short lived as Luke Malcolm moved passed, into the lead. Southwell’s race would soon be over, as he suffered a flat front tyre. Blake Fletcher soon started to make his intentions on the race lead known, as he applied immense pressure to Luke Malcolm’s Mitsubishi Lancer.

The race would soon have its first major incident, with the leaders getting caught up with a lapped car. This would bring about a single file restart, where Malcolm and Fletcher would resume their battle along with Dylan Parkes. The action would soon heat up, as Malcolm and Fletcher both dived underneath a slower car, resulting in a yellow light. Officials relegated Malcolm to the rear, where he decided his race was run.

Blake Fletcher would then hold off a late race charge from Collie’s Seth Hinsey who was slowly but surely chipping his way through the field. As the field came to the chequered flag, Blake Fletcher would prove too strong for Seth Hinsey and Dylan Parkes. Blake Webb who has had a consistent season, finished fourth, the first time off the podium for the season.

Come Sunday night, the main event would be the Teams Challenge. With six Australians and six Kiwis set to do battle, the heat races got underway. Australian captain Blake Webb’s night and weekend would soon come to an abrupt end, hitting the term 4 concrete wall and pit gates, damaging his Daihatsu Charade significantly. His sister Tanika would then take his position in the team.

The Australian’s would win each of the heat races, giving them a choice of inside or outside pole position for the final. With grid positions set, the final got underway with great pace, which soon came to a spectacular end with Alex Swift hitting the concrete wall, before being collected by a number of cars, ending with the Fletcher owned Daihatsu Charade rolling down the back straight.

After a red light stoppage the race resumed, with NZ drivers Jayden Fraser and Chris Kernohan taking it right up to Australian’s Blake Fletcher and Hayden Moritmer. As the race continued, Australia’s hopes were looking dull, as Tanika Webb and Jackson Derrick both retired from the event. Their fellow Aussies were racing hard at the front of the field, with Luke Malcolm making it an Australia Top 3. Kiwi racers, Fraser and Kernohan also had a scary moment, making contact with each other and the concrete wall. They were able to continue, though needed to regroup to defeat the Aussies.

As the race came to an end, Blake Fletcher defeated Hayden Mortimer and Luke Malcolm, with Team New Zealand Captain, Chris Kernohan finishing fourth. Even with a number of drivers on the infield, the Australian’s had enough points to secure the Teams Challenge Title for 2018.

Earlier in the the night, Team New Zealand had their own race over 6 laps. It was hard fought, however Chris Kernohan would secure the bragging rights as top Kiwi, defeating Jayden Fraser and Ryan Marshall.

New Stars and Top Stars also competed throughout the night, with final positions being awarded on total points. The results were as follows:
New Stars
1st Jhy Pack – 128 points
2nd Kayne Dellar – 123 points
3rd Montana Pack – 97 points

Top Stars:
1st Blake Fletcher – 128 points
2nd Bryden Southwell – 118 points
3rd Izak Davies – 80 points

The JSRA cannot thank the entire JSRA committee, along with the Esperance Speedway Association for their assistance and cooperation organising and running this huge weekend. Another huge thank you also goes to the Fletcher Family from SOS Welding for their support of this round of the JSRA Country Super Series.

Attention will now turn towards the Australasian Championship this weekend at the Moora Speedway. Further details will be supplied later in the week.