Ireland Wins An Epic State Series Main Event
By Phil Michell Motorsport Media
Local resident Brett Ireland was a popular winner of round 4 of the Wingless Sprints SA State Series at the Murray Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway on Saturday night as he defeated fellow local Robert Heard and Joel Chadwick in what was the best Wingless Sprint main event of the season so far. After trailing early race leader Jack McCarthy, Ireland seized the opportunity to take the lead following the red light stoppage for Jenna Kervers, and from that point he hugged the inside groove and never looked back as he crossed the line .160 of a second ahead of the Pitcher Racing #57.
Fourth place in the final went to Michael Spoljaric with teenager Josh Rusby once again impressing as he claimed yet another top five result. Bordertown resident James Rodda had his strongest run of the season so far, as he recorded a sixth placed finish while Darryl Sloan, Melissa Crouch, Caleb Evans and Mildura’s Deklan Bolitho completed the top 10.
The Main event saw a couple of hard luck stories including two drivers who saw their night’s come to an end while running inside the top three. After leading for over 20 laps Jack McCathy’s run ended after he made contact with the turn four wall while Jenna Kervers, who was running third at the time, hit the wall in the same spot with the result being a spectacular roll down the front straight.
Prior to the finals the 31 cars in attendance conducted six heat races with Rylan Furler taking an impressive win in heat 1 ahead of Caleb Evans and Jenna Kervers. Joel Chadwick continued his outstanding recent form as he was victorious in the second heat ahead of Robert Heard, Brett Ireland and Mason Merritt, who had a titanic battle for the runner-up spot. The final heat was one of best races of the season so far, as Jack McCarthy edged out Thomas Walkom by .072 of a second while Lachlan Evans and Jesse Alexander were also less than a second behind the race winner as the chequered flag fell.
The second round of heats also produced some close finishes as Hayden Mason, Melissa Crouch and Joel Chadwick were separated by less than a second in heat four while Jack McCarthy once again secured the win in a nail bitter as he defeated Michael Spoljaric by .043 of a second. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better the final heat of the night saw Brett Ireland and Thomas Walkom greet the chequered flag with the margin of victory being .014! Therefore, five of the six heats were decided by less than 1 second.
Unfortunately, due to the time curfew the top six dash was cancelled therefore Jack McCarthy, who had drawn an inverted six, resumed at the top of the field for the final ahead of Joel Chadwick, Brett Ireland, Thomas Walkom, Jenna Kervers and Michael Spoljaric.
After being caught up in an accident in the opening round of heats Melissa Crouch bounced back to win the B-main with Brad Kirtland, Deklan Bolitho and Harley Alexander transferring into the 30-lap finale from the B-main. Continuing with the theme of the night Crouch won the 12-lap event by .084.
The next event on the South Australian Wingless Sprint calendar is a Track Championship round at the Murray Machining and Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway on Saturday January 24, 2026.