It was Dayn Bentvelzen who came out on top in last Saturday night’s Salt Electrical Jackpot Invitational event for Wingless Sprints at Geelong’s Avalon Raceway, following a feature race which was regarded by many as the best race of the entire night.
Getting his night off to the perfect start by winning his opening heat race, before finishing eighth in heat-race two on what was a tricky track, placing him fourth in points, Bentvelzen regained his earlier momentum in the Top-8 Pole Shootout, where he managed to outpace his rivals, recording the fastest lap time and earning the pole position start for the feature race as a result.
Photo: Robert Lake Photography
While it was Bentvelzen who was in prime position to take the early race lead, it was second-place started and last-start Avalon Raceway winner Luke Weel who made the best of the start, getting the jump on Bentvelzen and going on to set the pace out front for the first half of the race.
Having stuck close to the tail of Weel’s race car, Bentvelzen managed to capitalise on the significant lapped traffic to take over first place with 12 laps remaining; a position he retained through to the fall of the chequered flag to take a hard-fought victory, despite numerous challenges from Weel, who was forced to settle for second place. Current Victorian Champion Glenn Watts rounded out the podium finishers in third.
Finishing just off the podium in fourth of the 25-lap event that went from green to chequered flag was defending Avalon Raceway Track Champion Chris Halesworth, ahead of Marcus Green, Jaidyn Job, Todd Hobson, Peter Logue, Carly Walsh and Wayne Logue in 10th. The remaining finishers included Mathew Balcombe, Adin Robertson, Warrick Taylor, Brittany Kuypers, Geoff Cook and Robert Stevenson.
Tony Moule was the first feature-race retirement and he was later joined on the infield by fellow retirees Scott Irons and Michael McDonald.
Earlier in the night, Weel delivered a strong performance in his heat races, coming away with a win and a third-place finish, while remaining heat-race wins went the way of Bentvelzen, Green and Moule. In the Bronze Shootout, it was Hobson and Job who achieved the fastest lap time, progressing into the Silver Shootout, where Job once again managed to outpace his fellow competitors to move forward into the Gold Shootout, which determined the feature-race starting order for the first two rows. Bentvelzen secured pole position, ahead of Weel, Watts and Job.
Showcasing his significant speed throughout the entire event, Bentvelzen achieved the fastest lap in the opening heat, the fastest lap in the Gold Shootout and the fastest lap in the feature race.
Following Saturday night’s Jackpot Invitational event, the Victorian Wingless Sprints were scheduled to be a part of Sunday’s program at Drouin Speedway; however, the class was forced to cancel their appearance, due to track safety concerns.
The next appearance for the Victorian Wingless Sprints will be a club show at Darlington’s Mid-Western Speedway on the Saturday night of November 25.
For more information about the Victorian Wingless Sprints, visit their website at www.awsr.com.au/vic. You can also LIKE them on Facebook by searching Victorian AWSR Wingless Sprintcars.