Ash Hounsfield has tonight returned to winners circle in spectacular fashion, claiming a strong feature win at the Make Smoking History Bunbury Speedway in what was round six of the Keenquip Club Championship.
Hounsfield claimed a heat win and came home second in the other to start out of position two for the twenty lap feature alongside teammate Chad Pittard, who claimed two heat wins to start from pole position.
It was a brilliant start between the two, both hitting the line at the same time and battling it out until Hounsfield got the advantage and moved clearly into the lead.
Behind the battling duo Brad Fitzgerald had settled into third place after starting in position three, also having claimed a heat win earlier in the night, while fourth place starting Jake Robinson found himself going wide in turn two and lost a heap of spots.
Following the leading pack a couple of other cars came together, with Brad Taylor lucky to regain control going down the back straight and all cars were able to continue.
Up front Hounsfield was pulling away as Pittard was trying hard to hold off the advances of Fitzgerald who was throwing everything at him in an attempt to get by.
Six laps down and the first yellow light stoppage of the entire night for Wingless came about as James Bissaker spun in turn three, taking Jake Robinson with him and leaving Warren Hunter nowhere to go, the two coming together head first, Hunter launching the front end in the air and then both coming to rest. Only Bissaker was able to restart the race.
Hounsfield caught the rest of the field napping on the restart, none more that Pittard who was firstly passed by Fitzgerald for second, then shortly after by Daran Humfrey for third. It was only then that the problems looked to be more severe on the Pittard car as he continued to slow before beginning to smoke, having a large flame out from the engine compartment and then eventually pulling infield to see the fire crew.
Back on track and this incident left Hounsfield way out in front, with Fitzgerald and Humfrey now holding off a battling pack including Brendon Wedge, Cody Dobinson and Brad Taylor who were all in close proximity.
With fifteen complete and five laps to go, the yellows came on again, this time for Wedge who suffered a blown left rear tyre.
This would close up the gap on the restart but as we went green again, it was Dobinson who wasn’t able to get going, baulking those behind him and coming to a rest in turn two to bring out the yellows again.
For the final time Hounsfield again led away, with the field bunching up behind him to battle it out for the final stanza. As Hounsfield again skipped away, there was a massive battle for second between Fitzgerald, Humfrey and Taylor but in the end the order remained unchanged, Hounsfield going on to record a strong win over Fitzgerald, Humfrey and Taylor. David Worrall, Bissaker and Rob Trenaman rounded out the other finishers.
Well done to all competitors who made the trek down to Bunbury, and a big thankyou to the whole team at Bunbury for hosting us once again.
The Wingless Sprints will now have a break for the Christmas season, with the next event for the division scheduled to be back at the Perth Motorplex on Boxing Day, the 26th of December.
Release by DTN Media.
Pics Courtesy Peter Reobuck.
Official Results
Heat One, 8 laps: 1. Brad Fitzgerald, 2. Ash Hounsfield, 3. Daran Humfrey, 4. Cody Dobinson, 5. Brendon Wedge, 6. Alex Robinson, 7. Warren Hunter. Total Time: 2.24.726. Winning Margin: 1.833. Fastest Lap: 17.892 Ash Hounsfield.
Heat Two, 8 laps: 1. Chad Pittard, 2. Jake Robinson, 3. Brad Taylor, 4. David Worrall, 5. James Bissaker, 6. Rob Trenaman. Total Time: 2.24.618. Winning Margin: 1.573. Fastest Lap: 17.854 Chad PIttard.
Heat Three, 8 laps: 1. Chad Pittard, 2. David Worrall, 3. Daran Humfrey, 4. Jake Robinson, 5. Warren Hunter. DNF: Alex Robinson (5). Total Time: 2.28.346. Winning Margin: 1.087. Fastest Lap: 18.088 Jake Robinson.
Heat Four, 8 laps: 1. Ash Hounsfield, 2. Brendon Wedge, 3. Cody Dobinson, 4. Brad Fitzgerald, 5. Brad Taylor, 6. James Bissaker, 7. Rob Trenaman. Total Time: 2.26.752. Winning Margin: 0.718. Fastest Lap: 18.090 Brad Taylor.
Feature, 20 laps: 1. Ash Hounsfield, 2. Brad Fitzgerald, 3. Daran Humfey, 4. Brad Taylor, 5. David Worrall, 6. James Bissaker, 7. Rob Trenaman (19). DNF: Cody Dobinson (15), Brendon Wedge (15), Chad Pittard (8), Jake Robinson (6), Warren Hunter (6). DNS: Alex Robinson. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 2.400. Fastest Lap: 18.041 Ash Hounsfield.
