Teenager Jaimie-Lee Smith has managed to come out on top in the opening Intercity Signs Ladies of the Dirt Series round last Sunday at Nyora Raceway.
One of the favourites heading into the event, Smith was able to secure victory after a dominant performance in the 20-lap feature race by handling the tricky track conditions the best. The 17-year-old racer finished ahead of Demelza Nettlefold in second and Renae Eastham in third. The top five was completed by Bree Hall and Samantha Millar in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Earlier in the day, Smith had a consistent run with two third-place finishes in the heat races and by virtue it qualified her on pole position for the feature race. Heat-race wins went the way of Eastham and Georgia McLeod, while second-place finishes were picked up by Millar and Te-arni Perkins. The latter two drivers suffered retirement from their other heat races and it hurt their feature-race chances due to starting further back in the field than liked.
Latest Intercity Signs Ladies of the Dirt Series Point Standings:
1: Jaimie-Lee Smith – 334 points
2: Demelza Nettlefold – 296
3: Renae Eastham – 281
4: Bree Hall – 266
5: Samantha Millar – 249
6: Te-arni Perkins – 239
7: Skye Day – 219
8: Georgia McLeod – 127
9: Brittany Kuypers – 101
10: Rhiannon Burleigh – 90
Following the Ladies of the Dirt Series round, the open feature race victory was taken by veteran Wayne Logue. He was closely followed by Samantha’s brother and pole-sitter Travis Millar, who lost the lead early on after Logue got the jump on him off the start. Rounding out the podium, with her second third-place finish for the day, was Eastham, who put in an impressive drive after she had started from position nine.
Travis Millar was in good form, after scoring wins in his two heat races earlier in the day, with the remaining two heat-race wins going the way of youngster Todd Hobson and Logue.
The previous night at Simpson Speedway, Glenn Watts seized the victory in the annual Peter Merrett Trophy race. After qualifying third, he managed to gain two positions from pole-sitter Mark Balcombe and Paul Robilliard, going on to win the non-stop 25-lap feature race. Mark Balcombe slipped back one position to finish in second-place ahead of current Australia # 5 Rhys Baxter.
The top-10 finishers were completed by Robilliard, current Super Series Champion Daniel Storer, Luke Weel, Sam Wren, Matthew Balcombe, Jason Langdon and Luke Storer. A special mention goes to B-main transfer Wren, who came from position 14 in the field to finish in seventh.
Heat-race wins went the way of Mark Balcombe (x 2), Weel, Daniel Storer, Luke McCutcheon and Robilliard.
The next event for the Wingless Sprints will see them head to Laang Speedway this Saturday night (April 23) for a double header, consisting of the second round of the Intercity Signs Ladies of the Dirt Series, as well as the Anzac Gold Cup. The action will continue on Sunday (April 24) for a club show at Hamilton’s Western Speedway.