Sydney’s Harley Smee survived the Wingless Sprints 50 Lapper in spectacular fashion on Saturday night, crossing the line to score his maiden Wingless Sprint feature-race win at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway.
In what proved to be a feature race of attrition which was plagued with stoppages, the 21-year-old third-generation racer, who was the only Sydney-based driver to travel to Brisbane, steadily moved his way up through the field, taking over the lead on lap 25 after starting sixth. From there, he was never headed, claiming his maiden feature-race victory from his rivals by over five seconds.
“I couldn’t be happier to have come away with my maiden feature-race win in the 50 Lapper,” expressed Smee, who has been able to take a lot of advice from his uncle, veteran Speedcar racer Nathan Smee, who is renowned for his success in long races, as well as his stepdad Mark Cooper, who owns the Australian dealership for American Tire and Racing Services.
“It was even more special to be able to achieve this with all of my family watching. I have to say a huge thank you to my family for all of their support, along with my sponsors Chief Fluid Systems, CEJN, American Tire and Racing Services, Spike Chassis Race Safety, and Brad Murphy Building.”
Photo: Crashy’s Photos
Pole-sitter Glenn Wright immediately lost the lead to fellow front-row starter Adam Butler off the line and managed to regain it briefly in the middle stages of the race, before being pounced on by Smee. Wright came home in second place, with Mason Cattel in third. Rounding out the finishers were Steve Thomsen, Bradley Claridge and Matt Wright.
It was a tough night, with more racers visiting the infield than finishing the feature race. The hard luck story of the night was Butler, who stole the lead from Wright at the drop of the green and appeared to be in good stead for a victory until a cracked engine block forced him to retire on lap 15, repeating last season’s disappointing result.
After a great battle with Wright and Smee halfway through the 50 Lapper, David Eggins was instructed by an official to retire to the infield due to a cracked radiator on lap 38, later finding that this wasn’t the case. In just his second meeting in Wingless Sprints, Cody O’Connell was running inside the top five when he suffered issues with his power steering and retired – also on lap 38.
On lap 27, Jason King hit the wall and bent his chassis, taking him out of the feature race, while Michael Lampard also suffered a DNF after hitting the wall on lap 40. Other non-finishers included Warren King, Geoff Davey, Harley Thistleton and Kevin Willis.
O’Connell impressed when he managed to win his opening heat race from rear of field, with the remaining heat-race wins going the way of Eggins, Glenn Wright and Butler.
The night was full of teething problems for rookie Tim Napper, who was unable to start the feature race after experiencing mechanical issues in his heat races. Mark Connolly and Timothy Harris were also unable to start the feature race due to mechanical issues, while David Ellis and Paul Robinson’s nights were ended when they crashed out of their heat races.
For more information on the Queensland Wingless Sprints, contact Johnno Cave on 0421 722 254 or visit their website at www.awsr.com.au/qld. You can also LIKE them on Facebook by searching Wingless Sprints Qld.