"Modified Invasion "
Saturday 7th April
Leech leads as local duo dominant Glen Leech won his much anticipated battle with Luke Keegan at AmPro Tools Woodford Glen Speedway over the weekend and as predicted by many, the winner of that battle was crowned the Modified Invasion champion. Seventeen drivers of a fairly high standard started the championship but Jonas England’s heat four win (the first heat on Saturday night) was the only chequered flag not to be carried by either Leech or Keegan all weekend. Leech won the first, third and the feature on Friday night with just Keegan’s victory in the second heat preventing a Leech clean sweep. Keegan was victorious in heat five on Saturday, the pole shuffle and the feature. Finishing races was the key to victory, the Invasion format involving drivers accumulating points over both nights with extra points on offer in the features. Unfortunitly Keegan was forced to withdrawal from Friday’s feature whilst leading which handed the victory to Leech. Nigel Nevin looked to be in season best form, placing second over Brandon Parkinson. A quality drive after he had problems with his front axle in heat two which meant he started back on grid seven for the feature. Marlborough’s Scott Valk plus locals Brent Allen and Philip Allan finished fourth fifth and sixth respectively in a race that only had six finishes. A pile up just out of turn two removed four cars including Blair McPhee who easily looked the best of the Wellington visitors and the ever improving Paul Richards who rode the wall spectacularly and was lucky not end up on his roof. Jordan Arapere was struggling with his brakes all night, preventing him from finishing races. Saturday’s field shrunk by three with Michael Burt, Iain Whyte (both engine) and Steve Thompson (personal commitments) all unable to report for duty. Keegan and Leech finished second and third behind England in the opening heat but normal service resumed in heat five as Keegan reigned supreme over Leech. Keegan was too good for Leech in the pole shuffle, the pair earning the right to start from the front row in the feature. Blair McPhee gave the crowd the most to cheer about eliminating Richards, David Thompson, Brandon Parkinson and Nigel Nevin to finish third, to moving up to start off grid three. Keegan chose the outside of the front row and it proved to be the right move as he got the jump when the lights went green. Determined to right the wrongs of the previous nights feature, Keegan sped away while Leech could afford to take the conservative route, only needing to finish the 25 lap finale to win the Invasion overall. Nevin worked to second early only to spin and fallback to the rear of the field allowing Leech to settle in second. Parkinson got pushed wide early and never recovered, finishing well back along with David Thompson and Nevin. McPhee was disappointing finishing fourth behind Valk but locals Brent Allen (fifth) and Paul Richards (sixth) had exceeded all expectations. Keegan was so dominant that when he crossed the line he had just passed third placed Valk meaning Leech was the only driver he wasn’t able to put a lap on. Leech was comfortable in second but finished well behind Keegan. The final points had Leech on 146pts, Keegan 136pts, Parkinson on 109pts earned third place on a count back over McPhee (also 109pts) and Nevin 107pts. The Wellington cars were disappointing overall although all four didn’t have a lot of luck and the loss of Brian McPhee was disappointing for the northern contingent. The good news is, it seems most if not all will be back next season. With the number of Modifieds rumoured to be running out of Woodford Glen next season the Modified Invasion should be an event on the rise, especially if drivers continue to support both the Wellington and Canterbury rounds by travelling across the straight. Whether it’s locals or visitors anyone taking on the Canterbury round is going to need to be at their absolute best if they are going to challenge local favourites Leech and Keegan on their home patch. Streetstocks and Stockcars kept the large crowd entertained with fast paced, aggressive racing that saw big hits going in left right and centre. Both grades went out with a bang as drivers made use of their final opportunity to settle old scores. Many a Stockcar left the track looking destined for a major off season rebuild while there were a couple of Streetstocks that could be destined for Streetstock heaven, aka the local scrap metal dealer. All in all there was some tired looking machinery and drivers that would have been happy to see the end of the season but as we've seen in year's gone by the cars will get plenty of tlc over the winter and come out looking like new in October. Drivers in all contact grades tend to have long memories so the first couple of shows next season should be action packed so make sure your at the Glen to take in the action. Speaking of scrap metal, the ramp derby provided its usual antics, showing once again why it remains a crowd favourite. There are two more ramp derbies planned next season so if you thought that looked like a bit of fun be on the lookout for a car and you could be out there jumping the ramp next season! Later in the year Season Passes will be available at the Woodford Glen Shop and they will be a popular option in what's going to be one of the biggest year's in the history of the Woodford Glen club. If your looking at attending a few shows they can prove to be a cost effective option and they guarantee your ticket to all the major events. By Mat Kermeen. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
