ELF Super Cup
plus Canterbury Production Saloon & Stockcar Remembrance Championships
Saturday 11th February 2012
"TTL Hire Centre - Elf Super Cup" - 11th Feb 2012
Burson secures much needed points in Elf Super Cup by Mat Kermeen Nelson Super Saloon driver Ian Burson continued his recent domination at AmPro Tools Woodford Glen Speedway on Saturday night, comfortably wining round three of the Elf Super Cup. The round win was much needed for Burson who was sitting a disappointing 11th in the Elf Super Cup standings after a disappointing first two rounds. Most drivers would be looking for excusses on their home track but that’s not the case for Burson. The New Zealand Grand Prix champion has won three championships and dominated a club night in his last four trips to the Glen so a big result was likely although he wasn’t reading too much into it.  "We are never over confident going into something this competitive but we definitely need to give it a good crack, we have got a lot of points to catch up," Burson said.Locals, Richie Taylor and Josh Boulton seemed the most likely to break Burson's strangle hold on the Woodford Glen track and they had plenty of motivation to do so. Taylor was leading the series on 492 points, 10 points clear of Boulton while another Cantabrian, Kane Lawson was third on 432 points. Burson made his intentions clear immediately, charging to the lead from grid four in the opening heat. Southerners, Tony Williamson and Dion McMurdo went backwards from the front row while Blenheim's Paddy North put a serious dent in his chances, spinning to the rear of the field from third early in the race. Burson rocketed away for the win ahead of locals Willie Woodhouse and Neil Robertson who had fantastic results, claiming second and third respectively. Taylor failed to finish, spinning to the infield with a puncture after coming together with Ray Stewart and Mike Verdoner. Verdoner suffered the same fate later in the race after contact with Mark Carey saw his left rear disintegrate. A reverse grid for heat two provided a relatively clean race with no drivers making big moves on a track that was slick down low and rough up top. Burson made the most ground to finish seventh while Josh Boulton won the heat over Taylor, Stewart, Dennis Bolt and Verdoner. Woodhouse and McMurdo failed to finish. The pole shuffle didn't provide any big surprises either as the challenger picked position, every driver choosing the inside with nobody able to defend from the outside. Lawson went close after getting around the outside of Verdoner but then undid the good work with a spin that invited Verdoner back to the front. To any driver that started behind the front row, Burson and Boulton would have looked intimidating prospects to pass but Verdoner and Lawson should have had confidence off the second row. Row three was made up of Bolt and Stewart with any driver further back facing a daunting task on what was now, very close to a single lane track. |
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