Racing returned to Borderline Speedway in grand style after an action-packed night on Saturday.
The main event was the second round of the Sprintcars SA Tri-series, which saw Ryan Jones survive the carnage and take the win.
Only 11 drivers of the 20 who started the A Main reached the chequered flag after eight cautions interrupted the 25-lap race.
Jones said he was relived to cross the line after the endurance test. “It seemed to take forever,” he said. “We were pretty close on fuel at the end, so I am happy to get the win for sure.”
The race limped to life after three first-lap incidents in consecutive restarts. Mark Caruso was able to snatch the lead from polesitter Jones on each occasion, but could not gain track position when it mattered most.
After Darryl Atkinson, David Donegan, Paul Solomon, Marcus Dumesny, Lisa Walker and local entry Scott Enderl all found trouble, green-flag racing finally arrived on the fourth restart and Jones managed to defend his lead.
Jones said the stop-start opening to the race made life hard, but gave him time to calculate the best way of holding onto the lead through turn one.
“All the yellows made it hard for me to get into a rhythm and Mark (Caruso) kept getting a better run each time, then we finally got him at turns one and two,” he said. “I just had to show him my nose and slide in front of him.”
Caruso suffered such a poor restart he dropped to third, but only six laps were possible before more interruptions occurred.
The biggest casualty was Ben Morris, who was forced to pull off the road from second place after a flat tyre, which allowed Caruso to return directly behind Jones.
Eventually drivers enjoyed an extended period of green-flag running with Jones in control counting down the laps to victory.
But behind the leader, a thrilling battle for second emerged between Caruso and Matt Egel.
Unfortunately, the pair came to blows at turn two in the closing stages, which sent Egel spinning to the back of the pack.
The late yellow ensured a tense two-lap dash to the finish, but Jones kept his cool and hung on ahead of Caruso and Daniel Pestka, while Egel only managed a ninth-place finish.
Jones said he was not fazed by the last-minute caution because he knew how important track position was on the dirty oval.
“It did not bother me too much because I was around a couple of lapped cars, so it did give me a clean run,” he said. “With the track being as one dimensional as it was, it made passing really hard and track position was key to controlling the race.”
The victory caps off a strong run of results for Jones with the win complementing three poles and podiums.
With a victory now under his belt, Jones said he is just happy to race this season and expects to return at Mount Gambier’s next meeting.
“We have been pretty consistent so far, but we are very fortunate to go racing in South Australia and I am thankful for everyone who gives me a hand,” he said. “We should hopefully be here after Christmas, but what we do before then is a bit up in the air.”
One local who did not make it to the big race was Glen Sutherland. Sutherland was racing hard near the front in the third heat, but his weekend was cut short by a major shunt at turn two.
However, one Limestone Coast racer enjoyed a bit more success in the support categories.
Mount Gambier’s Kirby Hillyer impressed in the Wingless Sprints 20-lap event won by Christopher Halesworth.
He was a frontrunner for the entire race and just fell short of a podium finish, while Mitchell Broome’s race ended after an incident at turn three.
The region’s drivers also endured a tough night in the third round of the Formula 500 State Series with Josh Munn and Ryan Harry both failing to finish. Cameron Pearson controlled the Late Model race, but Penola’s young charger Brad Gartner impressed the crowd to finish second
