McHugh crowned as King

McHugh crowned as King

In-form Queensland sprintcar driver Lachlan McHugh enjoyed a trouble-free voyage to be crowned the winner of the 2021 Kings Challenge at Borderline Speedway last Thursday night.

McHugh was untouchable and led every tour of the Mount Gambier oval during the 25-lap race, which also doubled as the second round of the Speedway Australia Sprintcar Super Series.

His royal performance was highlighted by an impressive display navigating through lapped traffic, while a late-race caution also failed to trouble the NQ7 driver.

After taking the chequered flag in masterful fashion, McHugh said it was a full team effort. “I am quite happy with the drive, so credit to my boys,” he said. “I felt really good from the get-go and put a couple of good laps together for the win.”

Thanks to lighting up the Gold Shootout, McHugh started on pole alongside Matt Egel and led the biggest Borderline Speedway field this season into the first corner.

Although Robbie Farr endured a bumpy ride on the inside through turn one, there were not many position changes amongst the leading contenders during a clean start. As McHugh surged into the distance, the pack quickly settled into a rhythm as a long stretch of green-flag racing emerged.

After five laps, Corey McCullagh made a successful move on Egel for second place. Lapped traffic started to become a factor, but it did not slow down McHugh, who was in a league of his own.

Brock Hallett became the first casualty after he pulled off with nine laps to go. Fans continued to enjoy clean racing and many fancied the prospect of a caution-free A Main.

However, the race came alive just moments after the white flag was waved. McCullagh and Egel remained closely separated in their fight for second, but both of their races ended after contact with the lapped Tate Frost on the entry to turn three.

The incident produced the first and only yellow flag of the night and caused a thrilling two-lap sprint to the finish. McHugh said he was not too fazed by the unexpected interruption after bringing his wing forward to cope with his lowering tyre pressures.

“After we got through the lapped traffic nicely, I felt comfortable with how we were running,” he said. “Then the caution came out and I thought ‘oh no they are right back on me again’. “I knew if I got a good drive at the start and through the first corner clean we would be alright.”

McHugh had every reason to be confident and led the restart from Daniel Pestka, Marcus Dumesny, Farr and Grant Anderson. The top five remained unchanged after McHugh cruised to his first ever win at Borderline Speedway, while Pestka continued his strong form in the Port MacDonnell based machine.

Earlier the B Main was marred by a big crash between Grant Stansfield and Peter Doukas with both cars finishing upside down. James McFadden won the event and advanced to the main race where he collected the Hard Charger award for his drive from 15th to sixth.

The night before McFadden claimed the season opener of the Speedway Australia Sprintcar Super Series at Avalon. Despite missing round 1 due to isolating after a COVID test, the Kings Challenge crown was the latest success in what is proving to be an unforgettable season for McHugh.

He has collected 13 wins from 18 races after victories throughout the Queensland season and Friday night’s Fifty for 50 at Warrnambool. The fourth round of the Super Series was also held at Premier Speedway on Saturday night to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary.

McFadden took his second win of the season ahead of Jamie Veal, while Limestone Coast’s Pestka and Glen Sutherland finished seventh and 11th respectively. After Monday night’s race at Bordertown was washed out, McFadden leads the championship standings at the time of print.

Why wait? Get more stories like this delivered straight to your inbox
Join our digital edition mailing list and stay up to date on the latest news, events and special announcements from across the Limestone Coast.

Your local real estate guide - every Thursday

spot_img

You might also like