Sport
14 February, 2024
Pitcher wins Podger Memorial
YOUNG Victorian Super Rod champion Jacob Pitcher has become the 47th winner of the prestigious Trevor Podger Memorial at Heytesbury Stockfeeds Simpson Speedway last weekend.
Cobden’s Blake Walsh made it two straight wins in the wingless sprints at his ‘home’ track by taking out the quality stacked front row Challenge, while Jack Brennen scored the win in the VSC Sports Sedans.
After four super rod heats, veteran Jason Kavanagh, in the Mario Nastasi-owned W55, would have been feeling very confident after he won all three of his heats.
Two of his wins were all-the-way victories while the other saw him work a little harder including a last lap win in heat three.
Young gun Pitcher originally not programmed to race (dad Allan was nominated to run the car).
From pole, Kavanagh led the first couple of laps before Pitcher surged through and held the lead until lap 11 when fellow young gun Jamie May worked his way from a sixth place start into the lead.
This began a battle between the two, with May holding firm until lap 15 when Pitcher hit the front again and hung on for a slender 0.371 win over May, with Shaun Walsh completing the podium after starting deep in the pack in 12th place.
Michael Coad, Gerrard Mabbitt and Peter Duynhoven filled the spots between Pitcher and Kavanagh who slid back to seventh.
The wingless sprints were out in force for their annual Front Row Challenge race and after eight heats was won by Ebony Hobson.
Brad Warren, Luke Weel, Chris Halesworth, Nick Ryan, Mitchell Glynn, Blake Walsh and Tyler O’Leary and then two B-Mains where Kyle Mock, Michael Conlan, Cameron O’Brien, Ben Hodge, Luke Johnson and Craig Plater transferred, the grid was assembled for the main event.
Brad Warren was high points for the night and accepted the Front Row Challenge and started 20th but one lap in had mechanical damage which put him infield.
Walsh started pole from Chris Temby, Weel, Ryan and Dubbo’s Mark Blyton and it was Temby who got the jump and looked sharp leading the first 24 laps.
On lap 25 Walsh was able to hold the lead and took the win by just under a second, with Ryan next ahead of Mock, from the B-Main, and Brayden McKay.
Blyton faded to 10th while Weel, Warren and Hobson did not finish and nor did Lauren White, former 360 Sprintcar feature winner.
The final class of the triple header was the DirtX Industries sport sedans.
Brendan Miller won the opening heat and Riley Balin’ssurprise win in heat two thrilled the crowd.
Jamie Lock scored heat three as planned and heat four, five and six went to Matt Shankland, Miller again, and new VSC ladies’ Victorian champion Felicity Roycroft.
The 25-lap series final saw Miller and Lock on the front row from Jack Brennan, Dale Smith, Roycroft and Broderick Stray.
Miller made the most of his pole start to lead until lap 14, but by lap 15 Lock was in the lead and Miller was about to exit the event.
A similar fate was about to befall Lock, the current Victorian Champion and series point leader who lost the lead to the lurking Brennan on lap 21 before his race was done.
No such problems for Brennan, who maintained the lead until the end despite 18th starting Ian Thomsen setting his fastest lap on the final lap with Stray completing the podium ahead of Shannon Burke, and Jack Van Bremen.
Thompson was disqualified after the event due to an incident towards the end of the race, while Leigh Mitchell RD14 was elevated to 5th.
The Simpson speedway will come alive once again on March 11 with the running of the Victorian Open Sprintcar Championship, along with both the senior and junior Formula 500s.
