WANGARATTA City Raceway opened their 2024/25 season last Saturday night on a newly shaped and surfaced track. There were plenty of unknowns going into the night on how the track would perform, but club secretary Felicity Roycroft said it was sensational. “There was not one bad word said about the track, it’s the best I’ve driven on in Wangaratta ever,” she said. The VSC Sports Sedans opened proceedings with six heats which set the blistering pace of the night. Tommy McDonald was a standout, setting the fastest lap of 17.740 in heat 2B to hold off from Mick Mannix, and Kenno Mankey. The front row of the final would see McDonald and Rhys Collins in a drag race to turn one, with Collins just getting the job done before the yellows came on due to a messy start behind them. On the restart, McDonald was not letting Collins get the jump again, he managed to get the move made around the outside and go on his merry way. On lap four everything came to a halt for Collins when his right rear wheel parted ways with his car in turn three and four, the wheel went flying and somehow missed all the traffic behind him. Another restart and McDonald was gone, no one had the pace to catch him. Jack Chiminello and Mannix were dicing things out for the minor placings in an entertaining battle, but McDonald was a class above with a great win to start his season, with Chiminello home in second, while Mannix was impressive in third. VSC Ladies Sports Sedans started with a field of seven drivers, all three heat race wins went to Felicity Roycroft in a dominant display, but come final time it wasn’t going her way. Sarah Meakins came from fifth on the grid to get past Roycroft and record an impressive win by over two seconds, Roycroft finished second, with young up and coming star, Cobie McGraw coming home in third. SSA Production Sedans hit the circuit with only five cars to start the final. It was an epic battle from the start, with Roycroft, Chris Lack, Rhys Lansdown, and Tom Barnard all in a close dice for position. Michael Sayers in the old Trevor Mills car had mechanical issues and retired to the infield on lap two, but the race up front was fantastic. Side by side battles all the way to the chequered flag, Roycroft was victorious by only 0.235 seconds over Lack, Lansdown, and Barnard. SSA Junior Sedans were using every lap of their night to start dialling their machines ahead of the state title to be held at the venue in January. In the New Stars division, it was local up and coming throttle stomper Taijan Ussher who would dominate proceedings, taking out all heat wins and the final in a great display of racing. In the final he was followed home by Zade Ussher, Darcy Dannatt, Cruz Abela, and in his debut race meeting, young Ryder Lack. SSA Junior Top Stars had a few heavy hitters in the field. In the final it was Cruz Carlin and Axle Robinson off the front row, with Carlin getting the jump and going on to record an impressive win from Robinson and Maddy Beach, Zack Erickson came home fourth, and Blake Beach in fifth. SSA Street Stocks, who also have a state title at the venue in January, were looking for seat time also, with seasoned campaigners in the house. It was a ding dong battle between Morris “Oggie” Ahearn, and Shane “The Hulk” Roycroft that would set the place on fire in heat one. Oggie would take the win from Roycroft, with Matthew Brooks bring it home in third. The final was fast, blistering pace, with Oggie taking the win from Roycroft by 1.5 seconds, while Bradin Claridge finished on the infield. The final class of the evening was the Goulburn Ovens Sedans (G.O.S.A), there first hit out as a club class. The final was a classy display by Tom Barnard to take the win from Trevor Evans, and Kenneth Mankey, Mitchell Sayers finished 4th. The next race meeting at Wangaratta City Raceway is on Saturday October 19, where the raceway will welcome the Wingless Sprints, VSC Sports Sedan Ladies, GP Midgets Return, VSC Unlimited Sedans, along with more track time for SSA Juniors, SSA Street Stocks, and SSA Production Sedans.
