-NYORA Raceway has held the last event of their current season with just over forty competitors in the featured Open Sedan event, including the eventual winner Lee Beach and a number of drivers in supporting classes the Standard Saloons, Ladies Standard Saloons, Junior Standard Saloons and Junior 1200cc Sedans.
Honouring the late great Bob Hickson, who was a beloved fixture at Nyora for many years with his racing family in tow, drivers were keen to win what many consider Nyora’s most important annual event. To get into the fifty-lap final, drivers had to qualify by accumulating points in two heats each and for those that did not directly qualify, they could race their way in via a last chance main.
Anthony McKean from the Latrobe Valley, David Donegan from Melbourne’s East, Lee Beach from Lysterfield in the closest race in the first round and Nyora member Warrick Taylor, were all round one winners. In round two Matt Nelson a former winner of the race, Pakenham man Damien Miller, Grantville local Seth Bent and Brendan Miller another former winner of the memorial, all claimed round two victories. Eight different winners from eight heat races showed the incredible competition on hand.
Forcing their way from the last chance main into the feature event were Ian Thomsen, Matthew Ismail, Chris Miles, Reece Kakoschke, Andrew Miles, and Kimberley Smith.
As the race got underway David Donegan led the first five laps with the two brothers Damien and Brendan Miller behind him exchanging places for second on lap five with Brendan getting ahead of his elder brother. By lap ten Damien Miller, a favourite with numerous wins at Nyora the last couple of seasons, exited the race and Donegan led Brendan Miller, Travis Ramsdale, Brad Warren from Longwarry, and Nelson. Both Miller and Ramsdale played no further part in the race as they both succumbed to race incidents on lap eleven, and a lap later Donegan’s race ended also catapulting Warren to the front of the field where he was leading Corey Lincoln, Nelson, Beach, and Felicity Roycroft on lap fifteen.
Roycroft’s race ended on lap twenty-eight and with twenty laps to go, Warren led Lincoln, Beach, Bent and Matt Shankland. With ten laps remaining Warren led Beach, Shankland, Bent and Thomsen.
The twists and turns kept coming and on lap forty-three Beach assumed the race lead and ran out to the fifty-lap mark and the chequered flag keeping Warren a second and a half behind him. Warren second, Shankland representing Nyora club in third, Bent and Thomsen completing the top five.
In Standard Saloon action, supporters had arranged a mini-feature event for the class. Jacob Vuillermin another from the Latrobe Valley won heat number one of four with Arron Cormack of the Bairnsdale club winning the next. Vuillermin doubled up winning his second and last qualifier with Andrew Miles a winner in heat four. In a twenty-lap final, Vuillermin from the pole position led the field away. Top three qualifier Aaron Cormack was the first from the top half of the field to strike trouble dropping from third to out of the race on lap five leaving Vuillermin, Kane Gibson, Brendan Sheedy, Andrew Miles, and Neil Ingram as the top five. Kacey Ingram was working his way forward and passed his father Neil on the way to moving into the top five with Vuillermin leading Gibson, Sheedy, and the two Ingrams at the halfway mark. A couple of laps later Kacey Ingram had moved to third and then moved into second on lap nineteen. At the finish and three seconds out in front of the field, Vuillermin claimed the win over Kacey Ingram, Neil Ingram, Sheedy, and Andrew Miles.
Junior 1200cc Sedan racers competed in two heats and a final with Xander Baxter winning the first and Riley Taylor the second race. Both drivers were first and second in each race reversing the finishing positions in the second heat. Brody Barton was third in both heats putting himself in as a possible winner in the final. Baxter led the field back passed the starting line on lap one with Brad Marshall second then Barton. Jaylen Knight who started on row four moved to third on lap five. With seven laps to go out of fifteen Baxter led Marshall, Knight, Barton, and Chase Doherty. With five to go Marshall a winner at Alexandra Speedway two weeks prior, took the lead from Baxter whilst Doherty had moved into third spot. From fifth with five to go Riley Taylor moved to third with three to go and as the chequered flag dropped Marshall won by just .304 of a second in front of Baxter, Taylor, Doherty, and Barton.
Bree Walker and Caroline Allen shared heat race wins in the Ladies Standard Saloons racing. A twelve-lap final was led from start to finish by Allen holding at bay the former two-time Victorian champion Ally Morrison at the line by .347 of a second. Walker crossed the finish line in third ahead of Bronwyn Miles and Michelle George.
Rounding out all the results was the Junior Standard Saloons. Bailey Hill from Drouin the current number two state-ranked driver won the first heat race just in front of the returning Nathan Miles. Tom Braz then won the second heat race. The final was not the greatest for the drivers and eventually an early close to the race was called by stewards. Braz led early. Miles led lap four and when the race was cut due to the incidents, Miles had won his return race, albeit a five-lapper from Braz, Ella Sheedy, Hill, and Ella Robertson.
