Nine Sportsman titles still on the table at Nationals
Nine Sportsman titles continue to hang in the balance at the Australian Nationals, ahead of a thrilling final day at Sydney Dragway.
The Nationals, which marks out the final round of the Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship calendar, will finally bring the curtain down on a 12-round season that began in January.
Competition Eliminator Championship rivals Craig Geddes and Alistair McClure could meet at the final if they can see off tough match ups with Tony Bellert and Greg Leahy respectively. However, Peter Pisalidis’ slim title hopes dried up with a Round 1 loss to Geddes.
The Super Stock Championship picture has become clearer with Steven Norman eliminated from contention in a defeat to Shane Moran. That leaves Jake Chaisty and Mario Barbon to duke it out and potentially meet in a final showdown.
Chaisty reset the H/MSA National record, for now, with a 9.401 second pass to secure valuable bonus points toward a first ever Championship. He meets Jim Ioannidis in Round 2.
Barbon, however,, will get a solo run in the next round thanks to a win over top qualifier Daniel Camilleri.
In Super Compact, Domenic Rigoli locked up the title despite a defeat to Phillip Karpathios in Round 1. The 20 points awarded for the loss put him out of touch of his nearest rivals to guarantee the ANDRA Gold Christmas Tree for 2014.
In Supercharged Outlaws, Rodney Hansen eliminated the Championship leader Mark Kuhn in a close Round 1 match up. Luke Marsden, Paul Stephen, Ryan Van Dyk, Jake Donnelly Doina Day and Chris Van’t Hof all advanced to keep their Championship hopes alive.
Interestingly Rodney Hansen will face off with Jake Donnelly on day three while Ryan Van Dyk will take on Paul Stephen.
In Modified, Jess Turner’s title aspirations ended with an opening round loss to Kelly Bettes. The points’ leader Shane Wynd negotiated a match up with Justine Piddington to put pressure on the chasers, but faces Jasmine Ryan in Round 2 who still has a mathematical chance at top honours.
In Modified Bike, Joe Khoury also put paid to his title hopes with a red light in Round 1.
Khoury, who has been one of the standout performers in the bracket all year, opened the door for David Carroll and Edgell Mallis to take advantage.
Both riders are on opposite sides of the ladder and could meet in the final if they can negotiate three more rounds. Mallis faces Steve Barrett while Carroll is paired with Matthew Hunt in Round 2.
Fellow racers Kylie Tanner and Joe Jurkovic advanced past their first round to keep their title fight alive with the prospect of meeting in the final for a third time this year. On day three Tanner faces a tough customer in Robert Winterburn while Jurkovic will take on Belinda Welch.
In Junior Dragster Cory Burns and Toby Austin came into the eliminations just 20 points apart. They would ultimately meet in Round 2 but unfortunately for Burns a red light ended his charge allowing Austin to take the win and tee up a Championship showdown with David Roberts on day three.
The action picks up again on Sunday with sunny weather forecast for the final day of the Australian Nationals and the 2014 ANDRA Championship Drag Racing season.
