PERRY BLASTS TO WANGARATTA CUP WIN – 11/05/16

The Grand Prix Midgets held their final Wangaratta Speedway show for the season with a fantastic & super quick display of the division with four drivers putting on a great show for much of the feature race event that eventually went the way of the dominate driver of the night, Trevor Perry. With Australia # 2 Trevor Perry, # 3 Lisa Chalcraft & Victoria # 1 Jason Crawford in the field, the scene was set for a classic show down & the Grand Prix Midgets delivered. Three heat races determined the starting positions in the feature. Sean Denning was back in the two car ‘Pitstop Mowers’ team with Crawford, David & Hayden Bacon returned, the two car ‘Castrol John Fowler Racing’ team of Marty Job & Chris Fowler, the quick Travis Florimell, Perry & Chalcraft completing the field. Denning started from pole in heat one with Perry from position eight. Florimell jumped in his road car and heading off to a local auto parts provider to find a new fuel pump as his was giving him issues before even getting onto the track for heat one. Perry (# 55 Perry Bros Chassis – Suzuki) went straight to the high line & used that to perfection finding the lead on lap one with Chalcraft who began on the second row following him & Hayden Bacon. Last on lap one, Crawford was in fifth at the end of lap two chasing Perry, Chalcraft & Denning who moved into third. Lap five David Bacon (# 36 DB Kanga Hire – FZS Yamaha) & Job were lapped before Bacon pulled infield, as the race continued Perry crossed the line the winner running a best one lap time of 16.589 with Chalcraft in second, Denning in third ahead of Crawford, then Fowler who battled engine trouble through the race until the last couple laps when the engine issue cleared, Suzuki powered Hayden Bacon & Job who also was struggling with engine gremlins. Perry & Crawford then began heat two at the opposite end of the field as they led the field to the green flag. Crawford led the first lap with Perry & Florimell following. Florimell’s mechanical issues continued when he pulled infield on lap three before Perry passed Crawford on lap four and Fowler moved into third on lap seven when he passed Denning. Perry went faster than he did in heat one setting a 16.436 lap & went on to win from Crawford, Fowler, Denning, Chalcraft, Hayden Bacon & Job. Fowler & Florimell started the last heat race from the front row with Chalcraft (# 15 Oil Hydraulics – Suzuki), Crawford & Perry right behind setting up a great race. Fowler led Crawford, Perry, Chalcraft & Denning on lap one as Florimell again suffered malfunction, this time when a component on the chain mechanism broke. Perry moved into second on lap two chasing Fowler, then caught and passed Fowler on lap four, again using the top end of the track in three and four to perfection through the race. Once that move was made the race flowed through unchanged with Perry running his quickest lap yet at 16.414 seconds on one lap defeating Fowler, Crawford, Chalcraft, Denning & Job. With top qualifiers starting at the rear of the field in the final this meant that Hayden Bacon & Job led the charge to the start line in the feature race with Denning, Chalcraft, Fowler, Crawford & the top qualifier Perry courtesy of his three heat wins from three starts at the very back. From her spot fourth on the grid Chalcraft last year’s Masters series champion, ripped past Bacon & Job and into the lead with Crawford, Fowler, Perry & Denning following her past the front row starters. Chalcraft was handling the quickest track of the night strongly out front with Crawford in second & Fowler trying over & over again to get past the Victorian champion Crawford. It took until lap six for Perry to pass Crawford & Fowler into second & until lap seven for Perry to pass Chalcraft. Fowler passed Crawford for third on lap eight & then Chalcraft on lap nine whilst Crawford got passed Chalcraft before the finish also. Perry went on at the front to take a clean sweep of the night winning from Fowler, Crawford, Chalcraft, Denning, Job & Hayden Bacon with Perry lapping at three tenths of a second quicker in the final than any other competitor & putting down the fastest time of the night, a 16.402 second lap. After the race the track announcer Dean Thompson caught up with Perry to find out his thoughts on the win. “The car was unbelievable tonight, everything went right, my crew & I couldn’t be more pleased with how things went. Conrgatulations to Wangaratta Speedway on the track preparation, it just keeps getting better and better. Well done to the other competitors on their results also, it was great competition especially in the final.” The Victorian Grand Prix Midget Club will next compete at the ‘Ironbark Classic’ at Rushworth Speedway on May 28th which will also be the last round of the ‘Ballistic Performance Parts Masters Series’ which Jason currently leads from Chalcraft, Fowler & Trevor Perry. The Victorian Grand Prix Midget Association thanks their supporters: Ballistic Performance Parts Oil Hydraulics Jacobson’s Transport Marine Innovations Dmac Property Services Pitstop Mowers Super Balance Automotive SF Photo Graphix Written by Dean Thompson DMT Sports Media For Victorian Grand Prix Midget Club