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BOOKER BANKS POINTS AT THE SHOOT-OUT

The Victorian GP Midget Racing Association headed to Laang Speedway for the second round of Stinger Chassis Masters Series which doubled as the Southern Shoot-Out on Saturday night and Ashley Booker took a clean sweep maximising his points to take a commanding lead in the series. Heat 1 was always going to be full of action as it was the first time that most of the drivers had raced on the bullring. Booker started on pole with Paul Perry alongside, then Shawn Ward and Terry Brown on the second row, followed by Travis Florrimell, Mark Blackeby, Matt Kamolins and Jack Ward. It didn’t take long before the yellows came on as Kamolins spun in turn 3 on the opening lap leaving Jack Ward nowhere to go and put him out for the night. Kamolins was able to restart but before the race got underway Brown pulled up on the front straight with rear brake issues that would seem to plague him all night. On the restart Booker took control and Florrimell looked racey, moving up to third as Shawn Ward got past Perry for second. Booker would run away with the victory ahead of Ward, Perry, Blackeby and Kamolins with the non-finishers of Shawn Ward whose right rear wheel came loose and Florrimell losing a chain which damaged his motor ending his night. Heat 2 saw a depleted field of 4 cars take to the track and Booker took the lead on lap 1 to lead Terry Brown all the way to the finish ahead of Blackeby in third and Perry in fourth. Heat 3 was undoubtable the race of the evening and you could throw a blanket over the top 4 cars. Terry Brown had his Stinger Chassis working a treat with Booker, Perry and Blackeby all scraping it out. Blackeby pulled out of the battle on lap 6 with engine problems and Booker almost left his move too late, only getting by Brown on the last lap in turn 3 and 4 to take the chequer. Brown and Perry filled the second and third spots respectively. Shawn Ward had worked overtime in the pits getting the Coyote Racing Team car ready in time for the feature event and Matt Kamolins overcame a carburettor back fire to take his place as well. Booker however, wasn’t going to be taking any chances in this one as he went to the high side of the track at the drop of the green, whilst Brown moved to second by lap 2 and chased gallantly ahead of Perry, Ward and Kamolins. Brown's stellar run came to an end with two laps to go when the roller on the chain seized up, moving Perry into 2nd behind Booker. Booker went on to win convincingly ahead of Perry second, Ward third and Kamolins fourth. After the race Booker thanked Mark Shiells and the Pitstop Mowers team, his sponsor R&P Stainer Grinding Services. He said "it’s a fun little track to navigate your way around especially when you come to lap traffic." Club President John Fowler said “it was a bit disappointing to lose as many cars as we did in the first heat but that’s racing sometimes. The Laang committee and everyone involved did a great job and made the night a really enjoyable one. We look forward to coming back again next season." The VGPMRA would like to say thanks their supporters this season: Stinger Chassis Pitstop Mowers Super Balance Automotive DMR Motorsport Cunningham Bros Rock Solid Production


(c) Rock Solid Productions


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