11/24/2024
Late Model Racing Western Australia
Chalmers Back-to-Back!
Last night at the Tyres & More Esperance Speedway, it was Australian Champion Joe Chalmers (Team BCM Motorsport:) who claimed his second win in as many nights, racing his way to victory in what was Round Five of the Pro Dirt Series, proudly presented by Ross's Auctioneers & Valuers.
Chalmers had another big night, second fastest in qualifying behind Jamie Oldfield (Oldfield Racing), winning his heat (as did Jamie Oldfield and Warren Oldfield (Oldfield Racing)), then again finishing second to Jamie Oldfield in the Gold Dash to start the main event on outside pole. Mat Robbins (Robbins Motorsport ) and Damian Hudson (Hudson Racing Team) would claim the other two dash race victories.
As the main event went green Chalmers got the run on the outside to take the lead from Jamie, with Jason from the second row also diving under Jamie to be second by the end of lap one.
Ryan Huxtable (Huxy Racing) would retire early, but up front it mattered little, as Chalmers opened up a huge gap very quickly, Jason, Jamie and Warren left to watch him pulling away.
Chalmers was quickly into lapped traffic, and he was able to move around them with ease, putting three cars between himself and second-placed Jason in a matter of half a lap.
Sticking to the highline, Chalmers was able to make his way onto the back of another heavy pack of lapped traffic, Jason Oldfield a quarter of a lap behind. The traffic slowed Chalmers significantly and all of a sudden Jason was right on his tail, both drivers within a couple of car lengths.
Just as Jason was looking to make something happen the yellows came on for a couple of cars coming together, Jeff Pahl (Pahly Racing) spinning to a stop on the back straight just as the leaders came around, everyone able to avoid contact.
The restart would see Chalmers lead away Jason, Jamie, Warren, and local hope Robbins who was doing a stellar job to move into fifth after starting seventh.
Jamie was able to get by Jason on the restart, but the yellows came on quickly as David Boyes (Boyes Motorsport) found himself facing the wrong way in turn two, seeing cars line up once again without another lap having been completed.
The next attempt didn’t last much longer, Jamie again able to get by Jason for second but Freddy Kinsella (Team Green Racing) now finding himself facing backwards in the middle of turn two, Pahl climbing over his bonnet with his right rear and getting some air time, but somehow able to continue while Aaron Liddell also spun in sympathy.
With two failed attempts at resuming the race, the field would now line up single file for the next restart, all cars able to take their previous positions.
Jason worked hard to go with Joe at the restart but couldn’t quite match his speed, while Jamie was now coming under pressure from Warren for the final spot on the podium.
Lapped traffic was quickly into play once again and this gave Jason the opportunity to close the gap once again, less than a car length separating them.
Chalmers made a good choice in traffic while Jason got baulked, which allowed Warren, who had by this point got by Jamie for third, to stick the nose underneath Jason for second only to have a lapped car go sideways in front of him. This left Warren with no choice but to stand on the anchors, seeing Jason shoot back by on the outside. Robbins was also able to get by Jamie for fourth at this time.
A few laps later the yellows came on for Kinsella, who came to a stop at the top of turn three after collecting the wall, ultimately ending his race with eight laps remaining.
Again, Chalmers led away Jason, Warren, Robbins, and Jamie, with the bulk of the field locking down to the bottom of the track.
Chalmers broke away once more and closed on the back of the field quickly, and with the final laps quickly getting completed he would go on to take a solid win from Jason Oldfield with Warren Oldfield in third. Jamie Oldfield got by Robbins in the dying stages to finish in fourth ahead of Robbins who rounded out the top five in what was another good race by all drivers.
Teams now have less than a week to travel home and get their machinery all sorted before one of the biggest events on the calendar next Saturday night, the John Day Classic at the Perth Motorplex!
The 2024/25 Pro Dirt Series is proudly supported by Maddington Toyota & CanningVale Toyota, ABN Trade Mates, McPhee Freight, scardifieldssmash, Heatleys Safety, Industrial & Automotive, Ross's Auctioneers & Valuers, SupaFit Seat Covers, My Race Pass, Wilson Brewing Company, The Event Mill and Dirt Track Nutters.
Release by DTN Media.
Pics Courtesy Jake Meadley Imagery.
Contingency Awards
DTN Pole Position – Jamie Oldfield
Heatley’s Hard Charger – Brendan Hucker (+4)
Supafit Supa 7 – Rod Musarra
Ross’s All Star – Mat Robbins
Wilson Top Local – Mat Robbins
Official Results
Qualifying, 2 laps: 1. 51 Jamie Oldfield 14.701, 2. A1 Joe Chalmers 14.712, 3. 15 Warren Oldfield 14.737, 4. 11 Jason Oldfield 14.780, 5. 21 Rod Musarra 14.826, 6. 318 Freddy Kinsella 14.954, 7. 76 Ben Strautins 15.141, 8. 57 Mat Robbins 15.166, 9. T6 Brad Smith 15.183, 10. 24 Jeff Pahl 15.234, 11. 94 Luke Halliday 15.253, 12. 07 Kodee Brown 15.282, 13. 88 Chevy Johnson 15.370, 14. 74 Nathan Richards 15.470, 15. 80 Damian Hudson 15.573, 16. 90 David Boyes 15.610, 17. 81 Peter Walker 15.626, 18. 25 Ryan Huxtable 15.645, 19. 59 Murray Parsons 15.858, 20. V23 Brendan Hucker 15.888, 21. 49 Sean Barrett 15.920, 22. 333 Aaron Liddell 16.238, 23. 233 Matt Wrenn NTT.
Heat One, 8 laps: 1. 51 Jamie Oldfield, 2. 11 Jason Oldfield, 2. 76 Ben Strautins, 4. 24 Jeff Pahl, 5. 81 Peter Walker, 6. 74 Nathan Richards, 7. 49 Sean Barrett, 8. 59 Murray Parsons. Total Time: 2.04.922. Winning Margin: 3.729. Fastest Lap: 14.954 Ben Strautins.
Heat Two, 8 laps: 1. A1 Joe Chalmers, 2. 57 Mat Robbins, 3. 94 Luke Halliday, 4. 80 Damian Hudson, 5. 21 Rod Musarra, 6. 25 Ryan Huxtable, 7. 333 Aaron Liddell (7). DNF: 233 Matt Wrenn (2). Total Time: 2.02.504. Winning Margin: 3.526. Fastest Lap: 14.583 A1 Joe Chalmers.
Heat Three, 8 laps: 1. 15 Warren Oldfield, 2. T6 Brad Smith, 3. 318 Freddy Kinsella, 4. 07 Kodee Brown, 5. 90 David Boyes, 6. V23 Brendan Hucker, 7. 88 Chevy Johnson. Total Time: 2.03.627. Winning Margin: 4.805. Fastest Lap: 14.845 Warren Oldfield.
Gold Dash, 6 laps: 1. 51 Jamie Oldfield, 2. A1 Joe Chalmers, 3. 15 Warren Oldfield, 4. 11 Jason Oldfield, 5. 21 Rod Musarra, 6. 318 Freddy Kinsella. Total Time: 1.31.665. Winning Margin: 1.457. Fastest Lap: 14.732 Jamie Oldfield.
Silver Dash, 6 laps: 1. 57 Mat Robbins, 2. T6 Brad Smith, 3. 76 Ben Strautins, 4. 94 Luke Halliday, 5. 24 Jeff Pahl, 6. 07 Kodee Brown. Total Time: 1.33.498. Winning Margin: 1.437. Fastest Lap: 14.915 Mat Robbins.
Bronze Dash, 10 laps: 1. 80 Damian Hudson, 2. 81 Peter Walker, 3. 90 David Boyes, 4. V23 Brendan Hucker, 5. 25 Ryan Huxtable, 6. 49 Sean Barrett, 7. 333 Aaron Liddell, 8. 233 Matt Wren, 9. 88 Chevy Johnson. DNF: 59 Murray Parsons (1), 74 Nathan Richards (1). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 3.436. Fastest Lap: 15.404 Damian Hudson.
Feature, 30 laps: 1. A1 Joe Chalmers, 2. 11 Jason Oldfield, 3. 15 Warren Oldfield, 4. 51 Jamie Oldfield, 5. 57 Mat Robbins, 6. 94 Luke Halliday, 7. 21 Rod Musarra, 8. 76 Ben Strautins, 9. 81 Peter Walker, 10. 90 David Boyes, 11. V23 Brendan Hucker, 12. T6 Brad Smith, 13. 80 Damian Hudson, 14. 24 Jeff Pahl (29), 15. 49 Sean Barrett (28), 16. 333 Aaron Liddell (28), 17. 233 Matt Wrenn (26). DNF: 88 Chevy Johnson (24), 318 Freddy Kinsella (22), 25 Ryan Huxtable (1). DNS: 07 Kodee Brown, 59 Murray Parson, 74 Nathan Richards. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 2.400. Fastest Lap: 14.363 Joe Chalmers.
Article Credit: DTN Media
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