50 cars made for our biggest night for a while, and some serious racing action at Launceston R/C tonight. Steve Madziara (8th Big Bangers), Gene Newell (Novice), Sam Wells (10th Buggy & Short Course A), Andrew Mackenzie (Tourers) and Shaun Whatley (Short Course B) took the wins.

Welcome to Kade Targett, first time racer tonight, and to Chloe Beresford and Darren Sheehan who joined the club tonight. Great to have you guys with us!  And nice to welcome back regular Qld visitor David Guyatt as well.

Check the full results here or read on for the story of the night.

8th Big Bangers

When Justin Strickland took both the qualifiers, it seemed like he had Steve Madziara on the ropes.  Madziara however, wuould have none of it, and struck back with a fantastic front-running drive that left his rivals no opportunity.  Madziara went on to a comfortable 24 second win over Strickland with Ben Wilson a consistent third all night long.  John Silczak got the better of Troy Taylor after a race-long battle with Darren Sheehan and James Atkinson rounding out the field.

1. Steve Madziara: 23 10.07
2. Justin Strickland: 23 10.31
3. Ben Wilson: 21 10.16
4. John Silczak: 18 10.06
5. Troy Taylor: 18 10.07
6. Darren Sheehan: 17 10.14
7. James Atkinson: 6 6.07

Novice

A competitive 7 car field faced the starter tonight, with Mark Jones quick in Q1, but Gene Newell quicker still in Q2 to start the final from pole position.  Gene got the holeshot and steadily eased away throughout the final in what was his best race yet at Launceston, going on to a one-lap win.  It wasn’t that simple behind, with Jones and Calvin James trading places throughout the race before eventually finishing in that order. Michael Taylor too had one of his best races yet in fourth ahead of Chloe Beresford, newcomer Kade Targett and Carl Taylor.

1. Gene Newell: 19 10.22
2. Mark Jones: 18 10.22
3. Calvin James: 18 10.33
4. Michael Taylor: 15 10.00
5. Chloe Beresford: 15 10.17
6. Kade Targett: 13 10.33
7. Carl Taylor: 10 10.12

Touring Cars

8 cars lined up tonight for what turned out to be a great night’s racing, and a genuine upset. Andrew Mackenzie made the most of his chances, great speed and some errors from regular winner Rocket Houghton to take both the qualifiers and start the 10 minute final from the coveted front-row starting spot.  The two battled closely through the first few minutes of the final before Rocket nosed into the turn-one ropes and Andrew took full advantage, edging out to what would grow into a race-winning lead.  Rocket chased hard, but ultimately it was a fruitless chase.  Peter Hutton ran in a strong third until running into electrical gremlines mid race, Graham Viney taking up the podium spot with his Mini, only narrowly in front of a speedy Ian Scott.

1. Andrew Mackenzie: 48 10.04
2. Rodney Houghton: 47 10.11
3. Graham Viney: 36 10.10
4. Ian Scott: 35 10.10
5. Derek Beresford: 31 10.10
6. Jade Chandler: 21 10.11
7. Kelly Viney: 21 10.17
8. Peter Hutton: 11 2.36

10th Buggy

Big 10-car field tonight, with Sam Wells running wild at the front of the field. He overcame a slow start to take the Q1 win, backed up again for a very fast Q2 time for pole position. Come finals and he simply had too much, easing away throughout to an eventual 2 lap win.  Andrew Mackenzie and Paddy Hume put on some kind of battle, switching places regularly before eventually finishing in that order. Jade Chandler continued his improvement in the class for fourth, with Ben Wilson on the steep learning curve of returning to 10th after a long stint running an 8th buggy in fifth.

1. Sam Wells: 24 10.05
2. Andrew Mackenzie: 22 10.07
3. Paddy Hume: 22 10.17
4. Jade Chandler: 20 10.07
5. Ben Wilson: 16 10.08
6. Darren Sheehan: 16 10.09
7. Damien Betts: 14 7.27
8. Jarrod Painting: 12 5.57
9. John Silczak: 7 4.34
10. Chris Murray: DNS

Short Course Truck

19 trucks made this the biggest class of the night, and a class in which the level of performance continues to increase week-on-week.  The battle for A final spots was intense, and both A and B final saw some excellent racing. Up front Sam Wells was the fast man, building on what has been an excellent season for him with the Top Qualifier position, ahead of north-west’s Mark Rayner.

Damien Betts started on pole for the B final, and it was an absolutely cracking race. Betts, Chris Murray, Jordan Turner and Zander Wade all took turns at the front in the opening minutes, while Shaun Whatley recovered from a tough start. Mid-race and Whatley’s recovery was complete, joining the leading bunch before his pace and consistency paid off and a great drive to the front complete. Shaun hung on through the last few minutes while Turner found his feet, got to second and then resisted a last-lap challenge from Betts in a super finish.  Aside from Andrew Mackenzie’s Tourer win, this was definitely the race of the night.

1. Shawn Whatley: 19 10.06
2. Jordan Turner: 19 10.12
3. Damien Betts: 19 10.14
4. Chris Murray: 19 10.34
5. Zander Wade: 18 10.02
6. Sam Leeder: 18 10.33
7. James Atkinson: 16 10.05
8. Philip Ferguson: 15 10.44
9. Ian Scott: DNF

The A final promised much, and with battles right through the field, it delivered. At the front however, it was all Sam Wells, the Team Associated pilot continuing a stunning run of form to be untouchable throughout. Scott Guyatt overcame a fast starting Josh Fogarty to run in second right through, with Rocket Houghton getting over his own slow start for an excellent third. Mark Rayner just prevailed in his duel with Greenie – the margin between the pair just a half-second at the line, while Josh Fogarty put together his quickest SC performance yet.  In a race filled with stories Chris Madziara was did a great job for seventh, Queenslander David Guyatt 8th, Jason Turner 9th and Richard Green 10th.  For Madziara, Turner and Green, the A final appearance was just reward for excellent qualifying pace.

1. Sam Wells: 24 10.20
2. Scott Guyatt: 23 10.14
3. Rocket Houghton: 22 10.08
4. Mark Rayner: 22 10.19
5. Andrew “Greenie” Green: 22 10.19
6. Josh Fogarty: 22 10.25
7. Chris Madziara: 21 10.04
8. David Guyatt: 20 10.11
9. Jason Turner: 20 10.18
10. Richard Green: 19 10.17

So an excellent night. Of particular note, a big night for Team Associated drivers, with the cars taking wins in four out of six classes – the first time we’ve seen such dominance from one manufacturer. Sam Wells has proven the pace of the SC10 truck – pushing the previously dominant HPI Blitz back into the minor placing for the third time this season.

Next race will be the last for the Spring 2011 season. We’ll publish a full points list later this week. Join us on December 8th for what should be a great night of racing.

In the meantime, don’t forget the club Christmas lunch – grab the details here.

And good luck to Alex John, Matt & Allanah Hodgetts and Scott Guyatt at next week’s National Champs for 8th EP buggy and GP Truggy.  Follow the action live on-line at slyfox, or via Scott’s twitter feed, or at Scott’s own blog where there will be daily updates.