Rain Ruins Aussie Open
Author : Archerfield Speedway

Saturday night (January 11) at Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway saw Mother Nature achieve something that nobody else had been able to accomplish this season when a rain system swept in and deprived Donny Schatz of a sixth successive feature race victory. It was seemingly only the weather that could disrupt his winning run, denying him the opportunity to secure a 10th victory in the Titan Garages QSS World Series Sprintcar Australian Open.

With rain forecast and edging closer to the area as day turned to night, an early decision to condense the program by eliminating one round of heats was the right call, but it ultimately proved of little consequence as the event fell victim to the weather for the first time in its 24-year history, albeit the 2011 race was rescheduled to April in the wake of floods across Brisbane.

Of the heat racing that was completed, Brock Hallet kicked things off with a win over Rusty Hickman and Luke Oldfield in heat seven.

Glen Sutherland grabbed his second heat success of the weekend in heat eight when he downed David Murcott and Cody Maroske.

In what would prove to be the final Sprintcar race of the weekend, Adam Butler finally snared a win after coming close on two occasions the previous night. In a local trifecta, Andrew Corbet finished second ahead of Bryan Mann.

With neither Schatz nor Friday night points leader Lachlan McHugh making much progress in their respective outings, a fifth-place finish in his heat race was enough to propel Madsen to the top of the table, finishing the abbreviated weekend two points clear of McHugh. Third overall was Jock Goodyer, with Schatz finishing fourth in the standings ahead of James McFadden, Oldfield, Andrew Scheuerle, Jack Lee, Brent Kratzmann and Rusty Hickman.

All Wingless Sprint heats for round five of the Ian Boettcher Race Parts / Activated Industries Super Series were completed and it was Cody OConnell (2), Liam Atkinson, David Eggins, Scott Thomsen and Tim Harris who shared the spoils, with the B Main abandoned after just two laps in the wake of a nasty crash from Brady Baldwin in turn one.

The usual suspects featured in the heats for round six of the Shock Absorber Therapy AMCA Nationals Track Championship, with Nathan Durston, Thomas Vickery, Steve Potts and Tony Blanch recording wins. Interestingly though, it would be Bruce Marshall, Matt Hardy and Cody Simmons who finished equal top qualifiers.

In Formula 500 action, heat wins fell in favour of Brodie Davis, Brady Argles and Tarhlia Apelt.

The next event at Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway is on January 25 featuring round ten of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship and round six of the American Tire and Racing Services Midget Series, plus Compact Speedcars, Open Sedans, RSA Sedans, Ford vs Holden vs Sigma sedans, Fireworks and a Demolition Derby.

Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway is proudly supported by:

Ausdeck Group
East Coast Logistics
Performance Wholesale
Queensland Speedway Spares