Cameron Gessner and the #41 Cowara Motorsport team were right on the pace during the annual Sprintcar King of the Wings event at the Perth Motorplex last Saturday evening, but were unfortunately eliminated through no fault of their own.

Gessner was holding down a solid third spot behind Ryan Farrell and David Priolo on lap 29 of the A Main when Priolo veered into the safety fence.

Priolo's car bounced off the fence and hit Gessner as he tried to take avoiding action.

The impact bent the rocker cover and tore the headers off the engine, bringing a sudden end to a very competitive night for the Cowara Motorsports team.

The night kicked off with the usual time trial which saw 27 cars run against the clock.

Gessner was credited with a best lap time of 14.789 seconds that put him in sixth position, just 0.301 of a second behind the fast time driver Bradley Maiolo.

The heat race saw Gessner start from position six in the 14 car field and finish in fifth place.

Next up was the B Dash which saw the Queensland Sprintcar Champion come out of position three and cross the line a close second behind Shaun Bradford.

A 24 car field lined up for the 31st running of the King of the Wings classic which was to be held over a 40-lap distance, with a ten minute compulsory pitstop at the halfway mark.

Gessner was to start the event from position four (on the outside of the second row of the grid).

There were a couple of early stoppages in the event with Gessner running in fifth position.

Thirty-five laps remained as Gessner moved up to fourth and then took over third.

On lap 10 (30 left to run) Gessner was passed by Priolo and was sitting in fourth spot.

On lap 20 Nathan Brady slowed and Gessner could not avoid him, damaging the front wing on the car.

Luckily the pitstop was called and repairs were made to the car by the hardworking pit crew.

When the race resumed Gessner dived underneath Jason Kendrick for second spot and was chasing the leader Ryan Farrell.

Then Priolo got past Gessner, dropping him back to third.

On lap 29 (11 to go) Priolo bounced off the fence into the path of Gessner and his race was over for the night.

"We were once again very competitive," said Cowara Motorsport Team owner Steve Duggan. "Just before the scheduled pitstop Nathan Brady spun in front of us and Cam had nowhere to go.

"He said he tried to cause the least amount of damage in the impact, but we broke the front wing and the left hand shock.

"Cam was baulked in one of the restarts and went back to fifth but was able to get back up to second.

"He said the car was excellent and that he had something left for the leaders.

"Then the front wing let go and this affected the handling of the car but we were still right there with them.

"Priolo passed us but his mishap finished off our night."

The accident finished a fine run of podium places for the team (first, third and second) so far this season.

Not finishing the race cost the team a bundle of points in the AHG Sprintcar Series - and dropped them from a lead of 10 points to third position in the standings some 34 points behind the leader.

However the big picture this season with a revised format for the series means that the team is still right on track for a "Top Ten" placing after round nine on January 27.

After that race the "Top Ten" pointscorers are automatic entrants into the "Chase" which will see all drivers put back on equal points for the final four rounds in what should prove to be a closely fought and exciting battle for the Championship.

Round number 5 of the competition takes place this Saturday evening (December 1) at the Quit Bunbury Speedway.

The Cowara Motorsport Team wishes to acknowledge the support of their loyal sponsors who enable us to keep on racing.

Many thanks to – All West Transport, FMC, S & J Excavations, RJ Vincent, Perkins Builders, City & Regional Fuels, Ledge Finance, Maxwill Motors, Total Telephones, Passmore Automotives, Prestige Panel, Trade Hire, Coastal West Fire, South West Cranes, MR Signs, Fuchs, MJB Industries, Australind Premix, Contract Fencing, Busselton Toyota, McMahon Services. Margaret River Sign Company and Mine Sparks.

Press Release
Prepared for Cowara Motorsport
By Ken Brown
0421 173 271
stats@openaccess.com.au

Cameron Gessner in action at the Perth Motorplex