Four-time Australian Dirt Modified champion Kevin Britten was utterly unstoppable at Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway on Saturday night (November 9), trouncing a small field to win the 25-lap feature race. In what was an emphatic start to his season, Britten never looked likely to lose, shrugging off a series of restarts to lead every lap and ultimately finish ahead of David Clark, who started alongside Britten on the front row but found himself shuffled back in the early going before clawing his back onto the podium. Having scored a Modlite feature race win seven days earlier, Terry Leerentveld proved his versatility with a strong run into third place.

A similar scenario played out in the Shock Absorber Therapy AMCA Nationals feature race, with national champ Matt Hardy leading throughout to defeat Steve Potts and Russ Hardy.

Keith Blatch outgunned the field to win the Stockmans Civil and Plant Lightning Sprint feature race over Scott Jukes and Jason Rae, while other feature race winners on the night included Jason Glynn (Microsprints), Bodie Smith (Compact Speedcars), Wayne Kirkman (Outlaw Sedans), Adrian Browne (Limited Sedans), Les Eisenmenger (Open Sedans) and Terry Russell (Ford vs Holden vs Sigma).

Given the small field that gathered for the first Dirt Modified show of the season, Britten was always expected to be at the forefront of the results and he wasted no time in stamping his authority on proceedings, cutting the quickest lap in hot laps.

The opening heat saw Klinton Hancey fend off a fast-finishing Andrew Pezzutti to secure the win, with Dale Corbett in third spot.

With Britten starting from pole position in heat two, the race went exactly as expected and he cleared away to win by more than half a lap. With a best lap of 13.643 on a night when nobody else dropped under 14 seconds, Britten finished more than eight seconds clear of Phil Roberts, with Zac McDonald finishing third.

Clark prevailed in heat three in advance of Ray Eggins and Dale Corbett, while the final heat went to Leerentveld over McDonald and Britten.

With Pezzutti and Andrew Firth suffering setbacks that prevented them from starting the feature race, 12 cars faced the starter with Clark starting alongside Britten on the front row. Into turn one, Clark found himself trapped high and dropped three spots behind Hancey, Leerentveld and McDonald. The first interruption came on lap two when Roberts looped in turn four, a move replicated by Corbett just a lap later. With just two more circulations completed, Corbett spun again in the same spot and took no further part in proceedings. A final restart was required when Ray Eggins spun himself out of a top-five result. Through it all, Britten held firm at the front, with Leerentveld having moved ahead of Hancey for second spot. When Hancey headed infield on lap 10, Clark found himself in third with Leerentveld in his sights. As the laps wound down, Britten cruised home ahead of Clark, who moved ahead of Leerentveld late in proceedings, with Sam Bruggy and McDonald next best.

Making a strong start to their Brisbane season, Lightning Sprints fronted with a very good field comprising some very well-presented cars and it was Wayne Iacono who prevailed in the opening heat ahead of Darren Baldwin and David Van Vegchel.

Heat two saw Queensland champ Jason Rae lead Blatch and Tyler Stralow to the chequer before Jukes clinched the final heat in advance of Jason George and Blatch.

The feature race was a straightforward affair with Blatch leading every lap to defeat Jukes and Rae, both of whom also occupied their positions from the drop of the green. Whilst Iacono was similarly untroubled in fourth, the battle for fifth saw three different drivers occupy the position before Stralow, who had won both of the previous rounds, seized the moment and relegated Darren Baldwin to sixth. Michael Gollagher was next in line ahead of Van Vegchel, with George and Adam Norton rounding out the top ten.

After a very strong start to their season with great fields for the opening rounds of the their track championship series, just 10 AMCA Nationals hit the track for round three, only six of whom would survive to contest the feature race.

The first heat went to Russ Hardy over Steve Potts and Matt Hardy, with Nathan Tomkins taking heat two ahead of Potts and Matt Hardy.

The third heat delivered a remarkable finish when a late lunge from Matt Hardy saw him somehow emerge with a win by the merest of margins, inching ahead of Thomas Vickery by just 0.002.

In what was a recurring theme throughout the night, Matt Hardy led every lap of the feature, with Potts likewise occupying second spot for the duration, unable to make much impression on the national champ despite clocking the fastest lap of the race. Vickery held third spot through the opening laps until Russ Hardy found his way onto the podium, with Tomkins also moving ahead of Vickery for fourth, leaving Troy Price as the only other finisher.

Following heat wins to Trent Usher (2) and Dave Collins, Queensland champ Bodie Smith was, as expected, a cut above his rivals in the Compact Speedcar feature race and zoomed clear to win the 12-lap encounter by more than four seconds. Having led early, Connor McCullough finished in second spot ahead of Steve Swingler, Trent Usher and Chris Pidgeon.

After collecting two heat wins, Jason Glynn was untroubled in winning the Microsprint feature race. Second-placed John Lawson trailed by more than six seconds at the fall of the flag, with Cameron Munro and Matt Hanford the only other finishers.

There was action aplenty in the Open Sedan feature race with both Glenn Willmott and Alan Robertson spinning themselves out of the lead. Another spin from Willmott would end his challenge, while Robertson fought back from the rear of the field to eventually finished second behind Les Eisenmenger. It was Brad Trussell who greeted the chequer in first spot, only to be excluded by race officials, handing the win to Eisenmenger and elevating Mark Anderson into third spot.

In RSA Sedan competition, Daniel Taylor and Wayne Kirkman shared the spoils in the Outlaw Sedan heats with a win apiece, but the subsequent demise of all three cars from the Taylor team would leave Kirkman to enjoy an untroubled run to the chequer in the feature race, finishing a lap clear of the only other finisher in Zane Williams.

Wade Baker and Aaron Buchanan were the heat winners in Limited Sedans but were also the only two drivers who failed to go the distance in the feature, enabling Adrian Browne to grab the win. Greg Trezise and Shannon Knights filled the minor placings, followed by Peter Van Lissum and Brad White.

Maverick Dack, Daniel Wright and Terry Russell were heat winners in Ford vs Holden vs Sigma and it was the latter who also prevailed in the feature race, leading home Dallas Dack, Kim Dack and Jake Besgrove.

Racing action continues at Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway next Saturday night (November 16) with round four of the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Track Championship and round three of the American Tire and Racing Services Midget Series, along with Wingless Sprints, Modlites, Formula 500 Juniors and Ford vs Holden vs Sigma sedans.

Ausdeck Archerfield Speedway is proudly supported by:
Ausdeck Group
East Coast Logistics
Performance Wholesale
Queensland Speedway Spares