It was John Staynoff who reigned supreme in last Saturday night’s Darwin Title for Formula 500s at Darwin’s Roller Door Services NT Northline Speedway.
Continuing his solid 2016 season form, Staynoff raced to his third Northline Speedway feature-race victory of the season, coming away with the Darwin Title, ahead of Cori Jackson and veteran Gavin Jaenke in second and third place respectively. Defending Darwin Title holder Hayden Brown suffered dramas with his car earlier on the night and it consequently brought his night to a premature end.
Chace Karpenko made a triumphant return in his first appearance of the season in the Open Sprintcars, comfortably winning the 15-lap feature race, after starting from position four in the field.
Third generation racer Jason McIver, also in his first appearance for the season, led the feature race for half the distance, until Karpenko managed to make his way through the podium places to overtake him for the lead and went on to score a solid win.
McIver crashed out of contention on the final lap of the feature race while in second place, which elevated Mark Robinson into second, while rookie Caleb Gotts completed the podium in third. David Ling finished just off the podium in fourth.
The hard-luck stories in the Open Sprintcars were Steven Ling and Keith Phelps, who were involved in a crash in the second heat race along with Luke Robinson. Both Ling and Phelps sustained night-ending damage, while Robinson, who managed to repair his car with the help of many people from rival teams, was able to return to the track later in the night.
Youngster Zack Grimshaw backed up his previous victory to score his third Northline Speedway feature-race win of the 2016 season in the Junior Sedans, beating out previous feature-race winner Isaiah Strong, in what was a closely-fought battle. Brodee Everett completed the podium in third place. Grimshaw’s youngster sister, Aleisha, managed to qualify pole for the feature race following strong heat-race results and went on to finish just off the podium in an impressive fourth place.
Western Australian visitor Sam Borlini continued his winning form in the Wingless Sprints with his second feature-race victory on the trot. On this occasion, he downed Josh Norman in second and Victorian Leigh McGavin in third.
In the Speedway Karts, Darrin Uniacke picked up his second feature-race win of the 2016 season at Northline Speedway, and he did so by defeating Tristan Roulston and Tony Brown at the fall of the chequered flag.
Northline Speedway’s next meeting will be held on Saturday night of July 23 and will feature Formula 500s, AMCA Nationals, Junior Sedans, Street Stocks and Speedway Karts.
For more information about Darwin’s Roller Door Services NT Northline Speedway, visit their website: www.darwinspeedway.com.au. You can LIKE them on Facebook by searching Northline Speedway or find them on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat by searching Northline Speedway.
-ENDS-
Photo courtesy of Nakita Pollock Photography
