PRE-RACE favourite Greg Worling took full advantage of his upfront starting position when he took out the 50 lap Golden Jubilee Modified Sedan feature race at Lismore Speedway on Saturday night.
Worling was the pacesetter throughout the grinding marathon and maintained his advantage as he led Rodney Pammenter and Jason Dreaver to the chequered flag.
The race was an endurance test for some of the competitors after only five cars took the chequered flag on the same lap.
Almost half the field finished on the infield in a high rate of attrition. But nothing can take away from Worling’s smooth and articulate drive at the head of the field.
He set a cracking pace out front and midway through the race he recorded the fastest lap of the event when he clocked 15.929 seconds for a recorded speed of 90.401 km/h.
The first of several incidents occurred in the early laps after Jordan Biviano spun and Kent Shelford also was involved before both drivers finished on the infield.
The race then settled into a pattern as Pammenter, Jason Beer, Brett Baxter and Peter Gray battled for the advantage in traffic.
David Jacobi and Beer ran side-by-side for several laps with neither able to gain the upper hand in an enthralling dice.
Another yellow light occurred after 19 laps when Peter Gray’s car lost a wheel.
Later in the race, Beer suffered the same fate as Gray.
The latter part of the event was highlighted with a dice for the major placings as Worling, Pammenter and Max Clarke ran nose-to-tail.
This set the scene for a thrilling finish, however Clarke fell out of the top three in the final stages after his car overheated and Dreaver consolidated his third position in the final laps.
With steam coming from his car, Clarke continued and came home in fourth spot, while fifth-placed David Head was the only other driver credited with completing the 50-lap distance.
In the final read out, Gerry Flood, Jacobi, Brett Baxter, Mick Shelford and Beer rounded out the top 10 placings.
Heats were won by Clarke, Mick Shelford, Jacobi, Biviano, Worling and Beer.
Other main events winners were: Rick Conrad (Stockcars); Ben Hull (Wingless); Brock Youngberry (Juniors); Madison Harkin (Production Sedans) and Brock Armstrong (Street Stocks).
The next fixture at Castrol Edge Lismore Speedway will be held on March 9 and is one of the highlights of the season when the V8 Dirt Modifieds return for their triple 20-lap feature races, while the Wingless Sprintcars will contest the Golden Jubilee 50-lap main event.
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