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By Ben Graham
Luke Oldfield and Tim Morse shared the victory spoils in the Ben Daley Signs and Stickers Grand Finale of the Summer Slam V8 Dirt Modified Series at the Lismore Speedway on Saturday night (Mar 23). Oldfield dominated the Feature race to record his second victory in as many days, while Morse’s runner-up finish was enough to secure him the overall Summer Slam crown.
Heading into the Easter Sunday finale, Morse held a 30-point buffer over Robinson, with Scott Cannon also in the hunt for series honours just 60-points shy from top spot.
Cannon momentarily took the race lead at the start of the 30-lap Championship decider, only for the stricken Wes Suffolk to bring out the yellow lights without a lap being completed. Pole-sitter Oldfield was on his game at the restart however, leading the field into turn one and was never seriously challenged for the race lead.
While Oldfield was in a class of his own out front, all eyes were on the Morse, Robinson & Cannon battle for Summer Slam supremacy. Morse had extended his lead over Robinson to 32-points heading in to the feature and needed to finish within three places of his Lismore nemesis to secure the Series Championship. All three contenders were running nose to tail in the early going, with Robinson and Morse on a charge, shuffling Cannon back to fourth.
Cannon’s hopes evaporated with just under 20-laps still to run, a half-spin costing him several positions, while contact with the wall ultimately brought his charge to an end. The 2001 Australian Champion would ultimately finish 17th and secure third place overall in the Summer Slam standings.
With Oldfield out front and Cannon down the order, the battle was between Robinson and Morse and with just on half-race distance complete, Morse made his move on the then second-placed Robinson, with a lowline pass exiting turn two. The pass by Morse was to prove decisive and all but secured him the Championship victory.
The closing laps saw Morse reign in Oldfield through dense lapped traffic, while Robinson maintained third. The battle for the minors was proving to be just as fierce as the race for the lead, with Aaron Suffolk, Peter Britten, Darren Latimer and Stuart Herne all part of a hungry pack trying to secure top five finishes.
Although Morse made up considerable ground over the final two laps, Oldfield held on for his second Summer Slam victory of the weekend, with Morse second and Robinson a little further back in third. Morse’s second-place finish secured him the overall Summer Slam Series crown, 42-points ahead of Robinson, with Scott Cannon third overall.
Ben Daley Signs & Stickers Grand Finale (30 Laps)
1st Luke Oldfield, 2nd Tim Morse, 3rd Mark Robinson, 4th Aaron Suffolk, 5th Darren Latimer, 6th Peter Britten, 7th Stuart Herne, 8th Robbie Scofield, 9th Matty Pascoe, 10th Ray Eggins, 11th Phil McNamara, 12th Dennis Mazzer, 13th Steve Wright, 14th Tony Dunn, 15th Murray Atkin, 16th Paul Booker, 17th Scott Cannon, DNF Andrew Pezzutti, Gary Wathen, Trevor Perry, Wes Suffolk
SUMMER SLAM FINAL POINT STANDINGS (AFTER SIX OF SIX ROUNDS)
1st Tim Morse 1,528
2nd Mark Robinson 1,486
3rd Scott Cannon 1,387
4th Darren Latimer 1,243
5th Stuart Herne 1,163
6th Steven Milthorpe 906
7th Trevor Perry 751
8th Murray Atkin 741
9th Lloyd Hobson 645
10th Tony Sneddon 579
11th Cory Read 369
12th Tony Moore 327
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