January 2 - Perth Motorplex opened 2012 with a bang tonight, as the annual Sprintcar Muster roared into life, and once again saw the Wingless Sprints as part of the all open wheel program. It certainly turned out to be not only the start of a new year, but Daniel Keen fired a massive warning shot that it may be the start of a new way of life for the rest of the field after not only winning the 15 lap feature, but doing it in the most impressive way. Keen started the feature race in 7th, and after a magnificent start, found himself 3rd on the first lap. Whilst the start was impressive, the sight of Daryl Clayden and Ryan Condren up ahead would have ensured the Keen's Truck Driver Training W9 pilot knew he had plenty of work still to do if he was to transpose a podium position into a win. While Clayden and Condren appeared to be making the most of their front row start, Keen kept them well within sight, and then made his move with a sweeping outside pass around Condren for 2nd.  Clayden still held the advantage, and after sweeping the racing over the Christmas weekend as well as taking a 1st and 2nd in tonight's heats, it would have taken a brave man to put money on what happened next. As the leaders moved through turns 3 and 4 to complete the first third of the race, Keen lined up his man and drove around the outside of the Rogue Race Products A1 and into the lead with 10 to go. One can only wonder what was going through Clayden's mind, as with the Esco Electrical W95 of Scott Elst further back in the field and the quick red W11 of Condren close by, he could have been excused for not expecting a white #9 to drive straight around him. As if to put a real stamp on things, Keen then opened up an advantage on both Clayden and Condren.  Further back in the field, there were several big movers as Ben Migro moved from 16th at the start, to inside the Top 10, and Adrian LaMacchia also made up several positions from his 13th placed start. Elst was also in a hurry, wanting to limit points losses to Clayden after starting back in 8th. By race end Elst had recovered to 4th, showing his usual speed to pass several cars. Marshall McDiarmid was consistent as always throughout the night, and converted a 6th placed start into a 5th placed finish, while Ash Hounsfield also demonstrated the consistency that has him well within the Top 10 of the season points. Hounsfield started 4th after taking a heat win earlier in the night in the FMC Allwest Transport W61, and was 6th by the end of the tough 15 lap finale.  Lee Redmond's luck took on a different look with the advent of a new year, this time dropping a heat and having to start the feature back in 14th. He made up plenty of positions to eventually take 7th in the feature, leading home Daryl Spalding, Migro and LaMacchia to round out the Top 10. Further back, Bill Stocks, Phil Taylor, Travis Southwell and Glen Francis rounded out the finishers. It was yet another stand out event from the wingless drivers, who have put on some great racing in recent weeks.  The heats certainly provided some of the stories that helped shape the final, with a couple of drivers excelling, some controversy and one of the stranger DNF's seen in recent times. After a Clayden - Elst 1 - 2 to start proceedings, with Redmond and Condren following them home, the first heat appeared on face value to be a routine affair. A good battle up front as the lead two in particular raced close, but post race one of the mysteries of the race was revealed. LaMacchia had started the heat on the 2nd row, so it was disappointing for supporters of the Northside Service Centre W6 when he headed infield on the opening lap. Engine problems? Anything mechanical at all? Nope! A rather large chunk of Kwinana clay had launched itself off the Clayden car and smashed it's way through the rock screen of the W6. Not content with the damage it caused there, which was considerable, it scored a direct hit on the visor of LaMacchia's helmet. LaMacchia, stunned but not beaten, then decided it was perhaps time to remove the offending clay, only for it to drop off his lap and under the accelerator pedal. Clay 1 - LaMacchia 0, as this final act of defiance from the offending dirt chunk put the W6 on the infield to start 2012. Merv Lowther unfortunately managed to go one better for miserable starts to the year, taking a front row start in Heat 2 and turning it into a DNF on the first corner. As the field moved into turn one, the W46 slid up track and into the wall, bending the right front wheel and retiring Lowther from the night's racing. Hounsfield was the main beneficiary, moving onto the front row for the restart and taking an all the way win. Keen fired an early warning shot, flying into 4th from the rear of the field (which was later penalised of being too eager), while the new year didn't appear to have changed Migro's luck as he again pulled infield in the AJ Cochrane & Sons W7 in a cloud of smoke. Stocks and McDiarmid followed Hounsfield home. Ryan Condren turned the tables on Clayden in Heat 3, with Keen 3rd, but it was the 4th heat of the evening that had a big impact on the make up of the final as well as potentially the season championship chase. Elst and Migro made up the front row, while LaMacchia and McDiarmid followed. McDiarmid had a horror start, slipping up high and almost suffering the same fate as Lowther earlier. Elst charged off into the lead and appeared set for another comfortable win as the margin grew with every lap. Russell Seery pulled to a stop with only two laps remaining and the field reformed. LaMacchia grabbed the advantage on the start, but the always quick W95 snatched the advantage away with a pass down low. LaMacchia fought back, and Migro was also heavily involved in the final sprint to the finish. LaMacchia grabbed the lead back, then as the field entered the back straight for the last time there was contact as Migro caught the tail of Elst. Elst spun to a halt on the back straight as LaMacchia took the chequered flag. Migro crossed the line 2nd but was relegated to last for his part in the Elst spin. Spalding picked up 2nd as a result, while Allan Nash was moved to 3rd. Neither camp was happy with the outcome of the late race incident, the tight Motorplex timelines denying Elst a restart and opportunity to take back his 2nd position, while the ROF punishment was not exactly welcome news for the Migro camp. It was one of the incidents that must make the life of a Chief Steward uncomfortable with time constraints to some extent dictating the outcome, but Jerome Sutton made the call and the race entered the books with Elst and Migro classified as 2nd last and last respectively. This left a line up for the feature that promised a great race, and the class once again delivered, but it was the performance of the Northern Territory champ Keen that has truly shaken up the field as we enter the second half of the season. Incredibly enough, after a night that ebbed and flowed the way it did, the Top 10 in the season championship finished in the first 10 positions in tonight's feature, and while Keen took the honours in the feature race, Clayden in fact extended his lead by being the night's top point scorer. The field now have a welcome weekend off, before heading south to Margaret River on the 14th of January for the Keen Truck Driver Training Wingless Challenge.            Wingless Sprints WA would like to thank all their sponsors for season 2011 / 12, with the support from season sponsor Rogue Race Products, and Gold Sponsors Steel Blue Workwear, Transit Clothing, Jim Kidd Sports and Keen Driver Training assisting in getting the club on the road to a successful season.