NEWS RELEASE
Darren Sutton is Friday's King of Kwinana February 20 - Darren Sutton enjoyed the 'perfect night' with 3 wins from 3 starts on his way to taking out the Friday night King of Kwinana, as well as the all important 300 points towards the Our Car Autos Perth Motorplex Series Championship. Courtesy of his heat wins, Sutton headed the field for the final, and promptly raced to victory in the Watsons Express Transport #5. Lee Nash and Ryan Condren chased hard to complete the podium, but could no catch Sutton over the 12 lap journey.23 Wingless Sprints fronted for action, ahead of the first 2 night show for the class in W.A. With 600 points up for grabs over the two nights the leader board had the potential of a big reshuffle, particularly with two of the Top 10 missing from the pits. Sutton signalled his intentions early, with a win in his opening heat, coming from the third row. Ben Migro and Bradley Phillips got proceedings underway and had a wonderful stoush over the opening two laps. As that pair raced into Pits Bend fighting over the lead, Sutton swept by both in a fantastic move and charged away to win by a strong margin. Migro held onto 2nd ahead of Phillips, with Nikki Nash steering her way to 4th.
A strong front two rows lined up for the second event of the evening, with Carl Pickersgill and Liam Dowling tailed by Phil Moylan and Ryan Condren. With Marshall McDiarmid, Lee Nash and Bill Stocks lurking further back, this heat had the potential to be a beauty, and it's fair to say it didn't disappoint. When the dust settled from the charge into the first corner, it was Pickersgill who had taken the advantage in The Panel Shop #25, with Condren positioning the Graham Manley Auto Repairs #11 around a metre off Pickersgill's rear nerf bar. McDiarmid, Stocks and Nash were warring furiously over 3rd, as Condren and Pickersgill put on a clinic up ahead. Condren and Pickersgill swapped lines multiple times as Condren looked for a way past, but raced each other with respect and ultimately Pickersgill took the win by 2/10th of a second. McDiarmid held onto 3rd, with Stocks leading home Nash.
Chad Gordon and Merv Lowther led the field away in the next event, with Sutton looming on the second row. He didn't loom for long, charging straight into the lead and once again speeding to a decisive victory. Phil Moylan managed to find a way past Lowther and take second, holding that spot through to the completion of the heat, with Lowther hanging onto 3rd.
With Sutton clear with two heat wins, all eyes turned to the final heat of the evening, with only Pickersgill capable of matching Sutton's haul, but starting behind the likes of Nash, McDiarmid, Condren and Stocks. Adam Brauer led the field away, with McDiarmid flying into the early lead. The race very quickly became a race in three as Nash followed McDiarmid and Condren joined the fray. Nash had too much speed and slipped into the lead, as Condren once again found himself in the position of chaser. Condren pressured McDiarmid for almost the entire race distance as the ari chased Nash, ultimately all finishing within around 2 seconds of each other. Stocks took 4th in another good drive, followed by Migro. Further back in the field Adrian LaMacchia got the highline working late in the race to move the House of Computer Rentals #95 up a few of spots in a late flurry of activity.
Sutton deservedly had the prized pole start for the 12 lap final, alongside McDiarmid, with Nash and Condren completing the front quartet. Sutton got the jump and Nash found his way past McDiarmid in the early stages of the race. Condren moved onto the tail of McDiarmid as the latter struggled with what appeared to be a lack of power. Lowther lost a front wheel from the Our Car Autos #75 in turn one, and as the wheel rolled across the track the yellows came on. Lowther was directed to the infield, and at the resumption Condren moved into the top three with a nice move on McDiarmid. Sutton and Nash set a cracking pace with lap times under the 18 second barrier, with Condren in the 18 flat bracket. Pickersgill was showing his outstanding run at last week's Fast Friday was consistent with his current form in 4th as he also moved by McDiarmid, while Stocks was once again quietly going about his business and sitting in the top 6.
Back in the field there were some great battles going on, with Moylan and Migro working each other for 7th, while Cory Gilpin, LaMacchia and Trevor Jolly fought over the final spot in the top 10. 18 cars finished the journey, and as highlighted by track boss Gavin Migro after the event, a full field of Wingless Sprints around the Motorplex with battles all over the track is a sight to behold. Ultimately of course it was Sutton who held firm for the win, with Nash and Condren completing the podium. Pickersgill retained 4th, followed home by McDiarmid, Stocks, Moylan, Migro, Dowling, Gilpin, LaMacchia, Jolly, Taylor, Attwood, Brauer, Beard, Phillips and Bovell.
Last night's results have shuffled the season points around somewhat, and Night Two of the King of Kwinana will give some an opportunity to consolidate their spots, while others will be keen to atone for results that shuffled them down the order last night. Don't miss the action at the Perth Motorplex tonight, with over 20 cars once again fronting for Wingless Sprint action alongside Sammy Swindell and the other stars of the King of the Wings battle.