Lismore / Grafton Speedway News
V8 Dirt Modifieds are set to open their NSW season this Saturday night at the Bartercard Lismore Speedway with the running of the Neumann Petroleum Silver Sash.
A strong field of 23 cars has nominated for the event, with entries from throughout NSW and QLD.
As is always the case in Lismore, any one of a dozen drivers are in with a legitimate chance of victory this Saturday night.
Farmer Charlies sponsored driver Stuart Herne is amongst the favourites to take out this weekends Feature event. Having been recently crowned the NASR V8 Dirt Modified Driver of the Year, Herne wrapped up his sixth Australian Title in Lismore last season and will debut a brand new Brad Marr built machine this Saturday night.
Hot on Herne’s heals will be a posse of local drivers keen to assert their dominance early in the season. Wayne Reynolds, driving the Brunswick Valley Coaches No. 2 machine, will no doubt be looking to duplicate his early season form from last season, which saw the Mullumbimby charger take out two of the first three events on the northern NSW calendar.
After taking out the last feature event of season 2001/02 in Lismore, current Summerland V8 Dirt Modified Association Club Champion Mark Robinson will be looking to pick up where he left off this weekend. Robinson recently unveiled a stunning new livery on the Valvoline No. 9 entry and was the winner of last seasons Neumann Petroleum Silver Sash.
Throw in current Queensland champion Shawn Mortimer and hard chargers Aaron Suffolk & Steve Wright, and it is easy to see why the visitors will have their work cut out for them if they are to take victory this Saturday night.
On top of the long list of local hopefuls, a number of visiting drivers will be looking for strong performances this weekend. Making the long haul north from the NSW Hunter Valley will be Tony Sneddon & Ross Pilgrim, while Audie & Shane Malt, David Rodgie, Bruce Kiehne & Darren Latimer will be looking to steal a victory for the Queenslanders.
Meanwhile, this weekend’s event will mark the debut of rookie drivers Rian Collier & Gary Hanson.
The full list of nominations is:
AU 1 STUART HERNE
NSW 2 WAYNE REYNOLDS
NSW 5 TONY SNEDDON
QLD 6 AUDIE MALT
NSW 9 MARK ROBINSON
QLD 11 SHANE MALT
NSW 18 STAVE WRIGHT
NSW 19 GARY HANSEN
NSW 21 DENNIS JACKET
QLD 23 DAVID RODGIE
QLD 31 BRUCE KIEHNE
NSW 33 MICHAEL McNAMARA
NSW 35 SHAWN MORTIMER
NSW 36 MICHAEL BUTCHER
NSW 37 ROSS PILGRIM
NSW 39 PHIL McNAMARA
NSW 49 SIMON JUPE
NSW 51 RYAN COLLIER
NSW 53 PAUL BOOKER
NSW 56 DENNIS MAZZER
NSW 73 LINDSAY GRANT
QLD 83 DARREN LATIMER
NSW 94 AARON SUFFOLK
01-11-02