FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2012
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American Late Model superstar Steve Francis Wins 2013 Australian Dirt Late Model Championship at Quit Bunbury Speedway



BUNBURY, Western Australia (January 13) - Francis lead the forty lap championship A Main from start to finish and was never defeated for the entire running of the Australian Championship.

Craig Vosbergen drove a great race to finish second from Warren Oldfield who finished third.

Thirty cars fronted for the second night of the Australian championship with American Devin Moran and Ross Nicastri both sidelined with engine dramas after the first night. South Australian Luke Raymond would also not start the second night with mechanical issues.

Four heat races were held on the second night with drivers contesting one heat each. Steve Francis would win heat nine comfortably over Ryan Halliday and Jamie Oldfield.

Warren Oldfield held off Matt Goodlad in heat ten with New South Wales Darryl Grimson following them home in third.

Craig Vosbergen would continue to show he was a serious chance in the title with another heat win in heat eleven with Vosbergen getting the job done ahead of Matt Noakes and Mick Hamon who had a great battle for second for the entire race.

The final heat race of the weekend would see a depleted field contest the ten laps with Lee Watt scoring maximum points ahead of Koran Atkinson and Matt Nylander.

The top sixteen pointscorers at the end of all the heat races went on to contest the A & B dashes over eight laps.

Steve Francis dominated the A dash, earning himself pole position for the A main. Vosbergen, Warren Oldfield and Jamie Oldfield followed Francis home in the A dash.

Jason Oldfield would lead the early laps of the B Dash before spinning in turn one right in front of Darryl Grimson. Oldfield would retire to the infield with issues in the rear of the MDR transport machine. Grimson would restart in the lead and win the B Dash from Mick Hamon and Koran Atkinson.

A big opening lap accident would occur involving Brad Ludlow, Matt & David Nylander and Dale Clark at the start of the B Main. David Nylander would be the only driver to restart.

Jac Dolmans and Clint Noakes had a great battle for the lead in the B Main with Noakes coming out on top. Matt Noakes got the better of Dolmans in the closing laps finished second from Dolmans, Simon McNab, Ray Leonard and Peter Seaton who all qualified into the A main. Mick Clune and Craig Greentree rounded out the finishers with Mick Clune earning himself a starting position in the A main after Jason Oldfield withdrew with mechanical issues.

Twenty two cars would start the forty lap championship A Main to decide the 2013 Australian Late Model Champion. Francis would lead away at the start with Matt Goodlad and Koran Atkinson both retiring to the infield on the opening lap.

After ten laps the first restart would occur when Mick Clune hit the wall heavily in turn three. Clune would walk away from the nasty accident with his car sustaining major damage.

Darryl Grimson would hit the wall on the back straight with twenty four laps remaining ending the New South Welshman’s chances while running in seventh place.

Francis would continue to lead with the laps winding down with Vosbergen comfortably in second place. Jac Dolmans and Mick Hamon would both retire from the race with ten laps remaining with Francis lapping the field up to fifth place.

Matt Noakes would make heavy contact with the wall with six laps remaining bringing Francis back to the field for the sprint to the finish.

Francis would charge away at the restart and go on to comfortably to win his second straight Australian championship over Vosbergen and Warren Oldfield. Jamie Oldfield who was driving the Brad Blake owned Rocket held onto fourth from Michael Holmes who finished in fifth after doing an engine changed before the main event, Holmes started the race from fifteen.

Ryan Halliday would battle an ill handling racecar into a sixth place finish from Lee Watt, Phil Zuidema, Paul Joss, Matt Crimmins, Clint Noakes and Simon McNab who rounded out the finishers.

Francis was delighted in victory lane, “Great to win this race again, its means a lot to me to come out here and win the title for Michael Holmes and his Ozmine team. Hopefully I can continue the momentum when I go to the east coast now for a couple more races”.

The 2014 Australian Dirt Late Model Championship will be held at the picturesque Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier in South Australia. The Championship will be held on the 6th, 7th& 8th of March 2014.

Official Results from Night One of the 2012/2013 Australian Late Model Championship

Heat One – Ten Laps: 1. USA91 Steve Francis, 2. 18 Matt Goodlad, 3. 99 Ryan Halliday, 4. 23 Clint Noakes, 5. 46 Jac Dolmans, 6. 21 Dean King, 7. 31 Dale Clark, 8. 54 David Nylander, 9. 3 Mick Clune, Time for Ten Laps was 2.44.497

Heat Two – Ten Laps: 1. 8 Craig Vosbergen, 2. 9 Ben Ludlow, 3. 91 Michael Holmes, 4. 39 Phil Zuidema, 5. 22 Paul Joss, DNF USA99 Devin Moran, 57 Michael Hamon, 65 Peter Seaton

Heat Three – Ten Laps: 1. 15 Warren Oldfield, 2. 55 Jason Oldfield, 3. 92 Brad Ludlow, 4. NSW6 Darryl Grimson, 5. 0 Jamie Oldfield, 6. SA5 Luke Raymond, 7. 4 Bert Vosbergen, DNF 63 Koran Atkinson

Heat Four – Ten Laps: 1. 10 Lee Watt, 2. SA10 Matt Crimmins, 3. 49 Simon McNab, 4. 13 Craig Greentree, 5. 5 Ray Leonard, 6. 34 Matt Nylander, DNF 20 Matt Noakes

Heat Five – Ten Laps: 1. USA91 Steve Francis, 2. 57 Michael Hamon, 3. 46 Jac Dolmans, 4. 99 Ryan Halliday, 5. 91 Michael Holmes, 6. 65 Peter Seaton, 7. 21 Dean King, 8. 3 Mick Clune

Heat Six – Ten Laps: 1. 22 Paul Joss, 2. 8 Craig Vosbergen, 3. 39 Phil Zuidema, 4. 54 David Nylander, 5. 9 Ben Ludlow, 6. 18 Matt Goodlad, 7. 23 Clint Noakes, 8. 31 Dale Clark

Heat Seven – Ten Laps: 1. 15 Warren Oldfield, 2. 63 Koran Atkinson, 3. 5 Ray Leonard, 4. 10 Lee Watt, 5. 13 Craig Greentree, DNF 34 Matt Nylander, 4 Bert Vosbergen

Heat Eight – Ten Laps: 1. 0 Jamie Oldfield, 2. NSW6 Darryl Grimson, 3. 55 Jason Oldfield, 4. SA5 Luke Raymond, 5. SA10 Matt Crimmins, 6. 49 Simon McNab, DNF 20 Matt Noakes

Preliminary A Main One- 15 Laps: 1. USA91 Steve Francis, 2. 8 Craig Vosbergen, 3. 18 Matt Goodlad, 4. 39 Phil Zuidema, 5. 20 Matt Noakes, 6. 63 Koran Atkinson, 7. 31 Dale Clark, 8. 54 David Nylander, 9. 4 Bert Vosbergen, 10. 5 Ray Leonard, 11. 3 Mick Clune, DNF 55 Jason Oldfield, NSW6 Darryl Grimson, 34 Matt Nylander, SA5 Luke Raymond, 49 Simon McNab

Preliminary A Main Two- 15 Laps: 1. 91 Michael Holmes, 2. 15 Warren Oldfield, 3. 99 Ryan Halliday, 4. 46 Jac Dolmans, 5. SA10 Matt Crimmins, 6. 9 Ben Ludlow, 7. 0 Jamie Oldfield, 8. 65 Peter Seaton, 9. 21 Dean King, 10. 22 Paul Joss, 11. 57 Michael Hamon, 12. 13 Craig Greentree, 13. 23 Clint Noakes, DNF 92 Brad Ludlow, 10 Lee Watt

Pointscore after Night 1 of the 2013 Australian Late Model Championship at Quit Bunbury Speedway

1. USA91 Steve Francis 180
2. W15 Warren Oldfield 172
3. W8 Craig Vosbergen 164
4. W91 Michael Holmes 144
5. W99 Ryan Halliday 135
6. W18 Matt Goodlad 133
7. W39 Phil Zuidema 129
8. W0 Jamie Oldfield 129
9. SA10 Matt Crimmins 126
10. W10 Lee Watt 126
11. W22 Paul Joss 125
12. W46 Jac Dolmans 125
13. W55 Jason Oldfield 125
14. NSW6 Darryl Grimson 118
15. W5 Ray Leonard 112
16. W63 Koran Atkinson 110
17. W49 Simon McNabb 106
18. W13 Craig Greentree 104
19. W57 Michael Hamon 103
20. W54 David Nylander 101
21. SA5 Luke Raymond 100
22. W23 Clint Noakes 98
23. W21 Dean King 95
24. W31 Dale Clark 94
25. W65 Peter Seaton 88
26. W9 Ben Ludlow 87
27. W3 Mick Clune 86
28. W4 Bert Vosbergen 85
29. W20 Matt Noakes 85
30. W34 Matt Nylander 83
31. W92 Brad Ludlow 60
32. NSW99 Ross Nicastri 36
33. USA99 Devin Moran 36