By Dean Thompson
Pakenham racer Ally Morrison has won back-to-back Victorian Ladies Standard Saloon titles after a thrilling night of racing at Nyora Raceway.
A member at Nyora, Morrison defeated her teammate Felicity Roycroft – both driving for Brad Hill Motorsport – while Langwarrin racer Zoe Young finished in third.
In other events, Damien Miller won the prestigious Sports Sedan Robert Bickham Memorial – a man he knew well – and Daryl Hickson got an important Dirt Modified victory before the upcoming Victorian titles at Nyora in late April.
But the Ladies Standard Saloon title was the main event of the evening and it was the second time in a row that Nyora had hosted the event.
Nyora members put a lot of effort into the presentation of the meeting and the rewards that come with competing and performing well.
Team-owner Brad Hill gave Morrison a teammate this year so that he had two chances of being the winning car owner.
Hill secured Roycroft to drive his own car after he and Morrison built a brand-new car for the champion.
Zoe Young was the first to win a qualifying heat race with Jaimi Barber winning the second by less than a second. Morrison won the third heat by more than six seconds with Roycroft winning the last, just in front of her teammate, by .418 of a second.
A grid of 15 drivers started the title race with Roycroft and Morrison at the front then Young, Barber, Ellen Vagg and Nicole Vaughan making up the top-six starters.
Morrison moved to the lead on lap one and at the five-lap distance was leading Roycroft, Young, Barber and Allana Ardley, with Vagg already out of the race after an incident.
The next change in the top five came when Ardley exited the race and Vaughan moved into fifth spot.
Roycroft tried everything she could to pass her teammate, but Morrison stayed strong, making it a one-two finish for the team, with Young, Barber and Vaughan rounding out an impressive top five.
The Robert Bickham Memorial is named after a Nyora Raceway member with many who contested the event knowing him well.
In qualifying racing, leading into the feature event, Brendan Miller, Dale Smith, Jacob Blencowe, Smith again, Scott Angus, Damien Miller, Jeff Blencowe, Andrew Jordan and Jamie Paull all took qualifying victories.
Damien Miller, who had won at Alexandra Speedway the week before, and Dale Smith started the feature race from the front row with Brendan Miller, Simon Bent, Paull and Jeff Blencowe filling up the next two rows.
Five laps into the race Damien Miller led Smith, Bent, Angus and Paull.
There was some great action on lap 13 when Smith moved to the lead only for Miller to snatch it straight back. Bent pulled out of the race, leaving Damien Miller, Smith, Angus, Paull, and Jordan to fight it out for the main prize.
Paull exited the race with mechanical issues on lap 20, and Smith found himself way back in the pack after race incidents had halted his momentum. At the finish line Miller took the win from Angus, Jordan and Jeff Blencowe…in front of his son Jacob.
Meanwhile in Dirt Modifieds, Daryl Hickson finished ahead of Tyler Scott and Brett Clarke who won back in January at Nyora. Troy Scott was fourth and Brent Hough fifth.
Sean Lister visited from out-of-town and took the win in Unlimited Sedans ahead of Pakenham boys Travis Ramsdale, Corey Ramsdale, Daryl Nicolson and Anthony McKean.
The Division 2 Hot Rod class – who have their Victorian title this coming Saturday night at Nyora – was won by Trent Wilson who defeated Rhys Lansdown, Bobby Devine, Ben Crittenden, and Terry Crittenden.
