MURRAY BRIDGE SPEEDWAY: BERKLEY WINS DRAMATIC NATIONAL TITLE!

In one of the most dramatic finals seen in many years, Queensland’s Joel Berkley is the new SSA Super Sedan National Champion!

It may have been Berkley’s ninth ever race meeting in Super Sedans, but the former National SSA Production Sedan Champion was consistent throughout the weekend, qualifying himself into position four for the final and outlasting the drama to claim a popular win at South Australia’s Murray Bridge Speedway on Saturday night, March 15.

The forty-lap main event hit drama from the get go, Queenslander David Musch, who had qualified into the feature through the B Main, struck engine problems and despite his team working frantically on the infield through the driver presentations, he was unable to get the car mobile.

Mitchell Gee, as high points man, elected to start the feature from the outside line with Matty Pascoe taking the inside front row. Pascoe made the most of the opportunity, getting the jump as Gee bounced through turn two which allowed defending champion Darren Kane underneath to take second while Berkley was right on Gee’s tail.

Pascoe began to build a gap as Gee fought back on the outside of Kane and retook second on lap three.

Cars went everywhere as Brad Pascoe’s #18 machine expired in a cloud of smoke, but he was able to safely get to the infield without stopping the race.

Matty Pascoe, with five complete, was one and a half seconds ahead of Gee, with Kane and Berkley right behind. Shortly after, the yellows came on for Michael Hally who came to a stop in turn three, former National Champion Trent Wilson also pulling infield under the yellows.

Matty Pascoe was quickly away on the start, Gee and Kane following while Brock Atkins was able to dive underneath Berkley to take fourth.

Gee closed on the back of Pascoe and went for a move but it didn’t quite pay off, the gap widening once again, with Kane right behind and waiting for his moment while Berkley was able to get back by Atkins for fourth.

Lap eleven saw Kane and Berkley alongside Gee for second, but Gee held strong and the top four spread out again while the rest of the pack, from fifth back, was fighting it out in very close quarters.

Up front, Gee moved low and it was enough for him to draw alongside Pascoe, with Kane doing the same, the top three now in an intense battle with Berkley right behind.

Lap after lap the top four ran line astern, some four seconds clear of the rest of the pack, and eventually getting into traffic on the eighteenth circulation. However, just as it was about to get busier for the front runners, the yellow lights came on as seventh-placed Todd Atkins spun in turn one, resetting the field once again.

Pascoe again led away Gee, Kane and Berkley, with Dylan Barrow now in fifth having passed Brock Atkins. Barrow momentarily got by Berkley on lap nineteen but a lap later Berkley was back by.

The action heated up as on lap twenty-two Gee finally got by Pascoe to grab the lead, while a lap later, as Kane applied the pressure to Pascoe, the two were side by side before spinning together in turn two with twenty-two laps completed in an incident that brought on the yellows.

Both Kane and Pascoe were unable to restart, Gee leading away Berkley, Barrow, Mick Nicola Jnr and Atkins on the restart.

Berkley went high as the race went back under green flag conditions and to complete lap twenty-three was right alongside Gee, the two making contact, Berkley hitting the wall and his car launching the back end well off the ground. Somehow Berkley got it back on all four wheels without losing a spot and the race continued.

With fourteen to go the yellows were out again, this time for Steven Latham who came to a stop against the turn two wall.

Gee led away Berkley, Barrow, Nicola Jnr and Zac Pascoe on the restart, fifteen cars still remaining. Gee maintained the lead though Berkley chased hard, the lead duo able to break away from Barrow and Nicola.

Gee had a moment in turn three on lap twenty-nine and slowed, but was able to hit the accelerator pedal again and he raced away without losing a spot. A lap later, however, he was under pressure from Berkley once again, as was Barrow from Nicola Jnr.

The laps would continue to wind down and the two main battles continued to play out but no changes were made in the order until lap thirty-four when Nicola Junior used the high line coming out of four to get by Barrow for third.

With five to go the lead duo were over three seconds ahead, and as they approached lapped traffic, Berkley was right alongside Gee, showing his nose on several occasions.

With two to go, Berkley found himself in the back end of Gee, then hitting the wall, seeing him drop back significantly and now under pressure from Nicola Junior.

Amazingly, Gee then had another moment, getting his machine up on two wheels and this time he didn’t recover, hitting the turn four wall heavily and bringing out the yellows with just two laps remaining.

Berkley would now lead away the field with Nicola Junior second, Barrow in third, Zac Pascoe and Jamie Collins rounding out the top five for the restart. Berkley maintained the lead and went high, which saw the field bunching up behind him but still no one made a move, Nicola coming under pressure from a field that was bunching up again.

Berkley, however, held strong and raced across the line for his first National Super Sedan Championship, Mick Nicola Junior in second, followed by Dylan Barrow, Zac Pascoe and Jamie Collins.

As if this wasn’t enough, in the run to the chequers, Marcus Alexander had a moment in turn four and tipped upside down to bring the red lights out as the rest of the field completed the race in what was an epic finish.

Despite a delay, Joel’s victory celebrations were well received by the crowd in a fitting end to what was a great weekend.

RESULT:

A Main, 40 laps.

1. Q39 Joel Berkley, 2. V32 Mick Nicola Jnr, 3. V17 Dylan Barrow, 4. Q6 Zac Pascoe, 5. V34 Jamie Collins, 6. V36 Todd Atkins, 7. N57 Brock Atkins, 8. V24 Brad Wicks, 9. T3 David Nicholls, 10. V0 Lucas Roberts, 11. V16 Ash Bergmeier, 12. Q11 Robin Hamilton. DNF: T12 Luke Gunn (39), T4 Marcus Alexander (39), QA11 Mitchell Gee (38), T8 Steven Latham (26), A1 Darren Kane (22), Q15 Matty Pascoe (22), Q44 Trent Wilson (5), Q98 Michael Hally (5), Q18 Brad Pascoe (3). DNS: Q12 David Musch. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.817. Fastest Lap: 14.471 QA11 Mitchell Gee.