Ryan chases form

By Justin Robertson
PAKENHAM’S Ryan McKenna failed to make it back to back wins at the Geoff Moule Memorial Sprint at the Nyora Speedway last week.
The speedster took the honours in last year’s event but couldn’t quite capture the same form this time around at the South Gippsland track, finishing in third place.
In front of a large crowd who witnessed four classes of racing, McKenna, sponsored by Rayco, finished behind Darren Salmon (NSW) and Scott Doyle (Qld) in what is the richest sprint car event in Australia.
McKenna failed to finish heat two and was forced to start way back in the pack in seventh position instead of a likely front row start. Once the race began, the event was shortened to 15 laps instead of 25 after a handful of collisions occurred including Kevin Bomford and Andy Phillips.
A seventh place start in McKenna’s final heat meant he had to rip through the heat field and by the end of the first lap he had moved into second position. By the fifth lap, McKenna slowed and Salmon snatched second.
The Sprintcar All-stars were in action for round three of their Fire Service Plus series, won by South Australian Mark Caruso and Colin Brooks (second place) in a tight seesawing affair. Tony Moule claimed third in that race after a bizarre incident that involved driver Mark Noonan who would have wrapped up a podium position but forgot to go to the scales after the race finished.