Stats 5 Posted October 7, 2003 Here is report on the Bibra Lake Speedway meeting on October 5 RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE BY DREW By Ken Brown Top rated Sidecar combo of Mark Drew and Steve Blair swept all before them at the Bibra Lake Speedway on October 5. In an entertaining afternoon of bike action, Drew won both of the heat races that he contested, broke the track record in the B Final and then went on to win the A Final. Keith McKinlay also remained unbeaten in the Solo ranks. Opening heat for the Sidecars saw Tony Shield charge around the outside of the field and clear out from Steve Charsley, Cliff Henderson and Pusqui Crescenzi. Brothers Glenn and Nathan O’Brien celebrated their return to racing by clearing out from Danny Birch and Paul Pinfold in heat 2. Their time of 1:07.87 was only 0.24 of a second outside the 4-lap track record they set last January. Heat 3 saw the first appearance of Drew, who had picked up his passenger Blair from the airport. Drew gated ahead of O’Brien and was never headed, with Crescenzi coming in third and Mick Sita failing to complete the distance. Five chairs contested heat 4 with the bikes of Birch and Charsley becoming entangled and causing a stoppage. The next attempt saw several bikes bump through turn 1 with the Birch machine cartwheeling through the air. Passenger Kris Birch lay motionless on the track for some time before he moved his arm. He was taken away for observation and the event was rerun later in the program. The rescheduled event saw Shield and Pinfold swap the lead several times in an exciting dice before the former British champion took control of the race. Pinfold crossed the line ahead of Shield, Charsley and Henderson. O’Brien touched the tapes at the start of heat 5 and was excluded. Shield jumped out best but Drew blew him away down the back straight. Henderson came home third. Sixth heat saw Pinfold score over Crescenzi and Charsley. Two of the nations finest lined up to contest the B Final. Drew lined up in position 1, with Henderson off 2, O’Brien from 3 and Crescenzi on the outside. It was Drew just ahead at the start and he was able to maintain his advantage over O’Brien up to the flag. Crescenzi finished third ahead of Henderson. Drew’s time of 1:07.50 was a new 4-lap track record. The A Final lineup was – Drew (1), Pinfold (2), Shield (3), Charsley (4). Again Drew headed Pinfold at the start, but both slid high and Shield was through on the inside. Drew came back strongly to take the lead and finished in front of Shield, Pinfold and Charsley. First Solo heat saw Gavin Lewis the best to begin. However he slid up track and Keith McKinlay roared into the lead. McKinlay went on to down Lewis, Nigel Roberts and Mark Jovic. It was more of the same in heat 2. Lewis jumped best and led until he slid out wide and McKinlay grabbed the front spot. Again it was McKinlay over Lewis, Robert and Jovic The third heat saw McKinlay go straight into the lead with Roberts and Lewis battling it out side by side. Roberts won that dice but slowed on the next lap. So it was all McKinlay over Lewis and Jovic. The final saw McKinlay always in command of the situation. Roberts and Lewis swapped places several times before Lewis made sure of second spot. Roberts came in third followed by Jovic. Results Bibra Lake Speedway (Western Australia) October 5, 2003. Solos – Heat 1 (3 laps): 1. Keith McKinlay, 2. Gavin Lewis, 3. Nigel Roberts, 4. Mark Jovic; 56.67. Heat 2 (3 laps): 1. Keith McKinlay, 2. Gavin Lewis, 3. Nigel Roberts, 4. Mark Jovic; 54.97. Heat 3 (3 laps): 1. Keith McKinlay, 2. Gavin Lewis, 3. Mark Jovic; 55.57. Final 4 laps): 1. Keith McKinlay, 2. Gavin Lewis, 3. Nigel Roberts, 4. Mark Jovic; 1:12.40. Sidecars – Heat 1 (4 laps): 1. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 2. Scott Charsley/Chris Eiteneuer, 3. Cliff Henderson/Shane Brazendale, 4. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey; 1:10.13. Heat 2 (4 laps): 1. Glenn O’Brien/Nathan O’Brien, 2. Danny Birch/Kris Birch, 3. Paul Pinfold/Justin Winchester; 1:07.87. Heat 3 (4 laps): 1. Mark Drew/Steve Blair, 2. Glenn O’Brien/Nathan O’Brien, 3. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey; 1:09.41. Heat 4 (4 laps: 1. Paul Pinfold/Justin Winchester, 2. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 3. Scott Charsley/Chris Eiteneuer, 4. Cliff Henderson/Shane Brazendale; 1:13.00. Heat 5 (4 laps): 1. Mark Drew/Steve Blair, 2. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 3. Cliff Henderson/Shane Brazendale; 1:11.32. Heat 6 (4 laps): 1. Paul Pinfold/Justin Winchester, 2. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey, 3. Scott Charsley/Chris Eiteneuer; 1:12.34. B Final (4 laps): 1. Mark Drew/Steve Blair, 2. Glenn O’Brien/Nathan O’Brien, 3. Pusqui Crescenzi/Dean Morey, 4. Cliff Henderson/Shane Brazendale; 1:07.50 NTR. A Final (4 laps): 1. Mark Drew/Steve Blair, 2. Tony Shield/Chris Summerfield, 3. Paul Pinfold/Justin Winchester, 4. Scott Charsley/Chris Eiteneuer; 1:09.22. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
