Dunn takes insurmountable lead into final heat of WDC
February 26, 2015,from Harness Racing Australia
The World Driving Championship headed to Penrith Thursday night (Feb. 26) for three heats. Penrith is a suburb and a major center in the metropolitan area of Sydney. Penrith is located 60 kilometers west of Sydney on the banks of the Nepean River. The Penrith track is 804 meters in circumference. New Zealand’s Dexter Dunn took a 39 point lead into the night over his nearest rival USA’s Tim Tetrick.
Canada’s Jody Jamieson dominated the evening’s proceedings, winning two heats, but it was his patience that was rewarded in heat 17. Driving the favorite, Strawberry Courage, from gate one, he got buried on the marker pegs. Showing a lot of skill to get away from the inside Jamieson charged home over the top to beat Emerging Art and Finland’s Mika Forss. Just Pit Boss and Dexter Dunn finished third with Diesel Shannon and Denmark’s Knud Monster fourth.
Monster brought up his second win of the Championship when he brought Midnight Lights with a well timed run to win heat 18 but when Dunn held onto second place driving Lombo Final Touch it all but sealed the Championship for New Zealand. France’s Tony Le Beller weaved through to get third with Flying Crusa while Billion Smiles and Mika Forss finished fourth.
Jamieson made it a double when Katsidis charged home late to score a narrow victory in heat 19. Katsidis raced behind the leader for most of the race but when Marquez started to tire, Jamieson was able to extricate away from the marker pegs and build race winning momentum. Marshal Dale and Tony Le Beller was second. Norway’s Vidar Hop was third driving Tralee Bromac and Satu for France’s Pierre Vercruysse grabbed fourth.
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While Dexter Dunn cannot be beaten in the Championship, four drivers are still in contention for second place. Tony Le Beller, Tim Tetrick, Mika Forss and Jody Jamieson will battle it out to be the runner-up.
Australia’s travelling reserve Peter McMullen picked up a drive in a non-Championship race at Penrith and went on to win the event.
The drivers will spend the next two days resting and enjoying the sights of Sydney before returning to Menangle on Sunday for the final Championship heat. Sunday’s race will be run at Gr. 2 level.
So with one heat remaining in the Championship the point scores are as follows:
|
Name |
Point Score After 19 Heats |
|
Dexter Dunn |
183 |
|
Tony Le Beller |
140 |
|
Tim Tetrick |
137 |
|
Mika Forss |
135 |
|
Jody Jamieson |
131 |
|
Knud Monster |
120 |
|
Chris Alford |
116 |
|
Pierre Vercryusse |
112 |
|
Vidar Hop |
91 |
|
Guillermo Adrover |
89 |
|
Peter McMullen |
Australia (travelling Reserve) |
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