Alford grabs lead after round two of World Driving Champions
February 22, 2015,from Australian Harness Racing
Three more heats in the 2015 World Driving Championship were run Sunday evening (Feb. 21) at Newcastle, a large city 160 kilometers north of Sydney. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbor in the world but tonight all of the attention focused on the ten international drivers competing at the Newcastle Raceway. The track itself is 940 meters in circumference.
Australia’s Chris Alford started the night in second position after a strong showing in heats one and two, and after a victory in the third heat he assumed top spot on the Championship leaderboard. Driving Better Than Max, Alford won narrowly, arriving just in time to grab USA star Tim Tetrick and Kardashiancrusader. Denmark’s Knud Monster finished third on Shez Juslika while Finland’s Mika Forss picked up some important Championship points when he finished fourth on Son Of A Star.
Heat four was won by Frenchman Tony Le Beller driving The Merchant Banker. Starting from barrier one, Le Beller pushed The Merchant Banker out early and held the lead despite being pressured by Red Raphael driven by Tim Tetrick. Le Beller kicked away turning for home and won comfortably, second was Gee Tee Wage driven by Chris Alford while Norway’s Vidar Hop finished third driving The Puritan. Spain’s Guillermo Adrover saved plenty of ground and finished fourth with Strawberry Courage.
The fifth heat saw an aggressive drive from Finland’s Mika Forss as he pushed his horse Satu to the lead early despite drawing wide on the track. After finding the front Forss rated Satu perfectly and was able to sneak away turning for home and held a margin to the finish line with Vidar Hop second on Heza Panamach. Tim Tetrick finished third with Hangover Joe while Tony Le Beller was fourth on Rollon Baby Belle.
Complete standings:
1) Chris Alford (Australia) -52
2) Tim Tetrick (USA) -47
3) Mika Forss (Finland) -43
4) Tony Le Beller (France) -33
5) Guillermo Adrover (Spain)-32
6) Vidar Hop (Norway) -30
7) Jody Jamieson (Canada) -29
8) Knud Monster (Denmark) -28
9) Dexter Dunn (New Zealand) -19
10) Pierre Vercruysse (France) -17
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Canada’s Jody Jamieson won the first race at Newcastle tonight. The race was not part of the World Driving Championship, however he produced a great drive to score on Saint Stormy.
The Championship will have a rest day on Monday and will then head to Wagga Wagga on Tuesday for another seven heats. Wagga Wagga is 455 kilometers south of Sydney.
- World Driving Championship competitors attend welcoming reception (Friday, February 20, 2015)
The international drivers have arrived in Australia for the World Driving Championship which will begin at Tabcorp Park Menangle on Saturday night (Feb. 21).
- Tetrick wins World Driving Championships opener (Saturday, February 21, 2015)
Two heats of the World Driving Championps were conducted Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
- World Driving Championship competitors head to Wagga Wagga (Monday, February 23, 2015)
Today we arrived in Wagga Wagga which is the largest inland city in New South Wales with a population of about 70,000. The drive was about five hours in the bus, but with a couple of stops this stretched to about six hours.
- Dexter Dunn (NZ) takes lead in World Driving Championships; Tetrick second (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)
Seven heats of the harness racing World Driving Championship were run in the city of Wagga Wagga, situated 455 kilometres south of Sydney.
- Dunn extends his WDC lead with four heats to go (Wednesday, February 25, 2015)
Two of the international drivers struck gold, with Denmark’s Knud Monster and France’s Pierre Vercruysse recording their first wins in the 2015 Championship but the night will most be remembered for the dominance of New Zealand representative Dexter Dunn as he stretched his lead from 14 points to 39.
- Dunn takes insurmountable lead into final heat of WDC (Thursday, February 26, 2015)
The World Driving Championship headed to Penrith Thursday night (Feb. 26) for three heats. With just one heat now remaining, New Zealand’s Dexter Dunn cannot be beaten in the Championship. However, 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.
- World Driving Championship concludes; Tetrick finishes third (Sunday, March 01, 2015)
The World Driving Championship has been completed after the final heat was held at Tabcorp Park Menangle on Inter Dominion day. New Zealand’s Dexter Dunn brought Global View with a well timed run to win the race and it was no surprise considering the success that Dunn has had during the Championship.