Saturday looked threatening, with persistent ran all day. On Sunday however, the sun was out and a record number of competitors ventured to the Ballarat airport for some eighth-mile action. 85 vehicles filled the pits, with numbers bolstered with competitors from all around the state, a large proportion coming from Colac, Warrnambool and Portland. The 'distance traveled' award would have to go to either David Blackley from Gepps Cross in SA or Darryl Stephen of St Helens Park in NSW.

1200 spectators saw a full days action. Time trials started at about 10am and racing didn't finish until 6pm due to the large number of competitors and delays waiting for vehicles to return from the end of the track. Competitors and spectators alike will be pleased to hear that during the off-season, a return road is to be constructed to minimise future delays.

Notable appearances included the blown LH Torana of Greg Dunmore. This brute is making horsepower. Couple that with a true street theme and you have a recipe for blazing tyres and a win for the best burnout on the day. The 55 Ford Customline of Tim Parker was also on hand for some testing. The blown 460 Ford was sounding sweet in the burn-out. Paul Pfieffer's rotary powered Mazda RX3, with Chris Dalton at the wheel, smoked the start line out and showed us his driving skills when the high stepping Mazda got out of shape. And the biggest wheel stand was a tussle between Darryl Porter in his Torana and the 440 Magnum powered super gasser of Stephen Crook.

5 brackets were contested on the day; Super Gas, Super Sedan, Super Street, Street and Modified Bike.

Super Gas
5 Super Gas competitors fronted for the first round. Unfortunately Col Griffin had to withdraw. Chris Johnson is his Galant took the first round bye. Stephen Crook defeated Darryl Stephen's Capri and the Chevy Monza of Bob McPherson took the win over Danny Bardel's Gemini. Second round saw Bob McPherson take the bye with Stephen Crook out reacting Chris Johnson. The final was a Chrysler versus Chev affair, with the Lancer of Stephen Crook getting the jump on Bob McPherson and keeping that advantage all the way to the finish line.

Super Sedan
16 vehicles were seeded for the first round of Super Sedan eliminations. After two rounds of racing Lucinda Rowland, Paul Palmbus, Alister Paulin and Shaun Woodhouse remained. In the first semi final, the HB Torana of Alister Paulin defeated Shaun Woodhouse in 'Bluey 2' while in the second semi, Lucinda Rowland's run was cut short with a red light which handed Paul Palmbus the win. The final was a tight affair with both competitors on similar dial-ins. At the end of the day it was Paulin who took the bracket win, his second in a row.

Super Street
In a battle of the coupes, the XA of Murray Johnson took the first semi final win over the HQ of Adam Murphy. In the second semi final, Shane Harvey from Cranbourne was defeated by Derek Wills in his FC Holden. For the final, Murray Johnson looks to have rolled through the beams handing the automatic win to Derek Wills, his second win in a row also.

Street
In the first semi final of Street, Matt Brame in his HJ Holden was defeated by the VN Commodore of Simon Molloy. The second semi final saw Nathan Murdoch take the bye in his Bollwell. Unfortunately for Nathan, his clutch destroyed itself on this run and was unable to front for the final giving Simon Molloy the automatic win.

Modified Bike
7 competitors fronted for the Modified Bike bracket. Graeme Weston on his Suzuki took the first round bye. In the second pairing, David Blackley from Gepps Cross in SA was defeated by Allan Gedye on his 900cc Kawasaki. Other first round victories went to Robert Cassar over Sam Parker and Chris Collet over Tony Frost. The first semi-final saw Allan Gedye defeat Graeme Weston, while in the second semi, Chris Collet was caught and passed by Robert Cassar. For the final, Gedye dialed in with a 6.90 and Cassar a 6.0. Gedeye left hard but was chased down by Cassar who took home the winners trophy.

Kym Oberauer.
B.D.R.C.