David Murcott took the win in an action-packed night of Sprintcar Racing at AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway last night for Round 11 of World Series Sprintcars. With thirty-two cars in the pits it was set to be a thrilling night of racing action that was full of carnage, disappointment and misfortune for many, but David Murcott remained focused and in control, dominating the 30-lap main event to take the win ahead of Jamie Veal and Donny Schatz. South East Queensland regulars Andrew Scheuerle and Luke Oldfield rounded out the top five, but not without controversy. Oldfield endured another wild flip during the heat events, the team cutting and welding the front end of the chassis back together just in time for the A-Main, but upset a few drivers during the course of the feature. Andrew Scheuerle was not immune to the controversy, and got many people talking after contact with James McFadden two thirds of the way through race. The incident saw McFadden make heavy contact with the turn four wall and brought about a premature end to his race. While McFadden walked away from the wreck he was none to happy with Scheuerle.

The Brisbane venue copped an absolute drenching on Monday night when a significant rain system passed through, leaving the track conditions, especially on the bottom, somewhat wet. Hot laps and qualifying got underway, with Dylan Menz starting the night all wrong when he clipped the wall in turn four during his hot lapping session and tipped the Q46 racer over. Menz and his crew worked hard on the infield to prepare the car for time trials, and made it back trackside in time for his qualifying run. Luke Oldfield set a blistering pace, despite almost hitting the wall on his final circulation, stopping the clock at a quick 11.496 seconds. Jamie Veal was just 0.127 second behind, securing second position with an 11.623 second lap, while Bryan Mann (11.732), Dave Murcott (11.761) and Brent Kratzmann (11.937) rounded out the fastest five. The top twenty-six cars were separated by less than one second, while American Logan Schuchart beat Brooke Tatnell by a tiny one thousandth of a second. Donny Schatz beat Andrew Wright by only two thousandths of a second, with Lucas Wolfe and Lachlan McHugh separated by the same small margin, while Wright beat Andrew Scheuerle by a mere four thousandths of a second. Callum Walker qualified sixth quickest but unfortunately forgot to go directly to the scales after his qualifying run. Walker was penalised for the indiscretion and relegated to the back of the field. Current Australian Champion Kerry Madsen languished back in twenty-seventh and would have a tough night ahead as he battled his way up the points ladder.

Heat one started with Rob Hamilton and Darren Jensen from the front row, with Carson Macedo and Jason Pryde sharing row two. Jensen got a brilliant start on the high side and quickly secured the lead while Pryde was quick to follow on the top. Macedo got a little caught up behind Hamilton, while Richard Morgan looked around the top and Lucas Wolfe searched the low line for a way through. Macedo ran too high in turn two, allowing Wolfe, Morgan and Donny Schatz to get through on the bottom. Schatz raced around Morgan through turns three and four and set his sights on Wolfe, while further back in the field Luke Oldfield was trying to find a way past Richard Morgan. Oldfield had a moment in turn two, allowing David Murcott and Peter Lack to close in, while Schatz raced underneath Hamilton through turn three. Macedo slowed to a stop high on the track in turn three and brought the race under caution with seven laps left run, and while he did restart at the rear of the field, he did not finish the race. Jensen led the restart from Pryde, Wolfe and Schatz, with Wolfe and Schatz quickly making their way past Pryde, but it was the mid-field battle between Richard Morgan, David Murcott, Luke Oldfield and Peter Lack that captivated the crowd. Murcott chased Morgan while Oldfield was relentlessly searching high and low for a way past Murcott, all the while Peter Lack hunted for his own way through. Lack slid beautifully underneath Oldfield through turns one and two, while Murcott had a massive look on the inside of Morgan. A lap later and the race was brought under caution when Lack became stranded in turn one. With four laps left to run it was Jensen who led the restart from Wolfe and Schatz and while Lack tried to make up lost ground from the rear of the field. Oldfield soon made the low line work to secure the advantage over Morgan, leaving Morgan and Lack to battle over the minor positions. Darren Jensen easily took the win, never seriously challenged for control of the race, while Lucas Wolfe crossed the line in second ahead of Donny Schatz. David Murcott finished an impressive fourth and led Jason Pryde, Rob Hamilton, Luke Oldfield, Peter Lack, Richard Morgan and Chris Harrison across the line. Carson Macedo did not finish the race.

Dylan Menz started from pole position in heat two with Kerry Madsen alongside and Callum Zizek and Brayden Willmington right behind. Madsen got the jump on the start and quickly settled into the race lead while Willmington was quick to follow on the high line and secured second ahead of Menz. Menz immediately set about defending his position from Paul Rooks, while behind them Lachlan McHugh had a look on the high side of Zizek before switching to the bottom. Logan Schuchart managed to stay ahead of Jamie Veal, while Callum Walker ran the high line around Brent Kratzmann and began searching for a way around the outside of Veal. McHugh eventually raced underneath Zizek, with Schuchart following half a lap later, while Brent Kratzmann closed in on Callum Walker and Jamie Veal. Unfortunately the race was brought to a sudden stop when Callum Walker’s night went from bad to worse coming out turn four just three laps into the race. Walker inverted the Q33 racer in spectacular fashion down the main straight, bringing about a very premature end to his night of competition. Walker, although unscathed, was frustrated and bitterly disappointed at the way his night had ended. With seven laps still to run it was Madsen who led the field to the green, with Willmington, Menz and Rooks next in line. Rooks quickly made his way under Menz when the race resumed, with Menz now under pressure from McHugh. Unfortunately less than one lap into the restart Rooks rode the right rear of Willmington into turn three, before making contact with the wall and tipping the Q64 racer on its side. Rooks was unscathed in the incident but was unable to restart the race, while Willmington suffered a cut down right rear tyre and was forced to retire from the event. Madsen again led the restart, this time from Menz and McHugh with seven laps still to run. McHugh was all over the back of Menz, searching high and low for a way past the Q46 racer, but Menz successfully held him off for several laps until a small error in turn four gave McHugh all the invitation he needed to race through on the bottom. Brent Kratzmann was all over the back of Callum Zizek, working the bottom but not quite able to find his way through. Kerry Madsen took the win, the first step in climbing the points ladder after his average qualifying result, with Lachlan McHugh home in second ahead of Logan Schuchart and Dylan Menz. Jamie Veal crossed the line in fifth and led Callum Zizek, Brent Kratzmann and Andrew Wright across the line. Brayden Willmington, Paul Rooks and Callum Walker all failed to finish the event.

Heat three started with Andrew Corbet from the front row and Brett Minett alongside, while Mitchell Gee and Andrew Liebke shared the second row. Minett got a great start when the green flag flew, with Corbet settling into second while Liebke tried to run around the outside. Liebke immediately found himself under pressure from James McFadden, the pair almost coming together as they raced into turn three, the incident forcing McFadden wide and allowing Andrew Scheuerle to slip through. Scheuerle promptly ran too wide himself just a quarter of a lap later, opening the door for McFadden to regain his position. McFadden and Scheuerle continued to chase Liebke, with each eventually making their way through on the bottom, while Mitchell Gee found a way past Corbet. Bryan Mann was involved in an intense battle with Brooke Tatnell and Daniel Harding deep in the field, but the race was soon brought to a stop when Gee bicycled the Q36 racer coming out of turn three and launched the car into the air and up onto the wall. Gee was not injured in the crash but was unable to continue the race. Minett led the restart from Corbet and McFadden while Harding was quick to race underneath Liebke once the race resumed. Liebke faded back in the running order, while Minett, who had run a smooth race and built a comfortable lead, made a couple of small mistakes in turn four over the last two laps of the race. These mistakes allowed both McFadden and Scheuerle to make their way in front of Minett, with Scheuerle securing second on the final corner of the race. James McFadden took the win ahead of Andrew Scheuerle and Brett Minett, with Andrew Corbet next across the line and leading Daniel Harding, Brooke Tatnell, Bryan Mann, Andrew Liebke and Jack Lee home. Mitchell Gee did not finish the event.

Kerry Madsen and Rob Hamilton led the heat four field to the green, with Brayden Willmington and Carson Macedo right behind. Madsen effortlessly got the jump on the start, with Macedo having a brilliant run from fourth to get around Willmington before sliding underneath Rob Hamilton to secure second. Logan Schuchart and David Murcott raced either side of Paul Rooks in turn two while Donny Schatz worked the high line as he searched for a way around Willmington. Chris Harrison had a spin in turn four that brought the race under caution with seven laps to go. Madsen led the restart from Macedo, Wolfe and Schatz, with Schuchart putting all kinds of pressure on Hamilton, and Veal and Murcott holding nothing back as they negotiated over minor positions further back in the field. Kerry Madsen went on to take the win ahead of American Carson Macedo, Donny Schatz and Lucas Wolfe. David Murcott was fifth across the line and led Jamie Veal, Logan Schuchart, Rob Hamilton, Brayden Willmington, Chris Harrison and Paul Rooks past the chequered flag.

The first attempted start of heat five was aborted, officials deeming pole-sitter Darren Jensen at fault and issuing a warning to the Q75 racer. Jensen managed to secure the advantage over fellow front row starter Andrew Corbet second time around, and while Corbet settled into second Mitchell Gee ran around the outside of Jason Pryde to momentarily hold third. Gee bounced through a rut in turn two, losing positions to Pryde and James McFadden as he settled the car, while McFadden ran the high line in an attempt to get around Pryde in turn three. Pryde ran too wide through turn four, allowing both Gee and Andrew Scheuerle to slip through, with Scheuerle then racing through on the inside of Gee just half a lap later. Scheuerle drifted a little wide in turn four and allowed Gee to race back through, while Richard Morgan and Daniel Harding traded places for a few laps. Luke Oldfield and Peter Lack raced behind them, but when Morgan made a mistake very similar to that of Scheuerle a few laps prior, Oldfield got caught up behind him and Lack was able to race underneath both Morgan and Oldfield. Contact between Oldfield and the right rear of Morgan, left Morgan limping the Q54 racer around the track with the race brought under caution so Morgan could safely steer the car from the circuit. Jensen led the restart from McFadden and Corbet with six laps left to run. Oldfield and Lack eventually made their way past Corbet and started chasing down Harding, but contact between Harding and Oldfield as they exited turn four launched Oldfield skywards and he flipped down the main straight. Oldfield walked away from the wreck but the chassis of the Q17 racer suffered significant front end damage. McFadden led the restart this time, having taken over control of the race, with Jensen now in second ahead of Corbet and Scheuerle with just three laps left to run. Scheuerle held nothing back as he searched for a way past Corbet, eventually making his move on the low line, with Gee coming through as well a lap later. James McFadden took the win ahead of Darren Jensen and Andrew Scheuerle while Mitchell Gee crossed the line in fourth. Andrew Corbet finished in fifth and led Daniel Harding, Peter Lack and Jason Pryde home. Luke Oldfield and Richard Morgan did not finish the race.

The sixth and final heat of the night was just as action-packed as the five before it. It started with Brett Minett and Dylan Menz from the front row with Menz getting a truly brilliant start on the topside and quickly securing the race lead. Minett settled into second while Andrew Liebke tried to race under Callum Zizek for third. Zizek won that battle coming out of turn two but had Lachlan McHugh charging through on the bottom, with McHugh getting past Liebke before racing under Zizek. Brent Kratzmann had a brilliant run on the bottom to race straight past Bryan Mann and Andrew Wright before setting his sights on Brooke Tatnell and Jack Lee. Unfortunately the race was brought to a stop when Bryan Mann got into the slippery bottom gutter in turn one, before clipping Andrew Wright and inverting his own Q16 racer. Mann was unscathed in the crash, incredibly disappointed, and unable to restart the race. Menz led the restart from Minett and McHugh and while deep in the field Tatnell and Kratzmann searched for a way past Lee, and McHugh took to the high side to try to find a way past Minett. Unfortunately for Minett he got the car too sideways entering turn four and inverted the Q94 racer right in front of McHugh. McHugh had nowhere to go and while he tried to avoid the airborne Minett, contact was inevitable. Minett was not hurt but was out of the race. Menz led them to the green, with McHugh and Zizek right on his tail tank and eight laps left to run. Mid field Lee eventually managed to make his way ahead of Liebke, while Kratzmann and Tatnell closed in, exchanging positions amongst themselves several times. Dylan Menz went on to take the win, a remarkable feat after his hot-lapping indiscretion, with Lachlan McHugh home in second and Callum Zizek across the line in third. Jack Lee finished an impressive fourth ahead of Andrew Liebke, Brooke Tatnell, Brent Kratzmann and Andrew Wright. Brett Minett and Bryan Mann both failed to finish the ten-lap journey.

The top eight on points headed trackside for the three shootout events. The Bonze Shootout was first up with Logan Schuchart, James McFadden and Donny Schatz taking to the track. Luke Oldfield was scheduled to join them but was still in the pits welding the chassis of the Q17 racer back together. Donny Schatz went quickest over the three-lap distance, with all three drivers recording their best time on the final lap. Schatz stopped the clock at 11.983 seconds, just four thousandths of a second quicker than James McFadden who stopped the clock at 11.987 seconds. Both Schatz and McFadden would transfer to the Silver Shootout, while Logan Schuchart, who recorded a time of 12.148 seconds, was eliminated from the Shootout events.

Daniel Harding and Andrew Scheuerle joined Donny Schatz and James McFadden on track for the Silver Shootout and this time it was Harding who recorded the quickest time, an 11.816 circulation. Scheuerle went second quickest (11.834), while McFadden (11.931) and Schatz (11.952) were eliminated from the Shootout events.

The Gold Shootout hit the track with Jamie Veal and David Murcott joining Daniel Harding and Andrew Scheuerle on the track for three laps. Veal went quick time, an 11.823 second lap enough to earn him pole position for the main event, while Murcott went second quickest, stopping the clock at 11.847 seconds, and would share the front row with Veal for the A-Main race. Harding (12.013) beat Scheuerle (12.227) but the pair would share the second row for the start of the A-Main.

Seventeen cars lined up for the start of the B-Main event, with Kerry Madsen from pole position and Darren Jensen alongside. The pair raced side-by-side to the first corner but by the time they exited turn two it was Jensen who had control of the race. Mid field Andrew Liebke had a great run as he raced between Dylan Menz and Jason Pryde on the start, only for Pryde to come back strongly on the bottom to try and maintain his position. Carson Macedo and Mitchell Gee both started trying to work their way forward, but Gee raced underneath Macedo while Richard Morgan got the better of Dylan Menz. Andrew Liebke washed up high while entering turn four, opening the door for both Richard Morgan and Mitchell Gee to have a look on the bottom. Morgan got through but Liebke fought back hard on the high side but was soon forced on the defensive as Gee tried to make his way though. Macedo and Menz were all over the back of Gee, but the race was soon brought under caution when Jason Pryde spun to a stop in turn three. With eleven laps still to run Jensen led the restart from Madsen and Andrew Wright, and while Morgan tried to race underneath Zizek in turn three, disaster struck for Mitchell Gee when he rode the right rear of Andrew Liebke and inverted the Q36 racer for the second time of the evening. Gee was unscathed in the incident but unable to restart the event. Jensen again led the restart from Madsen and Wright and with eleven laps still to run. Morgan resumed his battle with Zizek while Macedo searched for a way around Liebke, eventually getting through on the bottom. Paul Rooks and Jason Pryde both made their way past Andrew Corbet, with Rooks all over the back of Brett Minett and Pryde closing in. Contact between the front right of Pryde and the left rear of Rooks spun Pryde around, the W14 racer rolling over his own left rear tyre and climbing the fence. Pryde was not hurt in the crash but joined the long list of causalities for the night. Jensen led from Madsen and Wright with six laps left to run but with barely half a lap completed the race was back under caution for the spun car of Chris Harrison in turn one. On the restart Liebke was quick to race underneath Morgan, while Menz followed a lap later. Liebke had a couple of looks on the inside of Callum Zizek, with Menz quickly seizing the opportunity and slipping by on the inside of Liebke when Liebke made a small error in turn four. Liebke stole the position back a lap later, with his team mate Paul Rooks soon joining the battle and attempting to race under Menz. Menz fought back strongly on the top side but disaster struck when Liebke spun in turn three less than half a lap from the chequered flag. Menz made it through unscathed but there was little Rooks could do to avoid contact with his stranded team mate. Contact between the two was enough to launch Rooks into air, the Q64 rolling out of the race. Rooks walked away from the wreck uninjured. Whilst the crash crew were attending to the up-turned car of Rooks on the entrance to turn four, things started heating up for Jack Lee, who had stopped in turn three when the red lights came on. A fuel line came off in the cockpit of the V25 racer and ignited into flames, with Lee quickly exiting the car, fire dancing around his feet and legs. Andrew Wright, who had stopped just a little behind Lee, quickly extracted himself from his own car, ran down track and threw himself on the flames in an effort to help Lee extinguish the fire. Mitchell Gee, still on the infield after his earlier crash, quickly joined the pair, with the crash crew right behind, and once the fire on Lee himself had been extinguished, Wright quickly ran back to the V25 racer and moved it from the fuel spill. Both Lee and Wright, who had already secured transfers, would start the feature event. Kerry Madsen, who had taken the lead from Darren Jensen in the final six laps of the B-Main, took the win with Darren Jensen in second. Carson Macedo finished third with Andrew Wright, Jack Lee and Callum Zizek all transferring to the A-Main. Dylan Menz finished seventh ahead of Andrew Liebke, Brett Minett, Andrew Corbet, Rob Hamilton, Brayden Willmington and Chris Harrison. Paul Rooks, Richard Morgan, Jason Pryde and Mitchell Gee all failed to finish the 15-lap journey.

A big field of twenty cars rolled out for the A-Main race, with Jamie Veal and David Murcott from the front row and thirty laps on the board. Murcott got a great start and quickly shot into the race lead, with Veal holding down second and Andrew Scheuerle settling into third after securing the advantage over Daniel Harding. Luke Oldfield had a look around the high side of James McFadden before switching to the bottom, while Brent Kratzmann and Lachlan McHugh raced two wide for most of the opening lap until Kratzmann emerged in front. Oldfield made his way underneath McFadden, while Kratzmann had a big look underneath Logan Schuchart, and behind them Brooke Tatnell tried to run up the inside of McHugh. Tatnell and McHugh were two-wide coming out of turn two when McHugh tagged the wall, the pair coming together several times as they made their way down the back straight. Somehow both drivers managed to get out of it without a bigger incident, and only loosing a position to Bryan Mann. Peter Lack started challenging Tatnell for position, while Carson Macedo, Lucas Wolfe and Kerry Madsen ran three-wide through turn four. Before long Murcott was in lapped traffic, with both Veal and Scheuerle close behind. Veal had a massive look on the inside of Murcott through turn two while Donny Schatz closed in on Scheuerle, the pair having an absolutely thrilling battle over the minor places. Brent Kratzmann had another brilliant run on the bottom, racing underneath Harding as they headed down the main straight, the pair going straight underneath the lapped car of Andrew Wright and going three-wide as they entered turn one. Kratzmann set off after Schuchart, with Harding on his tail, while Oldfield got into the back of the lapped car of Jack Lee as they raced down the back straight. Oldfield clouted the wall but didn’t slow and soon found himself back behind Lee with Schuchart on his tail. Schatz had found his way past Scheuerle, but Scheuerle fought back hard on the bottom, all the while McFadden closed in on the top side. Oldfield ran too high in turn two, allowing Schuchart through, but contact between Scheuerle and McFadden in turn four left McFadden crashing hard into the concrete wall, doing significant damage to the front end of the W17 racer. McFadden, who was not hurt in the crash, was clearly disappointed with the result, and was not shy in letting everyone know his thoughts on the incident.

With nine laps left to run David Murcott led the restart from Jamie Veal, Donny Schatz and Andrew Scheuerle but less than a lap into restart the race was back under caution when Peter Lack and Carson Macedo came together on the back straight. Unfortunately neither Lack nor Macedo were able to restart the event. Murcott led the field to the green once more, but it was mid field where the action was unfolding. Logan Schuchart had a look on the inside of Oldfield once more, as Oldfield slammed the wall coming down the back straight, while Daniel Harding ran the high line to get around Brent Kratzmann. Kratzmann stole the position back a lap later, while Schuchart got back underneath Oldfield and started to pull away, leaving Oldfield to defend his position from Kratzmann. Unfortunately for Kratzmann, contact with Oldfield in turn four continued his run of back luck as the Q2 racer was launched up-side-down, right in the path of Harding. Harding had nowhere to go and made contact with the still upturned car of Kratzmann. Kratzmann was physically unscathed but clearly not impressed.

David Murcott, Jamie Veal, Donny Schatz and Andrew Scheuerle led the final restart with six laps left to run. Logan Schuchart challenged Oldfield for fifth, while Kerry Madsen had a brilliant run on the bottom to get past both Bryan Mann and Daniel Harding in the same corner. David Murcott took the win with Jamie Veal and Donny Schatz filling the final podium positions and Andrew Scheuerle and Luke Oldfield rounding out the top five. Logan Schuchart crossed the line in sixth and led Kerry Madsen, Brooke Tatnell, Bryan Mann, Daniel Harding, Lucas Wolfe, Darren Jensen, Jack Lee, Andrew Wright and Callum Zizek across the line. Brent Kratzmann, Lachlan McHugh, Carson Macedo, Peter Lack and James McFadden all failed to finish the gruelling event.

With Round Eleven of World Series Sprintcars now completed, teams will turn their attention to Round Twelve this weekend. It is a massive two night show, that doubles as the Australian Sprintcar Open and will culminate in a monster 50-lap feature event. Donny Schatz has traditionally dominated this event, though it was Kerry Madsen who took the win last year. Can Kerry Madsen go back-to-back Australian Open crowns? Will Donny Schatz be able to turn around what has been a somewhat ordinary Australian trip based on his previous dominance? Can one of our locals stand atop the podium at the end of the weekend or will it be one of the World Series Sprintcars stars, another of our American Guests, or one of the talented interstate drivers that takes the win? It is going to be two absolutely massive nights of Sprintcar racing, this Friday and Saturday Night (6 and 7 January 2017) so come on out to AusDeck Patios Archerfield Speedway for another night of breath-taking Sprintcar Racing action. See you trackside!