Local
and hometown favourite Aiden Raymont has claimed his first ever QLD
Title in Modified Production which was held at Mothar Mountain
Speedway in Gympie, Queensland on the 9th & 10th June 2007.
The event was proudly sponsored by DEFENCE JOBS. Raymont lead
the 40 lap event from start to finish, and drove his EL Ford Falcon
to victory lane. Gavin Lorensen in the ex Brian Learoyd VX
Commodore, finished a superb second, keeping Raymont honest right on
his tail waiting for a mistake, but it was not to be.
For the feature event, Aiden
Raymont and Todd Doyle were tied on points for pole position, the
count back was done on passing points throughout all the heats.
The outcome still produced both to be tied, passing the same amount
of cars. Seeing as all cars were using timing transponders,
the pole sitter would be decided by the fastest lap time of the two
cars over the whole weekend. Aiden Raymont produced the
quicker time by just a mere two thousandths of a second.
The ever consistent Glenn Pagel,
another Gympie local followed Gavin Lorensen home in 3rd place, with
Greg Raymont in 4th. The first four cars were nose to tail,
all waiting for either one to make a vital mistake. Current
Australian Champion and previous QLD Title holder Todd Doyle started
on the front row beside Aiden Raymont, however Doyle retired after a
handful of laps while running 3rd with a flat tyre.
Brother of Aiden, Mark Raymont qualified
his Cortina in position three, and forced his way into 2nd early on.
Dale Grother was having a great weekend until contact in the top
turn between himself and Mark Raymont while running 3rd, saw the
race under yellows and Grother put to the rear. The race
looked like it would be a family affair, as father of the Raymonts,
Greg Raymont come through the field from position 10 to be in 3rd
place. But the ending that all the locals were cheering for
did not eventuate, as Mark Raymont struggled with his steering after
contact in the earlier incident. Mark come unstuck down in the
hairpin and took Greg Raymont with him, allowing Lorensen and Pagel
through.
Greg slipped back into 4th with
Mark in 5th. The unique circuit of Gympie, has the race track
situated on the side of a hill, in the shape of a kidney which
includes a hairpin. The final results proving local knowledge
is of importance, with the top five cars all Gympie regulars.
Paul Hussey in his AU Falcon crossed the line in 6th place, having
said just before the feature race that this was the first time he
has raced at the venue.
Daryn Brims drove to a 7th place
finish with Gary Maroske in 8th, followed by Troy Ware, Steve Downes,
Dennis Shallcrosse, Rodney Pammenter, Steve Jordan, Johnno Collins,
Stephen Geritz and Dale Grother. Shane Macdonald qualified out
of position eight, but only lasted a few laps after an ignition
problem forced him out.
Heat race action come thick and
fast, starting from the first heat of the night. Greg Raymont
stamped his mark early,
coming from 6th place to take the heat win with Dale Grother
challenging him all the way.
Heat two saw Aussie champ Todd
Doyle make his way to the front from the rear of the field, finding
a way around Shane Macdonald for the lead. Macdonald didn't
give up without a fight, as he charged back up the inside of Doyle
to take the lead back. A mistake by Macdonald saw Doyle go on
to win with Macdonald 2nd.
Mark Raymont
stole the show in heat three, making a
last lap move on Paul Hussey for the win.
Craig Mellor crossed the line first
in heat four in his immaculately presented VS Commodore, while
another Raymont, Aiden, claimed victory in heat six.
Current NSW State Champion Michael
Hally had finished 3rd in his second heat, but would not return to
the track after stating his car had a blown head gasket.
Heat number nine saw action
aplenty, as contact between Troy Ware and Glenn Pagel in the top
turn saw Pagel on two wheels and almost roll. Pagel was able
to bring it back down before going right over. The race was
restarted with Pagel taking advantage of the restart to go on to
take the win.
Aiden Raymont claimed the win in
heat number 10, while Rodney Pammenter recovered from a disastrous
start to the night to finish out in front for heat 11. Mark
Raymont took his third heat win for the final race of night.
Night two got underway with Todd
Doyle continuing his winning way taking out his heat, while Gary
Maroske in his Mazda RX7 claimed honors in heat 15. The final
qualifying heat saw Greg Raymont cross the line first ahead of a
fast finishing Aiden Raymont.
The B-main was won by Darryl
Etherden, followed by Dennis Shallcrosse, Mark Ferguson and Steve
Jordan. Unfortunately Etherden would not contest the A main
due to engine problems. Former QLD title holder Johnno Collins
was the next reserve.
The DEFENCE JOBS Qld Modified
Production state title was a well presented state title and the
racing was close and exciting with a huge crowd on hand to witness
Aiden Raymont take well deserved win. Raymont drove clean and
smooth all weekend and will be a car to look out for in the future
nation wide.