Raymont reigns supreme at the mountain
Tuesday December 12, 2006.

34 Cars fronted at one of the most fiercely guarded tracks anywhere in Australia.  This may sound like an exaggeration but I ask you have you ever lined up in a field of 22 cars for a final knowing how fast you have to drive to keep up with the locals. 

Todd Doyle once again looked like the man to beat and in his first heat was well on the way to making this happen but trouble found him or as they say Robert Trapp’s china man switched cars as Todd Doyle had a flat tyre in his first heat and then in heat 2 got tangled up after several cars come together, which resulted in Doyle's bonnet half missing and flipping up onto the windscreen which saw him recieve the black flag.  This meant the end of Doyle’s night & he loaded it in the trailer with engine problems.  Aiden Raymont was also a casualty with a blown gearbox but that only kept him out for 1 heat seeing him line up for the A Main starting mid-field.  His father Greg Raymont had a blistering night with 2 wins & a second meaning he lined up in pole position for the A Main.  Michael Hally was a man on a mission racking up a third, second & first in the heats.  This gave him a great start for the A Main.  Former Australia No 1 Greg Worling came to Gympie for his first ever run on the track.  He had mixed results with some good finishes in the heats.  Wayne Miles had some good results in the heats with a first, second & a sixth.  Miles finished the feature race in 7th place, finally having a good run after having troubles in the first 2 rounds of the series. 

After running a B Main, Dennis Shallcross, Darryl Niesler & Brendon Bayfield made the transfers through to start at the rear of the A Main.  Rodney Pammenter brought back to life his blue & white VS Commodore after a serious roll over at Round 1 of the series at Brisbane Speedway.  This was a huge effort by "Rocket" and it was great to see it back on track.  Pammenter was running a strong second in the B main with a fast looking race car but unfortunately the steering rack gave way which tore the suspension out of the right front wheel which was a result from the roll over.

The action was full on from the start,  Greg Raymont and Glenn Pagel qualified off the front row for the A main, with the two putting on an excellent display of driving.  Pagel had the lead for a few laps but it was Raymont who surged on to take the lead from Pagel.  Michael Hally was looking at a podium position until he spun early in the race, then being put to the rear. 

An early exit was made by Steve Price who had a good start until he popped a front left tyre which resulted in him getting a black flag & watching the whole race from the infield.  With the feature being peppered with quite a few restarts & stoppages the race resulted in a spectacular race with only 12 finishers out of 22. 

After some controversy, Greg Raymont's car was beginning to get louder and louder as his exhaust system fell off the car.  With over half race distance completed the car was checked for any safety issues when there was a stoppage from another incident.  The #29 green machine of Raymonts was allowed to re-join the race in the lead.  Aiden Raymont picked off his rivals one by one as he come through the pack to be in 2nd place behind father Greg.  Glenn Pagel was never far away, awaiting that crucial mistake from the front runners.

In what was building up to a climax, there was another yellow light caution after some cars come together with one lap to go.  In what was to be a sprint race to the checkers, Greg Raymont gassed it up for the final time and was able to hold off any advances from Aiden as he crossed the line in first place.  Raymont was a man on a mission as he raced to a very deserved win at which is his favourite, and home track.  Raymont also takes the points lead in the HDS series.  Glenn Pagel put a great effort in coming home 3^rd after some great heat results.   

Current NSW champion Michael Hally carved up the field to put his Falcon back up to 4th position after being sent to the rear.  Shane Macdonald was also a big mover coming from 15th to 5th.  Next over the line was Garry Maroske, followed by Wayne Miles, Dennis Shallcross, Travis Barron, Darryl Niesler, Troy Ware & Steven Zahl.

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