Jorgie Harmsworth, 5, from Kingaroy, was part of the big crowd which turned out on Saturday night to enjoy the Kingaroy Speedway
Back row, Mark Raymont (2nd), Shane MacDonald (1st), Brett Baxter (3rd); front row: Gavin Lorensen (5th) and David Jacobi (4th) (Photo: Denise Keelan)

April 8, 2013

A huge crowd packed into the Kingaroy Speedway on Saturday evening to watch Toowoomba’s Shane MacDonald take the Queensland Modified Sedan Title in a thrilling finale to two nights of top quality racing.

MacDonald – who failed to qualify at the Australian Title at Charlton just last week – had a change of fortune and held on to win in a photo finish before a crowd who were obviously glad to see some speedway action after the last two washouts.

Australian Champion and race favourite Aidan Raymont had pole position in the 40-lap main race after being dominant during the heats.

Alongside him on the front row was local Kingaroy driver Brett Barron.

The eventual winner started back in eighth place.

Raymont and Barron swapped positions during the early stages of the race before Barron started dropping back.

By the tenth lap, MacDonald had moved from eighth to sixth, before slotting into third.

Mark Raymont also made a move, challenging Aidan Raymont for the lead.

Mark took the lead after 15 laps, with MacDonald in second and Aidan Raymont slipping back to third.

A lap later MacDonald took the lead and Aidan was back to second.

At the half way mark, the race had turned into a thriller with the two Raymonts and MacDonald fighting over the top three slots, and Barron, David Jacobi and Brett Baxter filling out the top six.

Sadly Aidan Raymont suffered a broken right rear shock absorber which knocked him out of contention in the dying stages.

Baxter moved into the third, as Mark Raymont chased Macdonald to the chequered flag.

MacDonald held on to take victory by a mere 0.173 seconds.

[Photos: Denise Keelan Photography and southburnett.com.au]

Shane MacDonald, Mark Raymont and Aidan Raymont jostle for the lead in the Modified Productions Queensland Title final (Photo: Denise Keelan)

A Main: 1.Shane MacDonald, 2. Mark Raymont, 3. Brett Baxter, 4. David Jacobi, 5. Gavin Lorensen, 6. Glenn Pagel, 7. Brett Barron, 8. Jessica Raymont, 9. Shannon Blackburn, 10. Steven Zahl, 11. Ashley Barron (38 laps), 12. Nathan MacDonald (38), 13. Aidan Raymont (36), 14. Craig Franz (25), 15. Rodney Pammenter (23), 16. Tony Coomber (10), 17.  Greg Worling (4), 18. Jamie O’Meara (0), 19. Darryl Ehterden (0), 20 Mark Carlin (0).  Winning Margin: 0.173, Fastest Lap: 17.269 Tony Coomber

[from ASCF Speedway Sedans]

A broken shock absorber knocked Australian champion Aidan Raymont out in Lap 36 of the Queensland Modified Productions title race

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Results:

Modified Sedan – Hams Crane Hire Queensland Title
1. Shane MacDonald
2. Mark Raymont
3. Brett Baxter

Production Sedans – Kingaroy Concrete Pumping Australian Sedan Grand Prix
1. Brody Thomsen
2. Allen Nottage
3. Ben Stead

V8 Dirt Modifieds
1. David Clark
2. Kevin Britten
3. Geoff Phillips

Rookie Brandon Rawlings travelled up from Brisbane to compete in the V8 Dirt Modifieds; it was only Brandon’s fourth meeting and his first time racing in Kingaroy; he finished fourth in a nail-biter   

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Video by Darrell Lockhart:

Kingaroy driver Max Marshall was briefly trapped after this spectacular rollover on Saturday night; Max was shaken but not hurt.

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Video by Ash Media – Modified Productions Final