By Dean Thompson
Pakenham and Ferntree Gully racers Dale Morrison and Lee Beach combined as a team to win this year’s three-hour endurance motorsport race at Alexandra Speedway.
Their combination of XF Ford Falcons outlasted a long list of fancied teams in a frenetic finish to the event, where leaders dropped out of the way and the strategy of Morrison and Beach played its part in seeing them in the front spot at the right time, with a lap up their sleeve.
Morrison and Beach both come from a history of racing against each other and are also both members at Alexandra Speedway Club.
They formed a combination just to go out and have some fun, but as the race went on they found themselves in the hunt and with 15 minutes to go they knew for sure they could secure a top five finish.
Fifteen minutes later, though, they were collecting $2500 for winning the whole show.
Early in the race, Lennie Bonnici, Matt Nelson, Darren Forrest, Frank Ramsdale, Damien Miller and Warrick Taylor set a blistering pace at the front of the field.
Bonnici would get some distance ahead and Nelson would catch him in traffic.
Several incidents caused caution and red-light stoppages and affected strategies.
Drivers got caught out in the wrong place in the queue, affecting their run, and others just had to pit during long green light stretches which put them down in the running order.
Robert Garlick became a welcome yet unlikely race leader and kept going on and on and on, before eventually handing over to teammate Matt Callanan.
Their run unravelled as did the runs of others who pitted just when it looked like they might go on to win.
Darren Forrest was a certainty to win the race with four laps left, but his machine let go on him and he had to dash back to the pit enclosure to put his team mate back in the race.
After 180 minutes, Beach brought he and Morrison to the finish line almost a full lap ahead of second-placed Bonnici and Shane O’Brien.
Next was father and son combination Jeff and Jake Blencowe, with brothers Damien and Brendan Miller in fourth and Forrest and Ben Moon rounding out the top five.
In celebration of the victory, Morrison and Beach embraced atop Beach’s race car.
There was a kiss or two planted on the noggin of each other as the emotions poured out.
Both drivers paid tribute to each other after the event with a similar message shared.
“As a race driver you hope to do well, however you look at the quality entry list and lot has to go right for you to win,” Beach said.
“I figured we could finish top 10, then as the race went on we figured top five, top three and then here we are, we are winners.
“I thank Dale for his efforts and his mate ship, everybody for supporting us and helping us and Alexandra Speedway Club and its volunteers for providing us the opportunity to do what we all love.”
Supporting the enduro racing was junior sedan racing, and Lilydale racer Kasey Garlick won her final ever junior sedan race in front of Chloe Sheerman and Jayden Bryant, who was competing in his first event at top star level.
In new star junior sedans, Dylan Barrow won the final in front of Seth Sloane and Rye Orme.
Alexandra Speedway Club is now on hiatus until the new season kicks off in the third week of October.
