November 23, 2023
Locally owned and independent
The Northern Rivers Times
SPORT NEWS 55
SYDNEY SPRINTCAR DRIVERS DOMINATE AT LISMORE SPEEDWAY By Dennis Newlyn From back page... Sydney Sprintcar competitor Jessie Attard drove to a superb victory in the “Hoedown at the Showground” 25-lap feature race at Castrol Lismore Speedway, Saturday night, November 18. Sydney drivers dominated the top three main event placings after Sam Walsh finished second and Daniel Sayre was placed third. However, it was Attard’s night. He posted his initial feature win and the emotion overflowed when he unbuckled from the driver’s seat of his high horsepower 410 Sprintcar at the start/ finish line after the race. “A lot of work has gone into this win,” he said choked on words as the momentous moment overflowed with
emotion. “A lot of people made this possible and I could not have got it done it without them. It’s (the main event win) now off my shoulders.” Attard drove a near-perfect race as he staved off Walsh’s full-on pursuit. At one point they ran close in testing lapped traffic, but Attard kept his cool and maintained his advantage. He posted the fastest lap time of the race when he clocked 11.668 seconds for an estimated speed of 110.5 mph near mid-distance. Walsh had set up the suspension especially to handle the tight confines of the Lismore Showground bull ring, but admitted after the race, the car was not at its best. “We got beaten by a better car tonight and congratulations to Jessie,” a gracious Walsh
said. “We were really battling tonight. We spent all night trying to keep the front wheels on the ground,” he explained in relation to the continual suspension adjustments. Daniel Sayre made a late charge into third after following Brody Appleby for most of the race. “The traffic was pretty hectic out there trying to get through the lapped cars,” Sayre admitted. Local Sprintcar stars were out of luck after Tony Bridge posted the best result with a ninth in the feature race. The only incident involved Kobi Wright who caused a red light near the end of the race when he crashed upside down into the fence, however he was uninjured. Other main event winners were: Boyd
Jessie Attard shows the style that took him to main event honours. Photo: Tony Powell.
Chaffey (Formula 500s), Charlie Brown (Formula 500 Juniors), Matt Gordon (Legend Cars), Nathan Gordon (Production Sedans), Luke Manttan (Pro
Sprints), Jacob Jolley (Wingless Sprints). V8 DIRT MODIFIED MR MODIFIED SERIES – DECEMBER 26 Next fixture at Castrol
Lismore Speedway will be the annual Boxing Night spectacular featuring the Mr Modified Series opening round.
Nick Smart hit a couple of sixes in a quick fire 20 and James Feaver with 12 from 11 hit out, but when they fell with score at36 and 38, the Lawrence bowling reasserted itself.. Francis Stanton with a patient 20no from 41 balls tried to stem the wicket loss, but was helpless as Ben Shaw ran through the batters at the other end. Shaw finished with 6/25 from his eight overs in a dominant display. Lawrence made short work of the chase with opener Ben Hill, 43no and skipper Nathan Ensbey, 17no headlining the 1/81 run chase in just 15.2 overs. Nathan Williams
took the only wicket to fall. The premier league game between Harwood and Brothers was decided last week, when Brothers forfeited the game. There were no scores submitted from the other first grade game between Coutts Crossing and Maclean United at Lower Fisher Turf. In the CRCA premier league games beginning on Saturday, at Ellem Oval, Aussie Hotel Coutts Crossing play GDSC Easts and at Ulmarra Showground Tucabia Copmanhurst hosts Lawrence. Both games are two day fixtures.
Easts scrambles to win over Harwood
By Tim Howard
GDSC Easts batters held their nerve to finish over the top of Harwood in the CRCA/LCCA combined first grade cricket match at Harwood Oval on Saturday. Harwood batted first after Easts skipper David Bruton-Duroux sent the home team in after winning the toss. But the hosts squandered the chance to set an imposing score after opener Ashley Moss, 50 and No. 3 Maison Simmons, 40 had put together a solid partnership. Their dismissal sparked a clatter of wickets with Bruton-Duroux claiming a couple of quick wickets with his left-arm spinners. Two run outs later in the innings didn’t help matters. Duncan Fisher’s brisk 20no from 23 balls was Harwood’s best effort in the lower half of the order as well as a generous 33 from extras including 23 wides and two no balls. A feature of the scorecard in the Harwood innings was the prevalence of the name Lobsey in the dismissals. Seven times the name Lobsey appeared as a bowler, catcher or part
of a run out as dad Matt and his two sons Gus and Theodore imposed themselves on the game. The Easts run chase was in trouble early as Harwood’s opening bowler Colby Vallete 2/8 made early breakthroughs. But opener Chris Chamberlain, 45 from 71 balls, kept his head as wickets tumbled. No. 6 Matt Lobsey changed the complexion of the game 42 from 37 balls and Gus Lobsey, 13no was at the crease when Easts passed the Harwood total. The extras total of 23 was the third highest total of the innings. As well as Vallette’s miserly performance, Cameron Ryan 2/17 and Fisher, 2/35 each picked up a brace. At Ellem Oval Tucabia Copmanhurst dominated Iluka in a low-scoring game that barely exceeded 44 overs. Iluka chose to bat first after winning the toss and was in trouble straight away when Andrew Ellis claimed three quick wickets. Dan Cootes followed with three of his own leaving the innings in deep trouble. Only a blistering 32 from 31 balls from No. 8
A file photo of GDSC Easts captain and left-arm spinner David Bruton-Duroux, who took quick wickets to keep Harwood under pressure in their CRCA/LCCA first grade game at Harwood Oval on Saturday.
Jonno McEwen propelled the innings to 85 in 25 overs. Ellis finished with the remarkable figures of 5/7 and Cootes picked up 3/27. Tucabia were merciless in the run chase, reaching the Iluka total in the 19th over for the loss of two wickets. Ellis backed up his bowling effort with a patient 26 but it was
Matt Dougherty who finished the game off with a bang, clubbing 28no, including six boundaries, in a 13-ball cameo, taking Tucabia to a winning total of 2/87. The game at Yamba Oval between Yamba and Lawrence was also swift and low scoring. Lawrence sent the home team in after winning the toss and quickly ran through the top order.
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