Veal and Rankin take Premier Speedway honours

Another big weekend on the dirt at Premier Speedway in Warrnambool saw Jamie Veal and Tim Rankin conquer the Sprintcar and Formula 500 fields.

It was the to seasoned veterans that stole the show for the second week of action at the Premier Speedway, with Veal topping the Sprintcars in what was the fourth round of the Victorian Sprintcar Racing Association series, whilst Rankin took out the 22nd running of the Jack Willsher Cup in the Formula 500s.

For Veal it was the first win of the season for the #35 SWI Engineering racer, and the former Grand Annual Classic winner had to overcome last year’s Classic winner in Brock Hallett to get it done, with Chad Ely rounding out the podium.

Veal negotiated the challenge of Hallett to take his first trip to Victory Lane for the 2023/24 season. Image: Corey Gibson

Veal’s victory gave him a total sweep of the night’s proceedings, taking the Heat, the Shootout, and the A-Main from pole.

It was all his own way in the feature however, as Hallett got the jump on him from position two in the 30 lap race, before Veal wrestled back the advantage in the mid-way point with brilliant pass, with the racer also paying Kudos to the recently maligned surface at the Sungold Stadium. 

“Once that gap opened, that was my chance to get around Brock and I had to make it stick,” Veal said. 

“I doubt I’d get a second chance to pass. Sometimes it’s good to sit in second. The track was better tonight than it’s been, which was good. It’s good to get a win here now with bigger races for our team to come.” 

Rankin took his second Willsher Cup victory in four year’s in the Formula 500s. Image: Geoff Rounds

One of the other main contenders in Jye Corbet didn’t take his spot at the front of the grid for the feature, with brake issues forcing him out, whilst Ely held off Lockie McHugh and Tate Frost for his best result on the Warrnambool dirt for some time.

Prior to the Sprintcar feature, the other big drawcard was the Formula 500 race, with Rankin taking his first Jack Willsher Cup four years after his first.

Rankin overcame fellow front row starter, reigning Willsher Cup holder and current national champion Dylan Beveridge in a near race-long stoush.

The duo got a big jump on the rest of the field, and it remained as such until Beveridge hit dramas four laps to the finish when ignition problems put a line through his challenge, with Rankin accepting the lead to take the chequered flag over Liam Russell and Dale Sinclair.

“That was tough,” Rankin said in Victory lane. 

“I’m bloody rapt to win this again, Dylan is a tough guy to beat anywhere. He doesn’t slip up much so I knew I had to stay close just in case anything happened. I guess I got a little bit lucky tonight, but I’ll take it.”

The Junior Formula 500s were a last-minute addition to the racing program and Rusty Ponting led all the way in the 12-lap final to record a popular win from Warrnambool’s Koby O’Shannassy and Cobden’s Hugo Chivell. 

Rusty Ponting was th winner in the Junior Formula 500 field. Image: Geoff Rounds

The next race meeting at Premier Speedway will be the annual Max’s Race for Sprintcars on December 16, and the support acts will be the Late Models and Junior Formula 500s.

Gates will open at 3:30pm and cars on track action from 5pm. 

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION or subscribe HERE

On this week’s Auto Action RevLimiter, we ramble on about Supercars. Why the finances don’t need a boost! What’s wrong with the calendar! Plus more!