Veal holds on in Classic opener

Jamie Veal has carried on his impressive form at Premier Speedway by fending off Lockie McHugh in an intense opening night of the 2025 Flying Horse Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The three-night highlight of the speedway season started with a tight night of wheel-to-wheel racing where the aim was to finish in the top four and secure a ticket to the big one on Sunday.

The battle for not only victory, but also the top four was on until the very end.

Despite the best efforts of the Australian champion, Veal was too strong thanks to an aggressive, gutsy and brilliant defensive move on the opening corner of the final that lap that proved to be the difference.

Joining the top two in progressing to the finale were Kerry Madsen and Jordyn Charge after they overcame Brock Hallett, Ryan Newton and Cameron Waters in an intense battle.

The other half of the 84-car field will be on show tonight.

McHugh and Veal were on the front row for the first feature of the big weekend and it was an event jump.

Little split the pair through the first two turns before Veal powered ahead down the back straight.

It was not a two horse race with Madsen hot on McHugh, while Macedo and Moule bumped Waters outside of the top five.

Three laps were possible before the first yellow when Jack Lee and Andrew Priolo tripped over each other.

Veal got a perfect restart as Waters snatched fifth from Moule with a tight squeeze before Brett Milburn rotated.

All eyes were on Macedo and Madsen when racing resumed as they went wheel to wheel for third.

Macedo initially went high before performing the switchback on the back straight, but it did not quite pay off and Madsen held on.

After 10 laps Veal’s lead was impacted by lapped traffic and McHugh went on the attack.

He had his first look at Turn 3 but could not quite get close enough.

Their battle ignited at the same moment when one of their nearest rival’s race ended.

Fourth placed Macedo crawled to the outfield due to right rear heim joint failure and axle damage.

This promoted Waters into the top four and he immediately set about sliding past Madsen, only to for Moule to attack.

With the all important fourth place on the line, Waters and Moule took turns dive bombing each other until the Supercars and Chief Racing star shut the door at the start of lap 15.

However, soon Hallett joined the part and he flew from sixth to fourth with one outstanding move going in between Moule and Waters approaching Turn 3.

The latter pair carried on racing wheel to wheel for the next four laps, but the #V6 dropped back after a clip with the Turn 4 wall.

This promoted Ryan Newton, who then nudged Moule out of the top five.

As the final 10 laps approached, Veal and McHugh were going at it for the lead.

A key moment arrived with eight laps left when they arrived a battling pack of four lapped cars and the decision to go to the bottom created some breathing space for the #V35.

A caution provided further drama with six laps left when Moule dropped out of the race for the top four with front right axle damage.

Another strong restart reconsolidated Veal’s lead as Newton snatched fourth from Hallett.

Two laps later the #Q5 hit back with a calculated drive, but he was only safe for two laps as a whack with the wall allowed Charge to steal the spot.

The fight for the lead also erupted as McHugh caught Veal and snatched the lead at Turn 2 of the penultimate lap, only for Veal to immediately regain it.

This turned the race into a one-lap shootout and Veal went aggressive, sliding up to the top and right in front of McHugh’s nose at the opening corner.

It proved to be a smart move as it shut down any further attempt Mchugh and get the win as Madsen and Charge held on.

“It is a huge relief just to watch until Sunday. We had a good car in Speedweek and my guys have given me a rocket ship,” Veal told Clay Per View. 

“It was a bit tricky because the bottom had a fair bit in it and the top was getting a bit tricky.

“He showed his nose a few times and it was hard.”

Super Rods were also on show where Jamie May overcame Shaun Walsh.

Before the racing resumes tonight, Premier Speedway is staging fan appreciation day from 10am to 12pm at the Warrnambool Racing Club.

Image: Corey Gibson

Grand Annual Classic Night 1 results

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