Reigning Australian champion Lauchlan McHugh claimed the feature win in the Harbour City Thunda at McCoster’s Gladstone Speedway in Queensland recently.
In taking the checker, the 26-year-old driver from Queensland’s Gold Coast claimed his fifth consecutive A-main at the new track in the SRV Road Freight Services sprint car.
McHugh has now won every sprint car feature at the venue which opened in 2023.
The two-night meeting attracted a bevy of competitors, many of them on their trek south from the annual Chariots of Thunder at Darwin’s Northline Raceway.
McHugh finished third in the Darwin series in the Dondex/Leigh Smith Yachts mount after dropping to 17th following a lap-18 incident in the feature A-main in the Northern Territory.
Racing at Gladstone was interrupted by a severe storm on the first night of the meeting, holding up proceedings.
Luckily, the track dried quickly, allowing the racing to finish before the 10.30 pm curfew. It was tribute to the professionalism of the track staff and competitors.
Racing was competitive, with Kaiden Smith running a new lap record of 10.809 seconds on the 440 yards oval in the J & S car. He lowered Ryan Newton’s previously best time of 10.871 seconds.
But it was McHugh who dominated on the night, winning the feature from Marcus Dumesny, Queenslander, Mark Pholi, Sydney driver Mick Saller and Kaiden Manders.
Hot temperatures greeted the large crowd that assembled for the second night of the Gladstone series.
McHugh came to the track as the raging favorite for the feature. He didn’t disappoint.
Once again, the Australia No. 1 cleared away from the field, greeting the chequered flag ahead of Brock Hallett in the GW Racing No. 5.
Ryan Newton (Nutrend Quality Homes) improved on his non-finish on the first night, finishing on the podium for the A-main.
Luke Oldfield (Advanced Mobility) was fifth across the line, with Marcus Dumesny (Valvoline) managing a fifth placing.
The sprint car circus moves to Toowoomba’s Hi-Tec Oils Speedway this weekend, Sept. 27-28.