Picture: RICHARD HATHAWAY
MOUNT Gambier speedway driver Steven Lines is now the toast of the town after claiming his second World Series Sprintcars title on Saturday night.
Lines headed into the final night of the season at the Perth Motorplex with a slender lead over Kerry Madsen, after a second place on Friday night in the penultimate round behind James McFadden and one spot ahead of Madsen.
From there he fought hard to preserve that margin, with the final result down to the last corner of the season.
Lines controlled much of the race, but as the laps wound down Madsen challenged.
A win would have given him the title, but Lines was not about to let his hard work go unrewarded.
On the final lap Madsen made a challenge out of turn four heading to the chequered flag, but Lines held his nerve to claim the win.
After 10 rounds of racing it was the ideal finish to the season, which involved two of the fastest drivers in the country.
James McFadden was also involved at the pointy end of the field, until he hit the wall hard and rolled to an unceremonious end.
Brooke Tatnell added his two cents worth in a bid to steal the limelight, but in the end it was Lines who came out on top.
Tatnell would go on to finish fourth, just behind third-place Jason Kendrick, who made a barnstorming drive from 22nd on the grid.
Earlier in the night Lines kicked proceedings off as third-fastest in the time trials, marginally behind Madsen.
Tatnell and McFadden filled fifth and sixth places respectively, while Kendrick did not register a time.
In heat two Lines went from eighth to third, passing McFadden along the way, while Glen Sutherland put his hand up for the Limestone Coast with a first place in heat three.
Sutherland went on to record an eighth place in heat six, which relegated him to the B Main, where he started off the front row.
From there he held on for fourth place, to advance to the A Main from position 24, then moved up to 16th at the chequered flag.
Lines again started out of eighth in heat five and once more passed McFadden on his way to third place.
The shoot out saw Madsen and Lines out of one and two, with McFadden the big improver, as he drove from fifth to pole position, while Lines held on to second, ahead of Madsen.
That set up an intriguing grid for the A Main feature, with Lines alongside McFadden, closely followed by Madsen and Brad Maiolo.
However, Lines slipped into the lead early, with McFadden and Madsen hot on his tail, while Maiolo began to drop off the pace.
Positions were up for grabs for much of the early running, before a caution after 12 laps seemed to settle the race.
Lines then shot out to the lead again, while Tatnell began to make life tough for Madsen, claiming third spot behind McFadden.
When lapped traffic came into play Lines applied the perfect slide job on a couple of slower competitors, leaving McFadden with nowhere to go.
He hit the wall hard and his night was over.
While that accounted for one challenger, it also brought Madsen two positions closer after he passed Tatnell on the restart.
Behind it all Kendrick was staging the ultimate come-back.
As the race wound down the intensity increased, with Madsen showing plenty of desperation to chase down the eventual champion.
The final turn of the race was do-or-die for Madsen and it appeared he may well take both competitors out in his desperation to claim the win.
But common sense prevailed and Lines went on to claim an emphatic victory.
It was an exciting and fitting result for the Mount Gambier driver and the first WSS title for his Horrell Motorsport team.
