Picture: RAY RITTER KNJ PHOTOGRAPHY
MOUNT Gambier speedway racer Mitchell Broome returned from his opening Wingless Sprint hit out of the season at Murray Bridge on the weekend with his first feature race win.
In his fifth year in the category it has been a tough road, but experience has provided improved race craft and the subsequent victory.
“It was the ideal start to the season,” Brome said.
“We had a good run, it worked out well and it was good to start the year with a win.”
While Broome has often been prominent in the category, with heat wins and solid feature runs, he was pleased to finally cap it all off with the victory.
“I have had plenty of heat wins, but it was my first feature win, so I’m glad I finally got one,” he said.
“We have come close a few times, but I have either messed it up or something has gone wrong.”
The night was a stand-alone club event, with no pressure to perform and gain points for the series.
However, with no real preparation it was all about working hard to keep on the pace.
“That was the first run for the year – we had not had any practice,” Broome said.
“We were not actually going to run at Murray Bridge, but the footy team I follow went very bad the week before so we decided to go up and have a run.
“We are going there again this weekend and hopefully it will be just as good.”
The night also provided a chance to play around with different setups to see what worked best.
That proved beneficial as Broome moved up from sixth to second place in the first heat, then led from start to finish in the second.
That put him on pole for the feature, which he again led from start to finish, with some smart race craft along the way.
“We had a few yellow lights throughout the feature race which was good because there was a fair bit of lapped traffic,” Broome said.
“But it closed up the field and there were some challengers behind me with some competitive cars pushing hard.
“I just tried to stay on the line in needed to be on – I knew the bottom line was not as fast.
“Once I got to lapped traffic I got through a bit better and pulled away a bit, so it worked out well in the end.”
Broome described the meeting as “a fun night of racing”, with his parents up for the race to offer support.
He said the car was well prepared from last season and feels his driving has continued to improve, which all bodes well for when the series kicks off.
“I think it is all going well,” Broome said.
“I think I have learnt a few things in the last few years of racing which has made it a lot easier to be consistent.
“We’ll see in the next few races.”
