Picture: ASH DUMIGAN (file image)
MOUNT Gambier sprintcar driver Steven Lines returned from Brisbane on the weekend with a victory Archerfield Speedway.
The reigning World Series Sprintcars champion held off a hard-charging Luke Oldfield to claim the honours on a heavy track.
Lines had chased Brent Kratzmann for much of the feature race, closing in through lapped traffic, before the latter hit the wall and was out of the contest.
From there Oldfield began to apply the pressure, but Lines drove well to hold off the late challenge and claim the honours.
Lines said it was worth the trip up to the home track for his Horrell Motorsport team, which is always a tough place to win.
That was reflected throughout the night, with Lines struggling through the heats after rain early in the day affected the clay oval.
“Nobody moved anywhere in the heats because the track was so heavy,” he said.
“But we went through the dash and did well when it counted.”
A win in the dash put Lines on pole, alongside Kratzmann, with the latter off to a lightning start.
Kratzmann led the field for a big piece of the race, as Lines diced with Aaron Kelly and Andrew Corbet.
Kratzmann had opened a big lead early, while Lines began to stretch the margin from the remainder of the field.
Lines closed the margin and looked for a way under the leader, but lapped traffic began to play its part.
However, the field bunched up after Corbet rolled his car and Kratzmann again took the lead off the restart.
Meanwhile Oldfield began to make his move, moving up to third and setting his sights on Lines.
With the pressure on, Kratzmann pushed too hard out of turn two and hit the wall, with his race over and Lines in the lead with 10 laps to run.
“Kratzman did a good job, but the pressure got to him,” Lines said.
“We were catching him and he put himself into the fence.
“The high line wasn’t that high really.
“It was still about three quarters the way up the track, but because it was so heavy, when you got it wrong it grabbed hold of you.”
Another caution with just seven laps remaining saw the field again bunch up, but Lines got the jump on Oldfield and maintained his lead to the chequered flag.
“Oldfield is pretty decent around there and he was coming at the end,” Lines said.
“But we were good enough to hang in there.”
The victory added to a win in Darwin early in the season, before a fifth place at Toowoomba.
“We were pretty solid in Darwin so it has been a good start,” Lines said.
“We were fighting for third in Toowoomba, but got caught up in the last corner and I got the rough end of the deal and finished fifth.
“We were around the mark there, so hopefully we can keep it rolling along.”
Lines said at this stage he had no real plans for the season, but will take it as it comes, with the team to make the call on which events he competes at.
His next outing will be at Warrnambool on November 2.
