MOUNT Gambier sprintcar driver Steven Lines will remain out of action for the coming weeks after he was injured during a crash at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway on New Years day.
The meeting started on a sour note when he hit the fence and crashed out of the round five World Series Sprintcar event in qualifying, on just his second lap of the night.
As a result he missed that round, but returned to the track at Archerfield Raceway on Saturday where he pushed through to finish ninth in the feature race.
However, he has since been sidelined to recover from his rib injury, missing the round seven event at Toowoomba and yesterday’s round eight meeting at Maryborough Speedway.
That equates to three missed rounds so far for the reigning WSS champion and rules out the chance of a title defence.
It is a disappointing result for Lines in a season he would already rather forget, with a roll over in round three of the series – also at Warrnambool – resulting in another early night.
It appears the 2018-19 champion will spend a further two rounds on the sidelines, before he returns to the track in front of a home crowd.
“We are not racing until probably the Kings Challenge by the sound of it,” Lines said.
With the title out of reach, Lines said the main focus will be the bigger events on the racing calendar.
“We are obviously not concentrating on the World Series now – we will just try to concentrate on the bigger shows coming up,” he said.
“Obviously the Kings (Challenge) and the Classic and then the Australian Title later on in Tassie.
“We will try and make ourselves right for those weeks – that is our plan.”
In regards to the crash, Lines admitted it was simply a driver error which put a dampener on his season.
“In qualifying we got our first lap out and then just tried to go in a bit deeper the second time and got into the fence – it sucked me in and that was the end of that,” he said.
“The fence got me and stopped me in a hurry.”
The force of the hit was enough to do some damage to both the car and its driver.
But while a sprintcar can quickly be returned to racing condition, Lines’ injuries require patience.
However, all going to plan, he is eager to hit the track running when action returns to Borderline Speedway.
“I look forward to getting back in there and having a go,” he said.
