THE sunshine followed Darren Kane from Queensland on Saturday night as he headed down to the Borderline Speedway and claimed the SA Super Sedans title.
But it took all Kane had to greet the chequered flag first, with Tasmanian driver Callum Harper and Penola’s Dave Gartner filling out the podium in an impressive display of racing.
Kane started out of pole in the 30-lap feature race, with Gartner alongside in second and Harper in third.
Gartner had the better of the start, claiming the lead, but with plenty of pressure from the hard-running Kane.
Kane claimed the lead on lap 17 and Harper soon worked his way into contention.
Harper took the lead late in the race, but with a caution period Kane held on for an entertaining win.
The meeting was full of action, with some of the best names in the business on track.
But drama hit early in the night, with Australian champion Matt Pascoe out with engine issues he experienced in the hot laps.
The front runners were forced to work hard through the heats, with plenty of drivers capable of claiming the title at the end of the night.
Gartner showed pace in heat one, but the equally-experienced Victorian Mick Nicola claimed the win, with the Penola driver in second place.
Heat two saw Mick Nicola Jnr cross the line ahead of Kane, with defending SA champion Ryan Alexander in third.
Harper had his work cut out for him in heat three, with a third place behind Lee Aylett and the fast Ash Bergmeier.
The big guns went head-to-head in heat four, with Kane taking the win from Gartner and Tyson Moon in third.
Mick Nicola Jnr continued to show his hand in heat five with a win, while Harper had to settle for second place behind Queenslander Trent Wilson in heat six.
Kane was again relegated to second place in heat seven, this time behind Moon, while Gartner claimed heat eight from Harper for some psychological advantage as the feature fast approached.
Alexander showed how he claimed the SA title last year, with a win in the final heat to advance into the feature race.
But Alexander’s efforts saw him start out of fifth, with plenty to do in the feature to defend his title and in the end he had to settle for fourth behind Gartner.
Drivers will now focus on the upcoming Australian championships, also at the Borderline Speedway, to be held over two nights on March 7-8.
