Kris ‘Killa’ Walton bagged a win in the first race of the fourth round of the UDC V8 Ute series this afternoon at the ITM 500 Supercar meeting, but had to work very hard to beat pole sitter Brett ‘The Scud’ Rudd in a thrilling race.
“It was very tough and to be fair I was working very hard to stay with Brett,” explained a relieved Walton. “He had real pace over the Mountain and through Turn 1. It all came down to driving flat out in the end.”
What Walton was able to do was exert huge pressure on the Pallet Supplies Racing Holden in the final few laps as they both pulled away from a great battle for third that involved Sam ‘Bazza’ Barry, Glen ‘Coyote’ Collinson, Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot and Peter ‘Kaos’ Ward.
Walton’s pressure eventually had the desired effect on Rudd, who out braked himself at the new Turn 4 section on the penultimate lap to allow Walton through.
“It was a classic case of looking in my mirror just a fraction too long,” said Rudd. “It was great racing and I’m kicking myself a bit, but we’ll be back for another crack at that first series win tomorrow.”
The battle for third was resolved in favour of a spectacular Barry, who had to work hard for the place and kept the crowd entertained with Ward-esque power slides as he nailed down the final podium spot in the last two laps. Ward gave chase, bouncing off the Turn 6 kerb in the latter stages and forcing Glen Collinson wide, a move which cost the Betta Auto Parts Ford driver a likely fifth place.
Lightfoot finished a sedate fifth, with the car having gone into limp mode early on – thought to be a result of a wet distributor following Friday’s torrential rain and standing water during qualifying. John ‘JP’ Penny did well in his Penny Homes Ford Falcon, moving steadily through the field to sixth despite starting at the back having missed qualifying. Geoff ‘S.O.S’ Spencer was a lonely seventh, with a disgruntled Collinson eighth.
Jack ‘Fanta’ Kofoed impressed on his first race outing in a UDC V8 Ute to finish ninth, doing in his first race what many established drivers in the category fail to do and find a way past the wily Peter ‘Rocketman’ Robb. He also had the measure of Aussie series regular Jeremy ‘Lost It’ Gray in the race too – which was no mean feat for the young racer.
Gray rounded out the top ten, with Dirty Dave Kernohan 11th and Rocketman bringing up the rear after a big spin into Turn 2 on the final lap.
UDC V8 Utes Round 4 – Race 1 ITM 500
1 16 Kris Walton Ford Falcon
2 99 Brett Rudd Holden Commodore
3 71 Sam Barry Ford Falcon
4 69 Peter Ward Holden Commodore
5 96 Mike Lightfoot Ford Falcon
6 6 John Penny Ford Falcon
7 22 Geoff Spencer Holden Commodore
8 17 Glen Collinson Ford Falcon
9 5 Jack Kofoed Holden Commodore
10 67 Jeremy Gray Ford Falcon
11 12 Dave Kernohan Ford Falcon
12 68 Peter Robb Holden Commodore
