Solemn race round honours late Broome Speedway club legend John Zinner

Anna Elliott drove her modlite to glory in a slippery and emotion-charged round at the Broome Speedway on Saturday night. The round started on a solemn note, with a lap of honour to remember club “gentleman” John Zinner, who died following complications with surgery last week. Zinner, well-known in Broome for his 12 Mile Bird Park, was remembered for his long association with the club as a driver, volunteer and life member. Once the green light went and racing started, it was the modlites which proved the most entertaining for the crowd. Jason Webb and Glenn Dearle were locked in a shootout several times over the course of the night but it was Elliott who ended up taking the win in the feature race. Rob Kirk was also in the mix but almost brought his night undone in the penultimate race when, after probing hard to overtake third-placed Webb, the two collided on the turn into the home straight. After a lengthy delay both drivers manage to get their cars back on the track to finish the race, with Kirk shooting back up from the rear of the field to finish second in that round. The final turn proved a handful all night for drivers. Andy Norton and Philip Lockhart both spun out in the same area and it was evident several competitors across the categories battled to keep the cars straight on the dirt there. In the stocks, Mark Murray was in fine form during the early heats and built a healthy lead in the penultimate round. Lockhart’s spin-out forced the pack back together for a restart, however, Jose Glasson, Andy Norton and Jim Dixon pushed push Murray off the leader’s board. Murray picked himself up again in the feature to finish second behind Curt Harris, with Glasson rounding out the podium. Ayden Mills backed up a juniors podium finish in the previous round with a win on Saturday night, too. There was some drama earlier when Derby’s Jack McGaffin hit the wall hard in front of the spectators’ stand. McGaffin walked away uninjured but his car had to be towed off the field. Mills went on to dominate the final races ahead of Alyssa Halliday and Mitch Binning.