LAUNCESTON
speedway driver David Nichols stepped into the
realm of legends at the Bendigo Bank Arena at
Latrobe on Saturday night when he won his sixth
Tasmanian super sedan title.
In winning the Bruce Gowans Toyota Tasmanian V8
Super Sedan Championship, Nichols equalled the
long-standing record of Coastal legend the late
Neville Harper.
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David Nichols in action at
Latrobe.
Photo: Damon
Kingshott |
Fittingly, the
victory for Nichols came after an early battle
with Harper's son, Jarrod Harper, of Hellyer
Beach, who qualified on the front row for the
30-lap final alongside polesitter Nichols.
Chasing his own
fourth title, Harper led the race in the early
stages, but was unable to maintain the pace and
eventually slipped back to a disappointing
fifth.
Hobart's Steve
Latham finished a hard-charging second ahead of
defending champion Kevin Purton, of Deloraine,
who qualified on grid 10 after dramas in one of
his heats, but drove an aggressive final to work
his way onto the podium.
West Australian
Joel Handford and Latham qualified on the second
row with some consistent placings in their heats
as well.
When the final
started, Harper jumped away at the green light
and led Nichols in the early stages.
But Nichols
fought back and after only six laps was
alongside Harper, with the pair embarking on a
thrilling duel for several laps before Nichols
completed the inside passing move two laps
later.
Latham had also
started well and powered away from Handford,
taking the opportunity of Harper being caught
out of position to follow Nichols through and
snatch second from the Coastal driver.
As Nichols and
Latham opened a gap, Harper came under challenge
from Handford, with the West Australian
eventually finding a way through 10 laps from
the finish, taking Purton with him.
Meanwhile,
Nichols and Latham continued their battle all
the way to the chequered flag, with Purton
stealing third place from Handford on the final
lap to deny the young mainlander a podium
finish.
Nichols said
after the race he believed Harper had the
championship after start.
"Once Jarrod
won the start I was convinced I was going to
finish second, but he started to come back to me
after about six laps and I realised I had a
better car set-up," Nichols said.
The six-times
champ was also humble about his record.
"It's a real
honour to equal Neville's record and I don't
care if I don't get to beat it in years to come,
because I don't think I'm in the same league as
he was," he said.
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