21/09/2026
***Classic Warm Up Race Report***
The final club day before the Bendigo Classic has always been a popular event, and Sunday's racing was no exception. With a forecast top of 27°C, the sun was shining, but the persistent 30-40 km/h winds created challenging conditions, particularly through the sweeper.
A total of 44 entries were received, with 37 drivers making the grid for a fantastic day of high-quality racing as we build towards the club's marquee event, the 2026 Superstock Bendigo Classic.
Kyosho
A seven-car field provided plenty of exciting racing throughout the day. Thank you to the 2 junior drivers Jasper and Morgan who come and competed, it is great to see the younger generation enjoying the hobby
Qualifying
Q1
Simon Francis took control of this one early with a 15-lap run, taking the win from Darren Perry, who was the only other driver to fit in 15 laps. John Dennis rounded out the top three.
Q2
Now with a feel for the track, Jasper showed early pace, jumping from 4th to 2nd and then to the top spot, while Simon dropped back to 4th. Darren was again the bridesmaid, finishing 2nd, with Simon fighting his way past John to take 3rd.
Finals
A1
The bridesmaid finally became the bride, with Darren getting the job done in the first final. Making his move on lap 9, he took the lead and the win. Simon finished only one second behind, with Jasper finishing 3rd.
A2
The battle up front was heating up. John joined in from 4th position, weaving his way through the field to get over the line first. Simon held onto second, while Darren finished 3.5 seconds behind him in 3rd, leaving A3 as the decider for the day.
A3
Simon having issues at the start gave Darren the early lead, but it was not long before "Mr Consistent" made his way to the front. John took out the third and final race from Simon, while Connar Hall found some late pace to finish 3rd.
Podium
🥇 John Dennis
🥈 Simon Francis (TQ)
🥉 Darren Perry
Fastest Lap of the Day – Jasper Speirs 18.458
Mini
A field of four started the day, but after seeing the pace of the drivers out there, Modified driver Cooper Davis opted to sit this one out after qualifying so he wouldn't get in the way of the fast guys, leaving just three to battle it out.
Qualifying
Q1 & Q2
Both qualifiers went the same way, with Simon doing the most laps in both runs to secure TQ.
Finals
A1
This was a rinse-and-repeat performance for Simon, with a six-lap win over Nash, followed by Garry.
A2
Nash hit back, beating Simon to the line by one lap, with Garry taking 3rd position.
A3
In the decider, Nash was able to hold it together in the two-horse race, winning by one lap to take out A3 and the overall win.
Podium
🥇 Nash McGillivray
🥈 Simon Francis (TQ)
🥉 Garry Johnson
Fastest Lap of the Day – Cooper Davis 18.970
21.5
Two heats of 21.5 saw 11 drivers competing for overall honors.
Qualifying
Q1 - Heat 1
Sam was off to a great start, taking the chocolates from Garry Logan. Gavin Cooper showed early pace and had a good battle with Garry, finishing just 0.08 seconds behind in 3rd.
Q1 - Heat 2
Glenn Wilson showed his class with a convincing win. Jack Cooper, fresh off a grand final win, was back behind the wheel and showed he had lost nothing after a few weeks off, finishing 10 seconds behind Glenn. Lyndon Turvey, sporting some of the brightest footwear seen in a long time, rounded out the top three.
Q2 - Heat 1
After taking pole in the first qualifier, Sam led from start to finish with a 99.08% consistency run (still 0.92% room for improvement 😊). Gavin improved from 3rd to finish 2nd, while Max enjoyed a solid run to take 3rd, only two seconds behind Gavin.
Q2 - Heat 2
Glenn again put in a strong run, confirming his TQ position by finishing one lap ahead of Jack. Lyndon also put in a solid run to finish 3rd.
Finals
A1
With all the cars now in the same final, Glenn was untroubled. He put an early gap on the field and kept it clean through the back markers to finish a lap clear. Likewise, Jack held onto 2nd with a solid run. Sam did it the hard way, dropping back to 7th before fighting his way back to 3rd.
A2
The results for this run were much the same as how it started. Glenn got away from the pack and took the win while improving his hot lap to a 16.633. Jack took 2nd by eight seconds over Sam. Jamie and Lyndon enjoyed a great battle to the finish, separated by only 1.4 seconds.
A3
Glenn again let nobody past, setting the early pace and putting a lap on the field with a great display of driving. Jack found trouble on lap 7, letting both Sam and Lyndon through. Jack was able to get back past Lyndon to take 3rd, but Sam held his nerve to secure 2nd by 5.8 seconds.
Podium
🥇 Glenn Wilson (TQ)
🥈 Jack Cooper
🥉 Sam Winsper
Fastest Lap of the Day – Glenn Wilson 16.491
13.5
For the first time in a long time, this class had more entries than 21.5, with 13 drivers split into two heats. In all the excitement of the day, one driver even forgot to pack his car and had to borrow one for the event.
Qualifying
Q1 - Heat 1
Justin wasted no time going straight to the top of the charts and staying there for the run. Stephen Speirs blew the cobwebs out after not racing at Bendigo for some time, finishing 4.7 seconds back, while local Jamie O'Brien took 3rd position.
Q1 - Heat 2
Jordan Cullis made a last-minute decision to make the trek to Bendigo and went straight to the top of the timing sheets. With the wind and dust playing havoc, he dropped back to 4th before fighting his way back to the top of the leaderboard. Little Mick put in the fastest lap of the race to finish 2nd, while local Tim Forster finished 3rd after leading for a lap.
Q2 - Heat 1
Justin made a few changes and came out firing on all 13.5 cylinders, putting in a convincing run and setting a 15.272 hot lap late in the race. Stephen again drove consistently, while Jamie traded blows with Luis before creating a gap to finish 3rd.
Q2 - Heat 2
Jordan got off to a fast start, but it was not long before Scott was able to hit the top of the time sheets. With Little Mick right there as well, it became a three-way battle to the end. Jordan managed to get the extra lap and take the win from Scott by 2.5 seconds, with Little Mick not far behind.
Finals
A1
Justin used his TQ position to lead from start to finish. The battle for 2nd and 3rd raged on between Scott, Jordan and Little Mick. Scott got the better of them, finishing 2nd, three seconds behind Justin and 1.8 seconds clear of Little Mick in 3rd. Jordan was 4th by a very small margin.
A2
Once again, Justin opened up a lead and kept it clean and trouble-free with a 98.92% consistency run. Little Mick was not far off the pace, only four seconds behind, followed by Jordan and Scott. Stephen Speirs joined the battle at the front, finishing only 0.4 seconds behind Scott in 5th.
A3
With the overall win secured, Justin completed a clean sweep, taking out A3 from Little Mick by a 5.4-second margin and improving on his fastest lap of the day. Scott held onto 3rd from a fast-finishing Jamie.
Podium
🥇 Justin Vergunst (TQ)
🥈 Little Mick
🥉 Scott Rawlings
Fastest Lap of the Day – Justin Vergunst 15.115
Modified
The biggest Modified field seen in Bendigo for some time, with over half the field travelling from out of town to get one final look at their setups before the Bendigo Classic.
Qualifying
Q1
Jack got off to a fast start and went to the top of the tables, but he didn't quite drive to the conditions, spinning on the sweeper and dropping back through the field. Sandy showed all his experience, taking control of the race until the final lap, when Cooper was able to capitalise on a rare mistake. Tim Boundy took 3rd in a solid performance.
Q2
Sandy and Jack both showed early pace and looked to be trading times until Sandy was forced to retire on lap 4. With the field dropping like flies, Jack was able to hold onto the top spot from Brad Portelli by 1.5 seconds, with Brad Gale just 0.11 seconds further back in 3rd.
Finals
A1
With Cooper out due to car issues, Jack and Sandy opened up a gap on the field with some clean and respectful racing. Sandy managed to get by Jack on lap 13 before they traded places a couple more times. Sandy crossed the line in 1st position after a coming together on the final lap, with Jack having to regroup. Jack scraped across the line in 2nd, while Tim Boundy finished just 0.3 seconds shy of 3rd.
A2
It looked set to be another great battle, with Brad Portelli finding his rhythm and joining Jack and Sandy at the front. A spin by Jack on lap 4 dropped him back to 4th, leaving Sandy and Brad to battle it out. Sandy held Brad off by one second in a 21-lap run, while Jack recovered to 3rd.
A3
With Sandy already having secured the overall win, attention turned to the minor placings. Jack didn't get off the line well and early side-by-side contact with Sandy sent Sandy to the back of the field. Jack held the lead until lap 15, when the car became unstable and gave Brad Portelli the opportunity to get past. Brad started pulling away until four laps later, when he suffered the same fate, with his left rear wheel coming loose and forcing him to retire.
Jack was able to limp the car home to take 1st position and discovered a wheel had fallen off when he stepped down from the drivers' stand. Brad Gale put in a solid run to take 2nd, while 3rd belonged to Tim Boundy.
Podium
🥇 Sandy Iavazzo
🥈 Jack Dewhurst (TQ)
🥉 Brad Portelli
Fastest Lap of the Day – Sandy Iavazzo & Brad Portelli 14.586
There was a practice lap upon the conclusion of racing 14.511
A great day of racing and the biggest club day of the year.
Thank you to everyone who helped out. Gerry gave up his race day to learn the timing system and race control duties. Garry Logan also limited his track time, flipping burgers at lunch, while many others helped throughout the day to ensure everything ran smoothly.
The next event is the 2026 Superstock Bendigo Classic. With talk of a world champion joining the field, it promises to be a fantastic event.
Entries have been extended until Thursday night and will not be extended any further. If you want to race, please get your entries in.
Hope to see you all at the Classic!! 🏁
