Podium placings a decade apart for veteran production sedan competitor

Veteran speedway competitor Ron Belfield has returned to the podium in the WA Production Sedan Title for the first time in a decade after he finished second in a dramatic 40-lap final at Bunbury Speedway on Sunday night. Albany’s Belfield is a multiple State and national champion but he was last on the podium in a WA title back in 2009-10 when he won the event in Newman. A strong field of 59 competitors contested the rescheduled 2019-20 WA title, moved from earlier this year because of COVID-19. Belfield was joined at the event by fellow Albany drivers Aydan Trewern, Jason Batchelor and Blane Devonshire. After the first three rounds of heat racing, Belfield sat 19th in the points standings but a second placing in his final preliminary heat on night two of the event ensured the veteran would earn direct entry into the 40-lap championship final. Belfield started from 14th position on the grid and he survived a huge war of attrition to be one of only four cars from the 22 starters that completed the final. Bunbury’s Mick Hamon went on to win the State title after being involved in a terrific battle with Kyle Sayer up front, before the latter was forced infield when his suspension failed as he tried to take the lead on lap 39. Hamon crossed the line 0.593 seconds ahead of Belfield while Joe Wilson crossed the line in third but was disqualified after the race for a technical infringement, elevating Jamie Graham into the final spot on the podium. They were the only four cars to complete the 40-lap final and Belfield said it was an extremely tough race to survive in. “It was a bloody tough race,” Belfield said after the race. “We didn’t start out to flash but we kept working at it and it came off for us. “I didn’t have the pace of Mick, Kyle and Rocket (Rod Musarra) and in the early stages of the race, I couldn’t see where I was going. “(Modified sedan driver) Graeme West was 10 years between titles in Victoria, so I thought maybe I can do that.” Trewern started B-main 2 out of position eight but sliced his way through the field to finish second and earn a berth in the A-main. He started the title decider from 20th and lasted 14 laps before pulling infield. Batchelor was unable to finish B-main 1, retiring after nine laps and in the same event Devonshire was also a non-finisher after completing 16 of the 20 laps.