More than two dozen drivers competed in the inaugural North South 50 — which also doubled as the Victorian state championships — with heats held on Saturday before the 50-lap main event on Sunday night.
Nicola Junior slid by Lucas Roberts in the #0 car with two laps to go to take the lead and race away to the chequered flag.
Roberts finished second with Matt Pascoe crossing the line in third. Brad Pascoe moved up the order to finish a solid fourth, with Steve Latham rounding out the top five.
Despite coming second, it was a heart-breaking finish for Roberts.
The five-time state champion qualified on pole and led the first 48 laps of the race before calamity struck.
While was trying to pass a lapped car, the vehicle Roberts was overtaking slid wide and hit him, damaging his front suspension and allowing Nicola Junior past.
The win clinched Nicola Junior’s second consecutive state title and pocketed him $5600 in prize money.
Callum Harper, Corey Smith, Darren Giacometti, Ash Bergmeier and David Nichols made up the top 10.
The first-ever North South 50 was a star-studded event, with some of the biggest names in Super Sedans competing.
Current Australian champion Pascoe was in the field, alongside Matt Williams, who finished second at this year’s Australian championships, current NSW state champion Latham and multi-time state champ Harper.
David Roberts from Heartland Raceway Moama said he thought the inaugural North South 50 event was a great success.
“For Easter we had a very good crowd, I think we did exceptionally well,” Roberts said.
“The racing was simply sensational. Now that the event is out and flying, I think you’ll see a major increase next year.”
Looking towards the future, Roberts said the plan was to hold the North South 50 over the Easter long weekend each year.
“I think it was awesome. The feedback I’ve had so far is people were very happy, and all the competitors have said they are coming back,” he said.
This year’s event also doubled as the Victorian state championships, something that might not continue in the future. But Roberts said it will still go on as a stand-alone event if that is the case.
“It’s going ahead in leaps and bounds. Hopefully next year the prize money will increase for first place,” Roberts said.
“We will keep working to improve the facility and make it bigger and better as the event grows.”
The North South 50 was the last event of the season at Heartland Raceway Moama. Action is set to resume at the track in October when the 410 sprint cars roar into town.
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