Tomlinson claims young drivers title
Sheree Tomlinson’s star continued to hit new heights when she was crowned the Australasian Young Drivers champion at Albion Park, in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Tomlinson, from Canterbury, sealed her victory with a second placing on Parisian Rockstar in the final heat of the competition.
She dominated the first two days of the three-day series in Queensland by winning three of its first six races. Tomlinson headed into Saturday night’s three deciding heats at Albion Park with a 32-point lead.
Queensland’s Nathan Dawson got within 14 points of her ahead of the final heat after scoring a win and a second placing in heats seven and eight. Tomlinson had little luck in those races, with fourth and eighth places.
Dawson was the only driver that could beat Tomlinson with a strong result in the final heat.
He needed to win with his drive, Ted West, and for Tomlinson to run last or secondlast. Tomlinson took control of her championship destiny when leading with Parisian Rockstar in the final heat. Dawson landed the one-one with Ted West, but the horse was never in contention from the quarter pole.
Though Shard Halo, with driver Chris Geary, ran Parisian Rockstar down in the straight, second place was enough to seal Tomlinson’s win in the young drivers’ competition, victory coming by 21 points overall.
Fellow New Zealand representatives, Alicia Harrison and Benjamin Butcher, finished seventh and ninth, respectively.
The Informant