General News
9 October, 2025
Conlan, Roycroft claim chequered flag in Blue Ribbon opener
As expected, Shane Roycroft claimed the chequered flag at Blue Ribbon Raceway on Saturday in what was part of the opening meeting of the racing season.
But after organisers combined the production sedan and street stock classes, Roycroft took the win not only against his own class competitors but also against the more highly modified and theoretically more powerful section.
While street stocks are more standard – no alterations can be carried out on the engine and suspension – production sedans are allowed to have alterations done, meaning they should have more power, and be better handling, than a street stock.
Roycroft was dominant all night, dropping the first heat after spinning out but winning the following three.
Shane Hammond claimed the first heat ahead of Steve Perry and James Robinson.
With Roycroft winning all following heats, Josh Davey and Perry rounded out the podium in race two, Perry and Robinson finished behind the Wang 82 of Roycroft in race three, and in the final heat hitout, Riley Rampling finished in second and Davey in third.
Roycroft started the final off pole and couldn't be caught all race, winning by a comfortable 9.59 seconds, ahead of Robinson and Stacie Riches.
Roycroft told Wimmera Mallee News before the meeting that he was hoping for a "juiced-up track" on Saturday, with those conditions being his expertise.
The heat during the day meant a bit more preparation with the track than usual but Roycroft said ultimately the conditions, for him, worked well.
In wingless, the V75 driver Michael Conlan got off to a racy start, claiming the first heat, with Rickey Bailey and Luke Johnson rounding out second and third.
Johnson had a better hitout for the following and last heat of the night and crossed the line first, ahead of Conlan and Tyler Bish.
On track for the bronze shootout, Leigh Van Ginneken defeated Bish and Glen Harrison in a time of 16.862.
Van Ginneken was then defeated in the following shootout, finishing third behind Bailey and Scott Vivian but again in front of Bish.
With Bailey and Vivian advancing to the gold shootout, they came up against the earlier heat winners in Conlan and Johnson, with Conlan getting the chocolates in this instance.
He finished with a time of 16.944, just 0.182 seconds ahead of Johnson.
Bailey finished with a time of 17.196, 0.753 seconds better than Vivian.
Conlan started the final from pole with Johnson on his outside, with these two drivers completing the race in positions one and two, respectively.
Bailey and Van Ginneken at times had a brilliant contest, swapping positions fourth and third during the race numerous times.
In the end, though, it was Van Ginneken who claimed the last place on the podium ahead of Bailey, Vivian and Harrison.
Conlan said they were happy with the car during the day despite a couple of minor problems and attributed the good setup to the fact he had done so many laps around the Blue Ribbon track in the past.
"We've got a pretty good starting point to go off now, which helps a lot," he said.
"We did have some trouble during the day with a stuck throttle linkage and lack of power steering so it was good to have a run to sort out the issues before any further Blue Ribbon events this season."
Conlan said his consistent results put him in a good position for the final and the track "wasn't really there" to make passes so he didn't have to push the car too hard to hold his position.
"It was a great way for us to start the season and the day-racing format was really enjoyable for us," Conlan said.
"It was a really relaxed vibe and we got home early, which was really nice.
"I think the track crew did an awesome job, especially with the sun beating the surface all day.
"It's always a good trip over there and I'm looking forward to our season."
The V8 trucks also bring a bit of different excitement to the track and it was no exception on Saturday, with heat racing before the final, which was won by Dean Thomas.
Finishing behind Thomas was Maxi Muller, ahead of Jacinta Holding and Belinda Taylor.
The Horsham-registered Jack Mills claimed the chequered flag in the final for the juniors, ahead of Archie Thomas, also from Horsham, and Ryder Lack from Wangaratta.
It capped off a brilliant night of racing for Mills, who also won each of his heat races.
But the racing at Blue Ribbon didn't finish once the black-and-white flag dropped for the last race on Saturday, with quarter midgets hitting the track on Sunday, when the condition of the surface benefitted some drivers by being fast and racey.
New lap records were set by three drivers: V57 Reed Muller (9.529 seconds), V23 Jack O'Brien (8.958 seconds) and V71 Ben Parsons (8.639 seconds).
Quarter midget results were as follows:
120 restricted – heat winners: Jed Simpson (all three); final: first V98 Jed Simpson, second V57 Reed Muller, third V30 Chase Goss.
Open 120 – heat winners: Charlie Simpson and Niki Chippindall (two); final: first V67 Niki Chippindall, second V23 Jack O'Brien, third V85 Ollie Roycroft.
Open 160 – heat winners: Ben Parsons and Zac Parsons (two); final: first V71 Ben Parsons, second V37 Zac Parsons, third V44 Chase Van Ginneken.
Novice – heat winners: Lewis O'Brien and Nate Roycroft (two); final: first V28 Lewis O'Brien, second V82 Nate Roycroft, third V9 Hudson Belk.
