Phil Williams

BAROSSA local Matt Curtis has narrowly missed claiming the Clive Dubois Memorial Short Course Off Road event held in dusty and windy conditions at Mannum, in the final round of the SAORRA Multi Club Series a fortnight ago.

After being fastest by seven seconds in the single lap prologue on Saturday, Curtis was involved in an event-long tussle with Chris Johnson for the outright win across three five-lap heats, with a final blast of three laps on Sunday afternoon.

The pair traded blows by just mere seconds during each heat, but Curtis was unable to come out on top.

Curtis’ total elapsed time of 1hr 16min 37.5sec was slightly more than 32 seconds slower than Johnson.

Coupled with the typical limestone terrain, the wind and dust made racing difficult for the 30-car field, with 13 crews failing to greet the chequered flag.

Other local drivers, Sam Vanstone, John Smith and Haydn Vanstone fared well to finish fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Trevor Copeland was beset by brake problems early on Saturday, but overnight repairs enabled him to roll up to the starting line on Sunday, finishing 16th.

Sam Daniele in his smart looking single seater was the only local who failed to finish.