Four heats of the World Driving Championship went postward at Bathurst Racing Club, a new racing facility that opened in October 2014, and four different drivers had winners.
Tony Le Beller, from France, took the first heat when he used the passing lane to record a strong victory with Fours Enuf Tas. Bathurst is the only racetrack in New South Wales that has a passing lane. Canada’s Jody Jamieson secured second with Party Starter while Dexter Dunn and Norway’s Vidar Hop finished third and fourth respectively on Crusinonthe Big Ern and Glenferrie Access.
In the second heat, Denmark's Knud Monster teamed up with Mister Jogalong to score his first victory in the Championship. Spirit Chaser and Dexter Dunn finished second stretching the New Zealander’s lead over the rest of the international drivers. Spain’s Guillermo Adrover behind Allnight Raid finished third and Australia’s Chris Alford managed to get into fourth with Jethros An Eagle.
New Zealand's Dexter Dunn teamed up with Kenny Dee Dee in the third heat and almost made it a double in the last heat. The aptly named Kenny Dee Dee won for ‘Double Dee’ Dexter Dunn. The driver closest to him on the leaderboard, Tim Tetrick, finished second on Iron Outlaw while his North American counterpart Jody Jamieson grabbed third on Precious M. Finland’s Mika Forss finished fourth on Scots Legacy.
In the final heat of the night reigning champion Pierre Vercruysse drove his first winner in Australia when he lifted 80-1 shot Pride Of Flight to victory. Dexter Dunn looked to have this heat locked up when he pulled to the outside at the top of the straight but Lettucemacru was able to reel in the winner. Mika Forss drove early leader Valastro into third place while Tim Tetrick got enough out of Hitman Huey to run fourth.
Jamieson's other horses finished third, sixth and seventh.
Dunn now has a commanding lead in the standings with 161 points. Here are the official point totals and standings:
1) Dexter Dunn - New Zealand - 161
2) Tim Tetrick - USA - 122
3) Tony Le Beller - France - 116
4) Mika Forss - Finland - 111
5) Chris Alford - Australia - 110
6) Jody Jamieson - Canada - 94
6) Knud Monster - Denmark - 94
8) Pierre Vercruysse - France - 93
9) Guillermo Adrover - Spain - 78
10) Vidar Hop - Norway - 77
The fifth leg takes place on Thursday night in Penrith (early Thursday morning in North America) with three heats and the final heat will be contested at Menangle on Inter Dominion Day, Sunday, March 1.