WARRNAMBOOL'S Alex Ross turned his wildest dreams into a reality with a stunning victory at the Australian Wingless Sprint Titles on Saturday night.
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The 21-year-old led from start to finish in the 40-lap feature race, outlasting fellow south-west driver Luke Weel and Dayn Bentvelzen in a dramatic finale at Allansford's Premier Speedway.
Weel started the feature from pole position for the third consecutive time at the national championships but was quickly passed by Ross in the early laps.
The new Australian number one was left in awe of his own performance as his family swept over to congratulate him.
"I never thought I would do this in my life," Ross said.
"I ran second at the Victorian Titles last year and I thought that was as good as I was going to get. They (winning national titles) are dreams and a dream has happened."
Now the challenge for Ross, who started his speedway career in the junior sedans, is to return to racing with the pressure of the number one on his car.
"I just think it is going to be extra pressure I don't need," he said. "It's going to be an honour to run it and I'm going to enjoy it."
Ross was quick to praise the efforts of Weel, who pushed his south-west compatriot right up until the checkered flag.
"He is always a tough competitor and we were battling last weekend," he said.
"He never gives you a sniff so when you pass someone like that it's rewarding."
Two-time reigning Australian champion Joel Chadwick made sure the rest of the field was aware of his presence throughout the race.
Starting from 24th on the grid the Adelaide driver quickly sped through the field to eventually finish just inside the top-10.
The second-year wingless sprints driver said belief was the key to his strong performances across the two nights of racing.
"I just believed in myself and had the confidence that we had the car and crew to do it," Ross said.
"And anything is possible we just had to have some luck."
Ash Hounsfield crashed out of the final with 26 laps to run after he clipped the wall coming out of turn three.
The West Australian was taken to hospital in an ambulance shortly after the crash.
Ross said his tactics were what helped him stay away from trouble happening behind him.
"It was just for me to keep hitting my marks," he said.
"I kept struggling in turn three and four early on and I just tried to compose myself and hit the same marks every time. Once I found it and it was just about keeping the car as straight as I could."
Earlier in the night Tyson Bartlett was taken to hospital after crashing out with five laps to run in the D-main.
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
