COBDEN racer Jessica Moulden has made history after she became the first female Australian Formula 500 champion at Laang Speedway on Saturday night.
Moulden started on the front row of the 35-lap A-Main where she jumped away to an early lead.
“Five laps in I went wide and got passed by a couple of cars and was back in third,” Moulden said.
She had managed to avoid an early pile up and with 12 laps to go, took the lead for the remainder of the race.
Moulden gapped the chasing pack considerably to win by more than five seconds.
“As the race went on the car just got better.”
The Laang venue has proved a happy hunting ground for the 24-year old, having already claimed Victorian Title success back in 2008.
While Moulden said she originally hadn’t thought too much about winning the event, her plans soon changed after she found out where she was going to be starting from in the decider.
“I reassessed it (the race) when I was starting out at position two. I figured placing top five may have been realistic or even possibly winning,” she said.
Moulden credited part of her success to being in better shape physically.
“I had a bit more fitness this year after a lot of pre-season netball training for Camperdown,” she said.
Moulden said her win was taking some time to get used to.
“I’m feeling pretty good, but it’s still hard to believe. Every day it sinks in a bit more,” she said.
“It’s a big piece of history I get to have, as well as the honour of being Australian champion for 12 months.”
Moulden said the support she received on Saturday night was overwhelming.
“It was unbelievable the support from the crowd. The cheering was so loud.”
Moulden led home Batesford’s James Aranyosi in second and pole sitter for the event Brock Hallett placed third, after charging back from the rear of the field.
Terang’s Dale Sinclair finished fourth ahead of Warrnambool’s Grant Stansfield in fifth and sixth placed Simon Craven of Ecklin.
Will Carroll, who led the race for seven laps during the early stages before spinning, crossed the line seventh.
West Australian Matt Brown placed eighth ahead of Mitch Whiting, 2007 champion Ben McLeod, Mark House, David Sinagra, Camperdown’s Andrew Blackstock, Steven Horton and Phil Smith rounded out the finishers.
Defending champion Liam Williams failed to complete the journey.
Three drivers, including one of the pre-event favourites Jye O’Keeffe, did not make it past the first lap after 2009 title holder Hallett spun in turn four, leaving them nowhere to go.
Moulden was granted a lap of honour carrying the Australian flag prior to Sunday night’s Easter Sprintcar Trail at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway.
Next up for Moulden is racing at her favourite track, Simpson Speedway, this Saturday night.
“The win was a real confidence booster and I’m looking forward to competing at my home track this weekend,” she said.