Another new track record and a feature victory at the opening round of the 09/10 Samsung / Century Yuasa National Midget Car Series saw Michael Pickens continue on from where he left off last season with another dominant win in the Manawatu Midget Car Classic at Robertson International Speedway in Palmerston North on Saturday night (Nov. 21). It was also Michaels third consecutive feature win in three starts this season in the familiar Don Kay owned #54 GVI / Nichibo Breka Esslinger.

The night started off for Pickens in the right way, with a second place finish in his first heat from grid seven, setting a new one-lap track record of 15.42 chasing down eventual heat winner Duane Hickman from Stratford.

Michael easily won his second heat from grid two, with the impressive Hickman finishing second from a rear grid start.

Pickens finished as equal top qualifier with Hickman, but having set the fastest lap in the heats, Michael was picked as the #1. But then he drew the number two marble to invert the field, with the unique NMCS feature draw. Michael was forced to start from grid fifteen and then the balance of the driver picked handicap system went into place. Michael picked Brad Mosen to start back with him, with most of the heavy hitters also starting deep in the pack, picked by the next highest qualifier.

Gavin Quinn from Stratford in an ex Brett Morris Spike/Hawk led the field away and led for two laps before spinning. At the restart all eyes were on the back markers of Pickens, Brad Mosen, Michael Kendall, Lance Beale, Shaun Insley and Chris McCutcheon. Bill Clarkson raced his way to the front of the pack and led for eight laps until Chris McCutcheon forced his way past. Meanwhile Pickens had worked his way to third place on the highline, passing three cars in one move on the outside of turns three and four! “I ran the bottom early, letting some of the others sort themselves out, but then I saw that Chris McCutcheon had gone to the top, so went up there too” said Pickens after the race.” What a great surface! I could run the bottom, middle, and the top. The car was perfect, and the boys had the setup right on for the conditions”. The top was only a tyre width off the wall by the end of the feature. Behind Pickens, Brad Mosen, Lance Beale and Michael Kendall were staging a fierce battle in the middle of the pack.

Michael was in the lead by lap eleven and had already set a fastest lap of 16.0 seconds, which was a clear half a second faster then any other driver on track, such was his dominance. He simply drove away from the field to win, with the race eventually stopping on lap 26 of 30, due to forecast rain that had finally turned up overhead. Brad Mosen finished second with Michael Kendall in third. McCutcheon, Beale, Insley, Clarkson, Dave Gick, Jody Vincent, and Craig Steinbring completed the top ten.

Michael and the #54 team are back at Western Springs this Saturday night, to see if they can make it four from four starts for the season, and maintain the lead in the Western Springs Track Championship.