LEICESTER’S Max Fricke is chasing Rohan Tungate at the top of the Australian Championship standings after two of the series’ five rounds.
Fricke, who won the opener at North Brisbane on Thursday, added third place in the second event at Kurri Kurri on Sunday as Tungate took victory on his home circuit.
In doing so, the Oxford man scored two more points than Fricke to extend his overall series lead to three points.
Fricke won his first three rides but then ran a third place behind Tungate and Chris Holder in Heat 13, before completing his programmed outings with second to Jack Holder in Heat 18, whilst Tungate dropped his only point to another Watling JCB Lions racer Ryan Douglas in Heat 20.
That meant Tungate scored 14 points overall with Fricke and Jack Holder both on 12, and the meeting was curtailed before the semi-finals and the Final due to track conditions.
Tungate now has 30 points in the series with Fricke on 27, and there is then a four-point gap to Jaimon Lidsey on 23 with defending champion Jack Holder just behind on 22.
Douglas and Sam Masters both scored eight points at Kurri Kurri with Douglas unlucky to suffer mechanical failure when leading Heat 1, but at least he finished his schedule with two wins.
Masters, meanwhile, suffered a fall in Heat 12 but picked up five points from his last two rides.
Douglas is joint seventh overall with 16 points and Masters is just behind on 15, both still very much within striking range of the top four.
The next round of the series is at Albury-Wodonga on Tuesday.
Photo credit: DAVE PAYNE
