2017 Winner - Narissa McMULLEN

by Alex Nolan

When race caller Chris Barsby excitedly exclaimed the 2017 Australasian Young Drivers Championship had gone the way of Queensland, not even the eventual victor was convinced.

The loud urgings of Kiwi representative Dylan Ferguson had convinced rising Queensland star Narissa McMullen that she’d been pipped at the post at Albion Park on Saturday.

Leading Ferguson by two points ahead of the 10th and final heat, McMullen carried the hopes of the Sunshine State when tasked with guiding $10.70 chance Mojo Major.

Ferguson came from a near impossible position in the straight to make a late dive aboard The Charging Moa NZ.

“On the line I thought Dylan had beaten me and I looked across and said ‘I think you got there’,” McMullen said.

“It wasn’t until I quickly got back around and looked at the board when I knew I had won. I was really excited and thrilled to have won the series, especially at home.”

McMullen finished the series on 96 points, seven clear of Ferguson on 89. Chris Geary (NSW) would finish with 75 in third position, while Jason Lee (VIC) ended on 72 points.

McMullen’s series got off to a flier on the opening night, when she won the opening two heats at Redcliffe to take the early series lead.

Ferguson and Sheree Tomlinson claimed the next two heats for the Kiwis, before Victoria’s Jason Lee and New South Wales’ Chris Geary took maximum points on the second night.

McMullen made it another double on the final night, leading all the way on Parisian Rockstar at Albion on Saturday, with Lee and Jayden Brewin (SA) collecting wins ahead of the final.

The win meant McMullen had followed the footsteps of her renowned father John McMullen, who won the 1986 Inter Dominion Young Drivers Series. He beat a star-studded field which featured the likes of Mark Purdon and Anthony Butt, whose daughter Kimberly Butt represented New Zealand in the 2017 event.

“(Dad) always talks about it,” McMullen laughed.

“It was good to be able to say ‘now I’ve got a win too’. The family was really excited.”