Championship Contenders Back to the Front: Legend Ford's at The Bend
- Joseph Wright
- Sep 14
- 6 min read
The Matt Malone Patreon League returned in strong fashion at the relatively new motorsport complex in Australia, at The Bend. Heading out onto track for the opening round of the brand new season 2 were over 40 Legend Ford's: Each of them piloted by a subscriber of Matt Malone's Patreon. The field was stacked with familiar names from the first season of competition, complemented by a host of brand-new drivers to the league.
Qualifying
Qualifying saw season one championship contenders, Matty Gwill and Slugger lined up on the front row, with a few new names joining them at the front of the field.
Qualifying Order
Matty Gwill
Slugger
Tom Leity
Big Al (I'm 6'3)
Richard Dempsey
Sharky Axelson
Bobsjelly
Luke Sudenga
Checkers
Kyle J. Genske
Mech_Arm
Sean Simms
Jeff Schnackel
DiabetesWolf
XtraPickles
DrucksTV
Wyatt Way
Its_Dew
TurboSnail
The Hearnster
Matt Malone
Minttu the White Husky
Stingray Graham
Dauntless
Provi_
Brendan Lobb
Casketman
ODoyleRules
Haden Higginbothan
Sunrise
Lap_Traffic
TonyJabroni
Ed Redfish
Gabriel Mazotti
DTrump
RT_Click
Larva_Max
ImmortalHitman
Jacob Klein
Neil Trotter
Greg Gorilla Fronek
DdoDeadman
Kiran Teja Tummuri*
* No Lap Time Set
Race Highlights
With the grid order set, the field of over 40 drivers prepared themselves for 20 minutes of racing. To catch up on all of the racing action; make sure to watch the Extended Highlights video for Round 1.
Lap One
With 43 drivers heading up to turn one for the first time, the front row of Matty Gwill and Slugger were able to get off the line strong; and move clear ahead of the chasing pack behind. Following them up to turn one, we saw drivers go as much as five-wide before settling it down for the first turn.
The opening lap saw a number of position changes, with the large field of drivers already beginning to form battle packs before the end of the lap. One of the first to go around in the race was ImmortalHitman, who spun through turn 10 after contact behind. After completing a 360 degree style-point drift, he continued with only a few places lost.
Lap Two
The second lap saw Richard Dempsey make a double overtake within the first few turns, to move from 6th to 4th in the race, and hunt for a podium position. In the lead of the race, Slugger, Matty Gwill and Sharky Axelson went three-wide into turn 6, with Slugger coming out on top. Late on the brakes, and Checkers found himself hurtling into the back of Tom Leity into turn 11, which saw them both off the track and tumbling down the order.
Lap Three
It quickly became clear how powerful the slipstream was along the front straight, as Matty Gwill soared back into the lead of the race at the start of lap 3. Still chasing his first victory in the league, Big Al (Al Lotufu), battled hard with Sharky Axelson throughout the lap, eventually taking 4th position in the final corner of the lap.
Lap Four
As lap 4 began, we once again saw the power of the slipstream, as the battle for 4th went two-by-two into the first turns of the lap before settling themselves down again through turn 3. A slightly wider line by Big Al through turn 8 compromised his run through turn 9, inviting Axelson up his inside and back up the position. With Bobsjelly off the track at turn 11, and Luke Sedenga dropping back, Big Al and Axelson continued to battle into the last two turns, running side-by-side once again. But Axelson was about to feel the pain of the Legend Ford's rear-end as he half-spun the car through turn 12, clipping the back of Big Al. Fortunately for Big Al, he was able to get away from the contact unscaved, and all the cars following behind were able to miss the slow Axelson.
Lap Five
With a compromised final turn, Big Al was under attack by Luke Sudenga and Full Send star, Bobsjelly. As they entered turn 1, Big Al had to give up position to Sudenga, but was able to hold ahead of Bobsjelly. Behind, Kyle Genske spun through the exit of turn one, dropping him out of the battle for the top 5.
Lap Six
Lap six saw Axelson and TurboSnail side-by-side through the second half of the lap as Axelson tried to recover the positions he had lost from the start. After losing the position into the breaking point of turn 11, TurboSnail saw the rear end of his Legend's Ford step out on the exit of the turn, catching XtraPickles off guard, who spun in avoidance of the sideways car.
Lap Seven
Lap 7 saw Slugger attempt an overtake past Dempsey into turn 1, using the powerful slipstream to pull him to the inside. Through the braking zone, Dempsey however, was able to hold his position ahead of Slugger in 2nd. Just behind, and another battle was raging - Big Al was able to move back past Luke Sudenga after giving up that position two laps before, returning him to 4th on the track.
Sean Simms, DiabetesWolf and Tom Leity threw caution to the wind as they went three-wide through turn 3. All three of them trading paint, but coming out of the battle unscathed - Leity recovering to P17 after his earlier collision with Checkers.
As the race continued, so did the battle for the last position inside the top 5. With Bobsjelly holding that position, Axelson fought back through turn 11, getting enough room to make a move on the inside. Solidifying his overtake in turn 12, Sudenga then looked to follow him through.
Lap Eight
Bobsjelly took full advantage of the slipstream on the main straight, getting back next to Axelson - Sudenga making it three wide into the first turn. With a nose ahead, Bobsjelly almost came out on top, but a small touch sent him sideways through the exit of the first turn. Trying to hold the slide, an overcorrection send Bobsjelly spinning off track and down the order - returning to track in P11. Axelson remained ahead of Sudenga as the battle left the first three turns.
Lap Eleven
With Dempsey following Slugger, waiting for a final lap opportunity, Bobsjelly tried to recover some lost positions towards the end of the race - battling with XtraPickles and Matt Malone. Malone, starting in 21st position, had managed to find a significant number of positions as the race progressed. Unfortunately for Bobsjelly, his attempted overtake on XtraPickles opened the door for Matt Malone, who slipped up the inside through turn 10, solidifying the position into the braking zone of turn 11.
After a poor start to the lap, Big Al went off the track at turn 11, promoting the Malone-XtraPickles-Bobsjelly battle up to 8th place.
Lap Twelve
With a mistake from XtraPickles into turn one, Malone gained yet another position in the race, moving up to P8. In just 12 laps of racing, Malone had found 13 positions, and with two more laps to go, he wasn't going to hang around. Mech_Arm was just half-a-second in front.
Lap Fourteen
After following Slugger for half of the race, Dempsey finally tried to make the overtake as they entered the final lap of the race. Almost 4 seconds clear at the front, Matty Gwill had dominated the opening round of the season. Utilising different racing lines, Dempsey closed the gap between the two drivers through turn 6. A slide from Dempsey through turn 7 gave Slugger an extra tenth of breathing room. Into turn 11, Dempsey dived to the outside of Slugger. Holding it side-by-side through the exit, a small touch between the two drivers could have spelled disaster, but they remained neck and neck as they head up to the final turn. A better line for Slugger and a faster run through the final turn, meant that Slugger would follow Matty Gwill to the line and take second place, with Dempsey rounding out the podium.
Race Results
Matty Gwill
Slugger
Richard Dempsey
Kyle J. Genske
Luke Sudenga
Sharky Axelson
Matt Malone
Mech_Arm
XtraPickles
Bobsjelly
Big Al (I'm 6'3)
Tom Leity
TurboSnail
DrucksTV
Its_Dew
Sean Simms
DiabetesWolf
Stingray Graham
Jeff Schnackel
Provi_
Brendan Lobb
Lap_Traffic
Kiran Teja Tummuri
Minttu the White Husky
The Hearnster
Jacob Klein
ImmortalHitman
TonyJabroni
Ed Redfish
ODoyleRules
RT_Click
Dauntless
Larva_Max
DTrump
Casketman
Haden Higginbotham
Gabriel Mazotti
DdoDeadman
Neil Trotter
Greg Gorilla Fronek*
Wyatt Way*
Sunrise*
Checkers*
* Did Not Finish
Championship
With the first round of racing complete (and no drops weeks applied until three races have been completed), the championship order is looking mighty familiar, continuing where we left off Season One. Matty Gwill sits at the top of the standings - but Slugger and Dempsey are ready to knock him from that spot the moment they get the chance.
Up Next
Drivers will get back out on track next week, on Saturday 20th September for a wild combination. The Mini Stocks will be visiting the Lime Rock Classic circuit. With another large field of drivers expected - carnage is surely going to follow.
To make sure you don't miss out on any of the races, head over to our Twitch page and give us a follow so that you are notified when we go live!
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