Chris branches out to win on the beach
Wednesday 24 July, 2019
Chris Branch has won the St Helens Screamer in style.
Chris Branch has taken out the CAMS Tasmanian Off Road Championship’s St Helens Screamer with a dominant performance.
Taking place at the picturesque Peron sand dunes, Branch was too good for his rival competitors leading the event from start to finish and claiming all three heats.
As the race kicked off with a mass start on the beach, Branch was a man on a mission and got off to an amazing start as he took out the first heat two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Mike Males.
Despite backing off for the next two heats, the Pro-lite driver managed to eventually come away with a seven-minute victory over Michael Stalker, while John Walker rounded out the podium
Stalker was the only other driver to complete every lap as a number of the drivers fell victim to the tough course, including Males who had spent a majority of the day in second place.
Following the event, Branch was thrilled to come away with his maiden St Helens Screamer victory.
“It was a really good event and I am really happy to have won the Screamer this year. It was a special to win all three heats,” Branch said.
“I wasn’t very confident going into the event, but I got off to a really good start on the beach which really helped me throughout the rest of the day.
“Once I got the win in the first heat, I had a three minute gap over the next driver so I decided to back off a little bit because I already had the lead and I didn’t want to give it up.
“Ahead of the race I was a bit nervous because I had to reboot the gearbox but thankfully it didn’t let me down and it was good all day, so I would like to thank my dad Alex for his time and effort to help prepare the car for me.”
The next round of the CAMS Tasmanian Off Road Championship is where Branch won his last state round with Cambridge hosting the fourth round on 14 September.