Geraldton speedster Jaeger Berry takes back-to-back WA Junior Formula 125 title in nail-biting final lap dash

Geraldton 14-year-old Jaeger Berry successfully defended his Formula 125 Junior State Title in a dramatic final-lap feature race shoot-out last weekend. Onlookers were treated to a thrilling-two way battle between Berry and Narrogin’s Mason Kulker, with the weekend’s action culminating in a feature race under the lights of Albany Speedway. A late restart on lap 13 saw the title decided in a green-white-checker, with one lap deciding the title, with the cars bunched up and any lasting advantage lost. Berry, who led the single-file procession, held his lead and held off Kulker, who attempted an overtake for the lead on the final corner, which proved costly and saw him slip out of the podium as Berry reigned supreme. Narrogin was well-represented on the podium, with Pearson, Donnelly, Mason Keegan Rowe and Alexi Kulker placed between second and fifth. It was a challenging start to the day for Berry, who didn’t quite have the pace to match Kulker — who won the first two heat races, but Berry snagged some podiums. After some mechanical adjustments, Berry then took out the third heat race, giving him momentum heading into the final race. As the two race winners from the three heats, the title rivals began on the front row, with Kulker starting on pole position. That was short-lived, as Berry began brilliantly. However, the race was neutralised after another Geraldton racer, Addisyn Nankiville, was involved in a lap-one crash which saw her carefully extracted from her car by paramedics. She was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, and was later cleared. With the race reset, Berry quickly created a wide gap over his his rivals with Narrogin trio Kulker, Callum Pearson and Rhyne Donnelly squabbling for podium positions behind him. As fate would have it, Berry’s sister Mahali spun on lap 13, resulting in the yellow flag and Berry’s advantage lost, but leading to a thrilling final lap shoot-out. Geraldton City Speedway’s contingent of racers will head to Moora Speedway to compete in two weeks time.