Brad Maiolo claimed the LJM Grand Prix at Bunbury Speedway on Saturday night from Andrew Priolo and Taylor Milling.
He claimed the event, supported by his family’s business and race team, which was round 11 of the 2023-24 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series championship.
The younger of the two Maiolo brothers who was contesting the round, started from p4 and pounced in the first lap to move up to second and settle behind Priolo who started on the front row with Milling.
He kept in touch with Priolo in the first half of the race as they opened up a gap on the rest of the field and worked their way through lapped traffic.
With seven laps remaining Maiolo mounted the first of his challenges and hit the lead, only for Priolo to switch back to the front on the next lap and from there they traded lines.
After a caution period with five laps remaining, Maiolo led from Priolo and in the run to the checkers, he set up the comfortable win.
It was Maiolo’s first feature race win in about two years and the night started off strongly when he was second quickest in his qualifying group.
In his first heat, he started and finished third and then took a second in the B Dash to start on the outside of the second row.
Priolo was fourth quickest in his qualifying group and then took full advantage of a front-row start in his heat race to take a win.
The second-generation sprintcar racer then won the B Dash to start alongside Milling who won the A dash.
Up to that point, Milling was third quickest in his qualifying group before taking a second in his heat race and a win in the A Dash.
Kris Coyle took fourth after starting from p7, while Callum Williamson crossed the line in fifth after starting from p12.
Jamie Maiolo started and finished sixth, while James Inglis started eighth and finished seventh,
Ryan Lancaster moved up two spots to take ninth, ahead of Jason Pryde who dropped back a spot to be 10th.
Kye Scroop moved up two spots for 11th, ahead of AJ Nash who moved up six spots to be 12th, Cameron McKenzie who moved up three spots to be 13th and Ken Sartori who started 15th and finished 14th.
Jason Kendrick, who started 10th and moved up to seventh at one point, dropped back through the pack in the latter stages with a flat right rear tyre.
Jack Williamson was the only other finisher, starting 14th and finishing 16th.
The start of the A Dash was marred by a Kaiden Manders crash on the main straight after he started on the front row with Pigdon.
Manders crashed hard and was out of the show after the front-end of the W60 was heavily damaged.
It ended what was shaping up as a big night for Manders who was fourth quickest in his qualifying group and then won his first heat race, setting up a front-row start for the Dash.
