Duffield Qualifies #1
Nick Duffield is looking for his 4th consecutive Newton's Street Luge win. Photo Marcus Rietema
Bathurst, Australia - Nick Duffield continued his dominance of the Newton's Nation Street Luge event today when he lowered the time he set yesterday in the second round of qualifying.
Duffield knocked nearly two seconds off his previous time with a 60.281 second run. The Australian is now in the drivers seat to earn his fourth consecutive Newton's Nation Street Luge victory.
Former World Champion David Dean continued to show good form qualifying second. Photo Marcus Rietema
2005 Street Luge World Champion David Dean continued his strong showing at Newton's. The American lowered his time to 60.924 to secure the number two qualifying position. Dean clearly seems to be the fastest of the rest but it remains to be seen if he can bridge the gap to Duffield.
Will Stepenson moved into the number three position. Photo Marcus Rietema
After occupying the fourth position overnight, Will Stephenson put in a strong second qualifying run posting a time of 61.593 that moved him into the number three spot. Stephenson has a lot of experience racing at Mt. Panorama. It will come in handy as he tries to overcome the outright speed of Duffield and Dean.
The High Roller Energy Drink Girls kept the crowd entertained between luge runs. Photo Marcus Rietema
Last weeks Mt. Keira World Cup winner Abdil Mahdzan had a poor second qualifying run dropping from third to sixth on the time sheets. After looking strong overnight, Mahdzan must have made a mistake on his second run. He'll face poor lane choices in the later rounds that could affect his chances for back to back victories. Australian's Graham Brittain and Daniel Newton rounded out the top five.
With a full field of 31 street luge competitors, tomorrow's race promises to be both highly competitive and very entertaining.
