BATHURST’S Terry Nightingale drove what was possibly his best ever race in winning the 2014 Winton 300 B Main with Sydney car dealer Adam Dodd at Winton Raceway in north eastern rural Victoria last Sunday.

Not only was the drive something to remember, but Nightingale’s performance saw him collect enough points to finish second outright in the 2014 Australian Endurance Champi-onship.

Nightingale and Dodd drove the West End Mazda TargaRacing Mazda MX5 throughout the 2014 championship.

They started with a win in the Wakefield 300 B Main then added a seventh outright in the Willowbank 300 in Queensland ahead of the weekend’s grand finale at Winton in stifling heat.

Nightingale started the 100-lap race on the three kilometre Winton circuit in seventh place, and eventually made his way to the front on the 18th lap.

But when he got held up by lapped traffic, it allowed Queenslander Nick Leontsinis in an MX5 to latch onto the rear of the #19 TargaRacing entry.

That then prompted an incredible dice for the lead between the two, described by regular Winton race-goers as the most exciting of all time at the circuit.

They threw everything at it, continually overtaking each other and entertaining the spectators.

It came to an end on lap 46 of 96 when Nightingale, having stretched the lead to just over a second, pitted for the compulsory stop for fuel and driver change. 

The Bathurst driver also recorded the fastest lap of the race during his stint, a one minute, 40:0208 seconds effort on lap 25. 

Dodd then drove an exceptionally smart stint, withstanding immense pressure from several cars.

He stretched his lead to over a lap, before allowing other cars to unlap themselves in the closing stages of the event so as to not get mixed up in their dicing. 

Following the race an exhausted Dodd had to be lifted from the car.

As Dodd greeted the chequered flag at race end, he had beaten the Peter Lacy/Leontsinis pairing by 1:38.32, while third was Tony Ross and Paul Chapman. 

“[I] Had a great time fighting to get to the front of the field, having some great dices all the way through,” Nightingale said. 

“The lead exchanges between Nick [Leontsinis] and I were remarkable, just really can’t believe it. We’re good friends and Nick does drive with the TargaRacing team sometimes, so we both put trust in each others hands, and came away unscathed, without a scratch even.

“Overwhelmed with our result, big thanks to Adam Dodd who drove really well, Chris Gough and Zane Al Said for a great car from Targa Racing. 

“Also a huge thank you to all the locals that helped get us there, with Stumpys on Stewart, Inland Building and Construction, Raine and Horne Bathurst, Robinson Auto Repairs, RP Gold Smash Repairs and Panorama Motel, said Nightingale.”

Sydney driver Justin Ruggier and Queensland co-driver Mark Mackay were declared 2014 Endurance Champions after having driven both Mazda MX5’s and Skelta through the season. They finished with 140 points, 26 ahead of Nightingale and Dodd.

Nightingale’s next outing will be at Wakefield Park on the weekend of November 29-30, when he drives in both the Pulsar Series and Excel Racing Series two hour enduros.