THE Southern 500 Speedway closed out 2023 in style on Saturday, with their final night of competition headlined by the Modlite Victorian Titles and Portland’s leg of the F500 speedweek.

In the F500s, it was Tim Rankin who took out top place overall for the event, besting second-placed Indy Rae while Liam Russell rounded out the podium.

Meanwhile, Corey Stein was victorious in the Modlite competition, with Trent McLean and Jake Armstrong rounding out the top three.

The club now looks ahead to two exciting nights of action back-to-back, with the speedway set to host racing tonight and tomorrow night.

Tonight’s racing will be highlighted by the Pro Speedcars as well as Junior Sedans and a variety of other events including SSA Sedans, Vintage Hot Rods and Standard Saloons.

The saloons will be back on again tomorrow night with their King of the Ring event, while the speedway’s famous Anton Domburg Memorial Caravan Race is set to close out the evening in style.

Club president Bob Wilson said he’s keen for the track to host another lot of events in close proximity to their last round, adding that the speedcars tonight will be a real highlight.

“It’s great to have the speedcars back, we’ve got 28 entrants so far from all across the country, with a couple guys even coming over from New Zealand,” Wilson said.

“Our volunteers have been hard at work getting these events up and running so it’s great to see them being well supported.

“I’m expecting Luke Storer to put in a really good performance, he’s been in outstanding form in recent times.

“The caravan race should pull a really good crowd; I know a lot of people really enjoy the spectacle.”

Wilson said the track has held up well in spite of the consistent use it has received so far this season and said it should be in great condition for tonight.

“The new clay is settling in really nicely, and the little bits of rain we’ve had have been actually good for the track, it takes a bit of the pressure off our people to get the work done out there.”

Gates will be open at 4pm and racing will start at 5pm on both nights, with Wilson saying he expects things to wrap up by about 9pm.