With his win behind Licinia in the second heat of the Australian Drivers Championship at this evening’s Launceston meeting ace Western Australian reinsman Chris Lewis joined an elite group to have driven a winner in each Australian State.
Lewis became the first Western Australian driver to achieve the feat.
Licinia became Lewis’s 4797th winner in a career which began with a success behind Classic Heir at Kapunda on 11th January 1972.
Lewis had driven in Tasmania on two previous occassions.
In 1978 he represented South Australia in the Australian Young Drivers Championship as the defending champion after he won the title in New South Wales a year earlier.
In 2006 he drove Ohoka Ace for trainer Andrew De Campo in that year's Inter Dominion Championship held in Hobart and Launceston.
After winning the Inter Dominion Championship in 1976 in Adelaide with Carclew, Chris made his first visit to Western Australia in June that year as a representative in the inaugural Australian Young Drivers Championship.
While he didn't win that title he did drive his first Gloucester Park winner that night behind the Ben Geersen trained Burgundy and in 1979 Chris and wife Debbie moved permanently to Perth.
In 1976 Chris Lewis and Ross Sugars represented South Australia and one of the Victorian representatives was Gavin Lang.
The 1976 Australian Young Drivers Championship was won by Peter Morris from New South Wales.
Peter Morris's son Robert represented New South Wales this evening in Launceston while Ross Sugars son Greg was one of the Victorian representatives.
While Peter Morris and Ross Sugars have retired from race-driving both Chris Lewis and Gavin Lang drove in tonight's Championship as living proof that after 40 years they are still in the upper echelon of the nation's drivers.
Alan Parker