SOUTH Australian driver Bradley Clements showed his competitors a clean pair of heels over the weekend to claim the Australian Khanacross Championship at SEAC Park.
And it was a family affair, as Clement’s father Michael finished some nine seconds behind in second place after sharing a Subaru WRX for the weekend.
But Limestone Coast competitors were not far off the pace, with Jamie Pohlner finishing the weekend in his WRX in third, just 0.02 of a second behind Michael Clements.
After clipping a couple of witches hats late in the weekend and receiving a 10-second penalty, Dale Cagney had to settle for fourth place in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 3, 2.2 seconds behind Pohlner.
Another South Eastern Automobile Club member Damian Wilson was first in the 2WD class, with an impressive eighth outright placing in his Nissan Silvia.
The national event saw two days of racing, with competitors time trialling over the purpose-built race track on Megaw’s Road.
Spectators were treated to some fast and furious action, with a jump over a bridge and a tunnel to navigate, which provided a crossover so two cars could run at the same time.
There was plenty of sideways action, with drivers pushing their cars to the limit.
The track held up a treat, with the weekend’s weather ideal.
Over the two days around 500 spectators enjoyed the action, with a perfect vantage point close to the start allowing a good view of the majority of the track.
SEAC president Kevin Raedel said the weekend could not have run any smoother.
“The weather couldn’t have been any better – it was perfect,” he said.
“The track held up better than we expected.
“We had a spare grader on standby Saturday afternoon in case it began to tear up, but we didn’t touch it all weekend.
“It all went pretty well.”
The racing was closer than Raedel expected, which he said was fitting for an Australian title.
“To have such a high calibre of championship racing was unbelievable,” he said.
“We had no idea it was going to be that close at the end of 12 runs.
“To be so close after 20 kilometres of racing was unbelievable.
“We had live timing and people could keep track of it on their phones.
“It was incredible to see the times dropping over the weekend and it made the competition a lot more fun.”
Raedel said the club drivers did a great job on their home track, with little time separating them from the visitors.
Pholner’s effort was almost enough to claim second on the podium, while Cagney’s mistake late in the weekend pushed him down further than could have been the case and Raedel described Wilson’s effort in the 2WD class as “incredible”.
“For Damian to be so far up and first two wheel drive in the car he has was an incredible effort,” he said.
“He was in a league of his own.”
While there were many highlights across the weekend, an interesting story came from the Northern Territory, where Yuri Kardashyan drove his car from Alice Springs on Thursday morning, competed all weekend, then drove it home after the race.
Raedel said the track was a surprise for some competitors who had not raced there before.
“There are not a lot of clubs that have a track like we do,” he said.
“A lot use old council or government land, just paddocks really, so to have our own club rooms and equipment is a bit of a shock to some people.
“People keep telling us it is the best in the country.
“Drivers who hadn’t been there before were very surprised.
“They can’t believe a club can own such a property.
“A lot of work went into it, but it was all worth it in the end.”
Top 20 results:Bradley Clements 14:33.93; Michael Clements 14:43.13; Jamie Pohlner 14:43.15; Dale Cagney 14:45.31; Matt Von Bertouch 14:48.15; Heath Johnston 15:41.93; Aaron Wuillemin 15:43.55; Damien Wilson 15:56.19; Matt Kirby 15:58.58; Jason Sims 16:04.33; Phil Wilson 16:29.91; Ken Moore 16:32.00; Brady Winterfield 16:33.61; Dion Becker 16:34.44; Ross Batson 16:38.03; Sam Thomas 16:41.56; Lyndon Kettle 16:46.40; Liam Lewis 16:50.44; Ryan Poel 16:52.09; Curtis Boyd 16:59.47.
