THE South Eastern Automobile Club kicked off its 2022 McPherson Mechanical Autocross series with Round 1 on Sunday at SEAC Park.
Track conditions presented dry and dusty, with a loose surface for the 36 entrants to contend with.
Heat 1 proved to be a handful and series coordinator Dale Cagney wasted no time posting the fastest time in his Mitsubishi Evo, clocking a 1:43.25-second run.
Jayden Edwards put all his Speedway experience to the test in his Commodore and came home with a quick 1:49.06-second lap for second place.
Dion Becker pushed hard in his Falcon XR6 and started the day well with a 1:50.53 run, good enough to head Geoff Wilson with a 1:50.93 in the Peugeot.
Fourth place went to Ryan Poel at 1:51.53 in the Subaru Impreza, ahead of Gary Brown.
Track conditions improved slightly for Heat 2, providing some extra grip in crucial spots.
Cagney repeated his earlier run to top the list with a 1:43.50, followed by Edwards at 1:48.56.
Wilson found a bit more (1:49.65) to hold off Poel (1:50.12), ahead of Becker (1:50.72) to round out the top five.
Now on a roll, Cagney claimed Heat 3 with his 1:42.44-second run again at the top of the list, while Edwards improved on his earlier runs to post a quick 1:47.27-second time, good enough to pip Wilson’s 1:47.47.
Becker dug deep and pushed hard for a 1:47.87 seconds, ahead of Poel’s Subaru (1:48.62).
After a short break Heat 4 got underway on a track which showed substantial improvement.
Cagney put in a blinder to head the field with a quick 1:41.47-second lap, while Wilson cranked the Peugeot up a notch and used the improved grip level to get home with a 1:45.41-second lap,to head Edwards, Poel and Becker.
With the dust easing, Heat 5 commenced and a hard-charging Cagney made it five from five, pushing the Evo around a grippy track for his last run, posting his best time of 1:41.31 seconds.
Another who found grip at the end of the day, Wilson pushed the Peugeot around the layout for his best time at 1:45.25 seconds.
Edwards had to settle for third on points in the last run, with a 1:45.91 run, while Poel, hopping from the timing desk to the steering wheel all day, found enough in the Subaru to post a 1:47.07-second lap for fourth.
Becker locked in the points for fifth with his last outing at 1:48.34 seconds.
Series points
Dale Cagney, 200 points, 8:32.06 seconds, Class WT; Jayden Edwards, 193, 8:57.14, Class E; Geoff Wilson, 191, 8:58.71, Class D; Ryan Poel, 183, 9:05.31, Class W; Dion Becker, 183, 9:06.40, Class E; Bailey Perryman, 170, 9:14.31, Class C; Corey Brand, 166, 9:15.97, Class D; Gary Brown, 163, 9:16.97, Class B; Connor Cooper, 152, 9:27.63, Class B; Peter Rogers, 140, 9:31.00, Class E.
First Junior: Corey Brand; First Woman: Teresa Lipscombe.
Fastest Lap Time 4WD: Dale Cagney, 1:41.31 seconds.
Fastest Lap Time 2WD: Geoff Wilson,1:45.25 seconds.
