SUNDAY saw activity return to a damp SEAC Park for Round 4 of the McPherson Mechanical Autocross 2022 Championship.
Due to a clash with other State Motorsport Australia activities, the entrant list was on the smaller side with 27 eager competitors.
Justin Dowel made the trip over from Melbourne with his two sons to give the Megabuck all-wheel-drive Fiesta rallycross special a workout.
Dowel drove to the available conditions and mixed grip on the soggy track, still in recovery mode from the championship event a few months ago.
Unable to unleash the enormous power on tap, the feisty Fiesta proved to be somewhat of a handful in the mixed grip on track and only survived for a couple of runs before being put back on the trailer due to issues with the paddle shift gearbox.
John Whitehead was in his element in the tricky conditions, his phoenix buggy was on song with the nippy frames handling on all but one of the five heats conducted through a mostly sunny day.
Whitehead was fastest in the first heat, ahead of Dowel’s fiesta by a couple of seconds.
Matt Kirby was one second back in third place, while Daniel Oldacker drove his Commodore impressively to claim the fourth-fastest time.
He held off Geoff Wilson in fifth and Jayden Edwards in sixth.
Barry Edwards, Sam Thomas, Jason Sims and Bailey Perryman rounded out the top 10.
A small sprinkle of light rain changed the track somewhat but Dowel found some grip to claim the fastest time in the second heat, ahead of a hard-charging Kirby.
Thomas rounded out the top three, ahead of Barry Edwards, and his son Jayden in fifth.
Geoff Wilson was a second behind Jayden Edwards, followed by Bailey Perryman, Curtis Boyd, Oldacker, and Sims who claimed the final place in the top 10.
Heat 3 saw conditions improve as dry lines began to appear across the track.
Whitehead recovered from a spin in the second heat to seal the fastest time for the heat with am excellent time of 1:49.03, almost six seconds clear of Matt Kirby in second place.
Jayden Edwards’ time of 1:55.28 was enough for him to claim third in the heat, ahead of Wilson, Thomas, Barry Edwards, Oldacker, Sims, Perryman and Aaron Bowering, who rounded out the top 10 in his BMW with a time of 2:01.09.
After a short lunch break, action resumed on a now-grippy track, well-marked in the tighter spots with some deep tram-tracks.
Drivers took on two laps and Whitehead kept the foot down as he set the pace with a very tidy 3:39.87 run.
Kirby drove the wheels off his Laser and was just under one second behind.
Sims claimed the final place in the top three with a time of 3:41.70
Barry Edwards showed off his speedway heritage and stopped the clock at 3:45.82 for fourth place, narrowly ahead of Oldacker who was just 17 hundredths of a second behind in fifth.
Jayden Edwards made contact with the track marker and as a result of his five second time penalty, succumbed to sixth place.
Wilson claimed seventh place, while Bowering, Connor Cooper, and Thomas rounded out the top 10.
The final heat of the day was also a double lap, which saw Whitehead again set the pace with a 3:37.71 effort, to hold off a late charge from Jason Sims with a time of 3:38.43.
Jayden Edwards found more grip and claimed third place, half a second ahead of Wilson.
Bowering put in an impressive time to claim fifth, ahead of Barry Edwards with a time of 3.43.19.
He was followed by Kirby, who stopped the clock at 3:44.84.
Perryman and Cooper were eighth and ninth while Jamie Shepherd entered the top 10 for the first time in his Falcon with a time of 3:50.07.
The next event is a Touring Road Event followed by a Motorkhana at the Glenburnie Saleyards.
Outright positions for Round 4:
1: John Whitehead 13:07.21 First in Class W
2: Matt Kirby 13:14.52 First in Class D
3: Jayden Edwards 13:27.89 First in Class E
4: Geoff Wilson 13:29.64
5: Barry Edwards 13:30.40
6: Jason Sims 13:31.04
7: Aaron Bowering 13:44.71
8: Bailey Perryman 13:51.44 First in Class A
9: Daniel Oldacker 13:51.64 First in Class B
10: Conner Cooper 13:57.20
11: Curtis Boyd 14:11.01 First in Class C
First Junior: Troy Crouch 14:35.61
First Woman: Leila Tedham 18:47.02
