THE opening round of the McPherson Mechanical Autocross Series for 2023 took place at SEAC Park on Saturday, with a day/night run which provided plenty of entertainment.
Director Curtis Boyd and crew set the track in the dusty conditions, with a slight breeze blowing to keep the track visible when driving.
With a reasonable entry list of 33, a short presentation of last years trophies took place, with the coveted number one spot presented to Dale Cagney for his 2022 win.
Peter Rogers was first out on the track and took the well-presented Datsun 1600 for a careful run, showing all watching he has not lost his ability after a spell away.
From the time sheets, the quickest on the first lap were 4WD’s, with Dale Cagney setting the pace at a respectable 1:48.69 seconds on the loose surface, followed by Ryan Poel at 1:55.31 and Damien Brand with 1:56.82.
Dion Becker was the first of the 2WD brigade, with a time of 1:57.37 seconds, while Damien Wilson rounded out the top five with 1:57.40.
Heat 2 saw Cagney again clear of the rest with a 1:49.25 second lap, ahead of Poel tidying up this run for time of 1:51.00 seconds and Wilson, who had settled in the Silvia and recorded a time of 1:54.50 seconds.
Jason Sims claimed fourth place with 1:55.10 seconds, ahead of Becker, who improved his time but had to settle for fifth place with a 1:55.46-seconds run.
The track began to show some grooves in Heat 3, but the top two positions remained the same – Cagney with 1:47.53 seconds and Poel at 1:51.62 seconds.
Brand pushed hard in the CanAm buggy and locked in the third place with a 1:51.66 second run, some some seconds better than his last run at the park.
Wilson’s 1:53.25-second lap posted him in fourth spot, just good enough to hold off Sim’s 1:53.50.
Pushing on to get the 4th heat completed before the light faded, Dale Cagney (1:46.75) and Ryan Poel (1:51.03) again took the top positions, with Sims now focused, ripping around the track in the Datsun 180B in a time of 1:52.50 seconds for the third spot.
Becker’s 1:53.59-second run put his Falcon in fourth place, ahead of John Whitehead with 1:54.10.
Albeit slightly slower, Dale Cagney and Ryan Poel continued on with their one/two day as the remainder of the field battled between themselves.
Sims was quite comfortable racing in the dark conditions, with his final run of 1:53.72 seconds good enough for third place.
Jayden Edwards worked hard for a 1:54.56-second lap and fourth place, from Brand in fifth with a time of 1:55.28 seconds.
Outright placings: Dale Cagney – total time 9:03.03; Ryan Poel – 9:22.24; Jason Sims – 9:33.29; Damien Wilson – 9:35.39; Damien Brand – 9:36.75; Dion Becker – 9:37.89; Jayden Edwards – 9:38.81; Adam Jesse – 9:48.85; Geoff Wilson – 9:49.16; Barry Edwards – 9:51.83.
Class positions: Dale Cagney, Class WT; Jason Sims Class D; Dion Becker Class E; Adam Jesse Class W; Gary Brown Class B; Oliver Pohlner Class Junior.
The next event on the SEAC calendar is a Khanacross at SEAC Park on Sunday, April 2 at 10am.
