THE first round of the South Australian Autocross Series took place at SEAC Park recently with 42 drivers taking part.
Heat 1 got underway after the driver briefing and the pressure was applied straight off with Warrnambool competitor Matt Kirby showing to all that the track was quite drivable setting a quick opening lap.
Current state champion, Dale Cagney, posted an impressive time of 1:49.37 on the good surface with Ryan Poel nipping at his heels with a 1:49.66 opener.
Visitor Oscar Farnden also opened his day with a tidy 1:53.68 lap on his first attack.
John Whitehead’s Phoenix buggy has seen quite a few laps around SEAC Park and when everything clicks, the results are right up there with the four-wheel drives.
Whitehead started strong with a 1:55.03 lap for fourth spot.
Nicholas Cagney shared a Commodore with Patrick Hughes and the pair enjoyed most of the day with Cagney pushing a lot harder than Hughes.
Cagney was fifth to begin with ahead of Matt Kirby in sixth.
Adam Jesse, from Bordertown claimed seventh ahead of Adelaide visitor Glenn Campbell in his bright green Nissan Micra.
Dion Becker was close behind in the big Falcon with a 1:57.53 lap for ninth slot, while Jayden Edwards rounded out the top 10.
Dale Cagney bettered his time in the second heat by a couple of seconds and was able to take top spot ahead of Poel.
Whitehead was third-fastest in his buggy with a time of 1:51.94, while Farnden set a near-identical time to his opening lap with a 1:53.66 to take fourth.
Becker improved by three seconds in the second run to move up to fifth, ahead of Damien Wilson, Nick Cagney, Jesse, Chris Simmons and Gary Brown, who rounded out the top 10 with a time of 1:56.91.
In Heat 3, Dale Cagney pulled another second off his time to top the charts with a time of 1:46.00, ahead of Poel, who was second-fastest with a time of 1:48.90.
Farnden also improved on his previous outing and the 1:51.19 lap gave him third spot, ahead of Jesse’s hard-charging Subaru Liberty in fourth place.
Whitehead was a touch slower in the third run but still rounded out the top five with a time of 1:52.62.
After a quick lunch break, action returned for the Heat 4 and Dale Cagney continued to set the pace with an extremely quick 1:44.59 lap.
Poel improved again and set a 1:47.07 time to claim second place, while Farnden rounded out the podium.
Wilson’s 1:49.66 run saw him take a big jump forward after a couple of changes during the lunch break which paid dividends as he claimed fourth.
Becker set a time of 1:51.59 to claim fifth place, while Nick Cagney was close behind in sixth.
Jesses finished seventh with a time of 1:52.53, ahead of Simmons, Kirby and Geoff Wilson in 10th.
Dale Cagney continued to blitz the field in the fifth heat as he stopped the clock with a blistering lap time of 1:44.1.
Poel was runner-up once again with a solid lap time of 1:46.18.
Farnden continued to enjoy the SEAC Park layout and locked in third spot with his time of 1:47.97.
Damien Wilson’s long-suffering Silvia again claimed fourth spot with his 1:50.37 outing enough to hold off Becker who rounded out the top five.
Heat 6 got underway with the lowering sun creating a couple of problem spots but Cagney continued to dominate as he set a 1:44.97 time to hold first place in the final heat.
Farnden was closest on this run, his 1:47.84 lap was his best for the day, while Poel rounded out the podium places.
Damien Wilson continued his good run, a 1:50.15 lap earned him fourth place, ahead of Becker, Jesse, Campbell, Whitehead, Edwards and Simmons.
TOP 10 OVERALL RESULTS:
1. Dale Cagney 10:35.97 seconds 240 points
2. Ryan Poel 10:49.82 seconds 233 points
3. Oscar Farnden 11:03.53 seconds 228 points
4. Damien Wilson 11:16.71 seconds 210 points
5. Dion Becker 11:18.84 seconds 210 points
6. Adam Jesse 11:20.19 seconds 207 points
7. John Whitehead 11:20.39 seconds 198 points
8. Chris Simmons 11:27.39 seconds 189 points
9. Jayden Edwards 11:28.33 seconds 185 points
10. Matt Kirby 11:29.14 seconds 189 points.
