Author: Jason Galea
Tin Top Class Championship
The tin top classes have had hard fought races all year and are now set for one last battle to the finish at the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race
The Extreme 2wd class is headed by Colin Doney who is also in the hunt for the outright championship. Doney has a big lead over Harleigh Uren who has locked in 2nd place, with 6 drivers in the hunt for 3rd place in the class championship
Mathew Beck has once again shown the strength of the WA Off Road Junior Development Program. His flawless performances in 2018 have seen him clinch another Performance 2wd titles, whilst Daniel Fahey sits in 2nd place in the other WAORJDP vehicle
Travis Epis has been peerless in 2018. His performances across the first 4 rounds of the 2018 WAORC have seen him take out the 2018 Production 4wd Class Championship in the WAORC. Behind him there is a field of 7 competitors who are all in with a chance to land themselves on the podium
Extreme 4wd sees Mitchell Davies and Nicholas Van Geest facing off for the Extreme 4wd title. Whilst Davies holds a handy points buffer, a perfect race by Van Geest could see him steal the title in the all Nissan duel. Adrian Brestovac, David Fong, Mark Murray, Peer Horn, John Pursehouse and Brad Krepp are all in with a shot at a podium position in one of the most open fields in the WAORC
The full class championship and outright points are available here
Buggy Class Championship
We take a look at the buggy classes to see who is in with a shot at a class championship win in the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC
There is nothing in it in the Pro Buggy class championship between Shane Elphinstone and Darren Agrela. The #44 of Elphinstone holds a slim 15 point lead over the #39 Undercided Racing Team. Both V6 twin turbo powered Jimco’s have a massive shot at the title with 630 points on the line for winning each section. Craig Wells, Brad Cooper, David Hickey, Grant Payne, Troy Schoen and Steven Phillips all have a chance to nab 3rd in class heading into the final round of the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC
Jared Percival has all but sewn up the Prolite class championship with only Mark Jarret in contention. For Jarrett to be crowned victor would require some luck as he sits 581 points behind with 630 points on offer. But this is off road racing and anything as possible when it comes down to one final dash through the desert. Mal Yeardley, David Rowett and Jake Clucas are all in a tight battle to fill out the minor placings on the podium
The Super 1650 title has already been sewn up by Michael Davis with an insurmountable lead heading into the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race. Aaron Dark and Daniel Allen will battle it out for 2nd place, whilst Charlie Edwards and John Flynn are both within touching distance of 3rd in the Super 1650 class
In the sportslite class Peter Barrett and Deon Visagie are locked in a tight battle. This battle has raged all year and could go either way. Throw into the mix the biggest field of Sportslites all year and this one is going to go down to the wire
The full class championship and outright points are available here
WAORC Outright Battle
The race for the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC has come down to a 2 horse race as we head into the final round, the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race. Currently in front on 84 points is Colin Doney, with Jared Percival chasing hard in 2nd
How does Doney seal the 2018 WAORC?
- If Colin Doney finishes in 1st outright, Jared Percival must finish 3rd or worse for the #406 beetle to be crowned winner on a countback. If Doney finishes any position from 2nd through to 6th, he hope that he is 4 or more positions ahead of Jared Percival to take a guaranteed outright title. If Percival fails to finish or is not 9th or better, the Extreme 2wd competitors will take out this years CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC
How does Percival claim the title?
- As long as Percival greets the checkered flag in the top 10 and within 3 positions of Colin Doney his title hopes are alive. Whilst a 1st or 2nd place finish will guarantee another outright title for the young driver. Rest assured the Percival Motorsport team will be throwing everything they can at this title decider knowing that a back to back title is withing their grasp
Who else can stand on the podium?
- Every competitor from Shane Elphinstone in 3rd through to Chris Unstead in 7th has a chance to finish in the top 3 outright. If Percival were to be a DNF Shane Elphinstone, Harleigh Uren and Darren Agrela all are in the hunt to claim 2nd outright
How the points work?
- Outright points are given to the top 20 finishers (of every km) of an event. First takes home 21 points, 2nd takes 19, 3rd 18, 4th 17 and so on down to 20th who takes 1 point. Over the course of the 6 rounds, competitors are allowed to drop their worst points, meaning that only their best 5 rounds count to the final total
The recent History?
- Jared Percival is no stranger to final race pressure. Last year after a colossal battle with Mal Yeardley, the Percival prevailed in the final section of the season finishing the race in an impressive 2nd outright. Colin Doney had a strong run at Kalgoorlie in 2017 chalking up a 4th outright. If he were to place in the same position again and Percival were 8th or worse the title would be going the way of the Extreme 2wd competitor
Best Presented Tin Top – Three Springs
The Best Presented Tin Top Award for the Inland Mechanical & Westside Insurance Specialist Three Springs 360 went to Dave Fong in the #881 Extreme 4wd. Thanks to Refract Vehicle Detailing, the beautifully presented Land Rover won the award. Fong and navigator Mik French battled their way through to 2nd in class in a tough race, a very well deserved result
Best Presented Buggy – Three Springs
Thanks to Refract Vehicle Detailing, the best presented buggy award was given to #660 Dean Terry in his CanAm X3. Terry who hails from Kalgoorlie had a great run going in the race until he put the buggy on its side during the last lap of the race. The #660 team are already hard at work getting themselves prepared and ready for the Black Diamond Drilling Three Springs 360. Check out some shots of this well presented X3 in action during the Inland Mechanical & Westside Insurance Three Springs 360
Supp Regs Available – Kalgoorlie Desert Race
The Supplementary Regulations are now available for the 2018 Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race. The final round of this years CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC is going to be an absolute thriller as the championship goes down to the wire
Supplementary Regulations are available here and online entries are available here
Updated Points heading into the final round
There have now been 5 rounds completed in the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC and as we head down to last round in Kalgoorlie the chase is on to be #1
Full points are available here
Keep an eye out for a full run down on each class championship to find out who is in the hunt! Supp Regs and entry forms will be available for the Kalgoorlie Desert Race Soon
Elphinstone dominates the Three Springs 360
Under clear skies and perfect racing conditions, Shane and Curt Elphinstone have dominated the Inland Mechanical & Westside Insurance Three Springs 360. After claiming the lead on day 1, the #44 team overcame an early attack from Jared Percival who briefly held the lead of the race. However the Elphinstone Racing duo would not be denied and charged back to 1st on road and continued in the same manner to winby just under 18 minutes. In second place and 1st in prolite was Jared Percival who drove a very composed race to beat out Mal Yeardley who put in a determined drive to take 3rd outright.
There was late drama in the battle for 4th with Dean Terry rolling out of the SXS Turbo class lead and a potential 4th outright, moving Colin Doney up into 4th and 1st Extreme 2wd. Chris Unstead rounded out the top 5 with a SXS Turbo class victory. Aaron Dark set the timesheets alight, scorching his was to 1st in Super 1650 and 8th outright whilst Nicholas Van Geest lead the way in Extreme 4wd in 9th. Ben Armstrong rounded out the top 10 outright with an impressive run in the Bottlefed Racing Nissan Patrol. Deon Visagie was the sportslite victor in 14th outright whilst Fluffy and Sean brought the WA Off Road Junior Development Program Kinga home for a popular Performance 2wd win
Full race results can be found here
All eyes turn to Kalgoorlie now with the 6th and final round of the 2018 CAMS Carnarvon Motel WAORC sure to be actioned pack as the title fight goes down to the wire
Points Update – After 4 Rounds
After 4 Rounds of the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC there is an intriguing battle developing for the championship and throughout the classes
Outright – Colin Doney leads the way on 67 points, but has finished in the points at all 4 events so far. Behind him, Harleigh Uren, Darren Agrela, Jared Percival and Mark Jarrett all appear to be within striking distance, with most already having a 0 next to one of their points tallies.Three Springs and Kalgoorlie are certainly shaping up to be crucial to the contenders title aspirations
Pro Buggy – Darren Agrela has a commanding lead in the Pro Buggy class with Shane Elphinstone and Craig Wells looking to chase him down. Strong results and consistence at all 4 rounds has seen the #39 machine surge to the class lead, but can they hold on into the back half of the season
Prolite – Jared Percival has a slim lead over Mark Jarrett, with the duo set to duke it out over the remaining rounds. Yeardley, Clucas and Rowett could spoil the party, but would need everything to go their way to mount a charge towards the top of the points
Super 1650 – The 1650 class has seen some close racing this year, with Michael Davis leading the way ahead of Daniel Allen and Aaron Dark who are tied for points in 2nd place. Whilst Davis will be the favorite to go on with it from here, there is still over 800 kms of racing to go this year
Extreme 2wd – Colin Doney in the Blue beetle is the leader of the Extreme 2wd class, however he is steadily being hunted down by the #446 Maxxis Truck of Harleigh Uren. Whilst Doney has competed at every event this season and has been rewarded for his consistency, Uren dropped the Gascoyne Dash earlier this year, but has used his strong pace to close the gap. This class is definitely going to go down to the wire
Performance 2wd – Matthew Beck is the defending Performance 2wd champion and is doing a stellar job so far. He has gapped the rest of the field and is one of the only competitors to be in a comfortable position as we head into the last 2 events
Production 4wd – Travis Epis has dominated this years Production 4wd class of the WAORC. The Blue Thunder GQ Patrol is on a hot streak picking off several wins this season and it would take a miracle for one of the chasers to hunt him down
Extreme 4wd – Mitchell Davies has a slight advantage over Adrian Brestovac who is having a strong first season in the WAORC. Davies has been one of the quickest competitors all year, but the chasing pack will keep him honest all the way to the final chequered flag
SXS Turbo – This class has been hotly contested in 2018 with youngster Michael Ware currently the top points man. Making it a Polaris 1-2 is Drew Millar, with Chris Unstead who missed Round 3 due to competing at Finke sitting in 3rd and flying the flag for CanAm. This tightly contested battle could almost be compared to the old V8 Supercars Holden vs Ford rivalry, with Polaris and CanAm going toe to toe and putting their pride on the line
Sportslite – Peter Barrett has clawed his way into the lead of the Sportslite class after Deon Visagie had jumped out to a big lead. The Carnarvon Motel man leads by just 360 points which means this battle could be turned on its head by just 1 bad section
SXS Sport – Mark Wainwright has taken solid points so far this year to be the top SXS sport competitor. The Yamaha has been so quick that its even upset many of the turbo competitors on his way
Full points are available here
Agrela Aces the Mid West Challenge
The 4th round of the 2018 CAMS, Carnarvon Motel WAORC was the Cochrane’s Transport Mid West Challenge and not only is it a challenge by name, but this event served up some of the toughest racing in Australia. A field of 44 competitors was reduced to 43 when the Pro buggy of Dave Hickey pulled out pre event, but there was still a stellar line up ready to take do battle around the hills in the Shire of Eganu
Day 1 would see a prologue, followed by 2 laps of the course for section 1. The prologue was a fast and furious affair, with all drivers pushing the limits in their quest for pole position. Nathaniel Edwards in the #160 Prolite showed why he is the reigning event winner, flying on his way to the top spot. Behind him, Harleigh Uren, Darren Agrela and Shane Elphinstone filled out the top 4 spots, setting in motions a line up what would be an awesome spectacle for the afternoons racing. Marcus Wells slotted into 5th outright, a great result for the young charger in his twin turbo pro buggy. Other noteable prologue results included Dean Terry and Chris Unstead who piloted their Can Am X3’s to 9th and 10th outright. Mitchell Davies was top qualifier in Extreme 4wd whilst Peter Barrett piloted his Sportslite buggy to 17th outright
As section 1 got underway it was clear that this race was just starting to heat up. Edwards and Mclean made good of their early lead to set the fastest time, some 18 seconds ahead of the next best competitor. Darren Agrela was on a charge, passing Harleigh Uren as they passed through the spectator area on lap 2 thrilling the crowd with some awesome close racing.Shane Elphinstone slotted into 3rd outright, whilst 2nd place qualifier Uren dropped to 4th after he had some issues late in lap 2 dropping him a few minutes off the pace. Brad Cooper looked quick early until driveline issues sidelined the #968 machine whilst Mark Jarrett was a big mover, up to 6th after qualifying 11th. Event sponsor Barry Cochrane was debuting the ex Kevin Hood Pro Truck, but had a race to forget, power steering issues on prologue and then an oil hose letting go in section 1 put him out of the event The field had already been wittled down with just 24 competitors completing the 2 full 2 laps
Sunday morning would see the race take it up a notch, Edwards again lead the field away but early on lap 2 his charge came to an abrupt halt as he rolled the buggy which then caught fire. Fortunately the fire was put out and the crew were able to restart the final section of the race. Agrela took a well deserved lead with Uren up into 2nd place in his trophy truck as fuel issues put paid to the Elphinstones strong run. Mark Jarret continued his strong drive, setting the the 3rd quickest time ahead of Colin Doney, Chris Unstead and Mitchell Davies who was on a charge in his Navara Extreme 4wd
The final section saw the scene set for a massive battle, however Darren Agrela bolted, seeting the quickest time for the section by some margin. The #39 Jimco had beaten one of the toughest event on the calendar to seal 1st outright for the Undecided Racing Team. In 2nd place on road, Harleigh Uren was pushing hard until he broke an axle with half a lap remaining. The One Speed Racing Team limped home with 1 wheel drive in heavy sand with Mark Jarrett overtaking the #446 machine on road. Jarrett pushed hard all the way to the finish line, but couldn’t quite make up enough time to steal 2nd place, with Uren home in 2nd and Jarrett 3rd. Colin Doney banked strong championship points with a 4th outright and second in Extreme 2wd ahead of Chris Unstead who won the SXS Turbo class despite having turbo dramas late in the race. Mitchell Davies won the Extreme 4wd class wtih Daniel Allen best of the Super 1650’s and Travis Epis first in Production 4wd. Mathew Beck brought the Kingswood home for another popular Performance 2wd win as only 17 cars completed full race distance
Race Results can be found here
The WAORC now turns to its final 2 rounds, with Three Springs and Kalgoorlie playing host to what should be a thrilling end to the championship
