Perenjori 360 to get things started in 2022
The 2022 Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship is set to get the year off to a bang at the McPhee Freight, GTurbo Perenjori 360. The “PJ 360” has been the season opener for many years now and its starting to develop a reputation to be one of the most enjoyable tracks on the calendar. Whilst not being brutally tough on the cars, its still has a lot of challenging sections which doesn’t favor one type of vehicle over another. This will often see a mix of Trophy Truck, Buggy and SXS’s feature on the podium and make for some great racing action
Supplementary Regulations are due out early in the new year, but until then Cagetec Racing have produced this promotional video to help everyone get in the mood and into the shed to get their race cars ready. Off Road Racing WA Incorporated are once again promising to deliver an entertaining weekend of off road racing action to get the season started
2021 WAORC Champions are crowned!
The 2021 finale at Kalgoorlie was billed as an epic battle between the rookie and the veteran as Jayden Grewar and Jared Percival were set to lock horns in combat one last time. With the 2021 WAORC on the line, Jayden was chasing a the perfect end to a season of firsts. Could he win the championship at his first ever attempt and in doing so be the first ever outright champion to have competed in the SXS Turbo class. Percival however was looking to add another championship to his tally and to date had put together a strong season with podium finishes and class results. Locked on equal points with 1 round to go, the scene was set for an epic battle
The first blow would go to Percival, the Prolite competitor clocking in 12th outright, whilst Grewar would be starting out of 18th. Section 1 would be a crucial one in the outcome of the championship. The 618 Raw Racing Canam flew up the leader board to 5th outright whilst Percival was down in 18th outright having being dealt a 5 minute penalty for an overtaking infringement
Section 2 would see Percival attempt to tip the scales back in his favour, launching an attack that would see him clock in 5th fastest time for the section, whilst Grewar managed to go 8th quickest. The race was finely in the balance with one final lap to go and one slight slip from either contender would have major championship ramifications
In the end it was elation for Jayden Grewar, who went 7th fastest and locked in the 4th outright he needed to take out the WAORC. Percival put up a valiant effort however had some issues on his way to 15th outright, which would leave him down in 11th outright for the race
Jayden Grewar in turn makes history as the first ever SXS competitor to win the championship outright and if that wasn’t impressive enough has managed to do it in his rookie season. 2 x 5th places, a 4th and an impressive 3rd outright at the Gas Dash underlined the pace and consistency of the CanAm X3.
Our champions for outright and classes are as follows:
Outright – Jayden Grewar & Justyn Grewar
Pro Buggy – Ken Styles & Josh Ellis
Prolite – Jared Percival & Haylee Cowling
Sportslite – Deon Visagie & Jamie Tilbrook
Extreme 2wd – Harleigh Uren & Kerry Yaxley
Performance 2wd – Mathew Beck & Tate Dawson
Production 4wd – Nic Jennings & Sebastian Jennings
Extreme 4wd – Peer Horn & Jim Ingham
SXS Turbo – Jayden Grewar & Justyn Grewar
Full Results can be found here
WAORC set for blockbuster title fight at Kalgoorlie
With the cancellation of Three Springs for this year, we are down to one final race to decide the championship fight and it is a very tight battle at that! There are only 2 competitors who are in with a mathematical chance of taking out the 2021 WAORC at the final showdown in Kalgoorlie
Jared Percival – The Percival Motorsport team have been here many times before, a final race battle to decide the championship! Cool, calm and quick, Jared by virtue of his experience will be favorite to notch up another WAORC outright title. The Toyota powered Prolite is just the right weapon Percival will need for the gruelling 400km test of the Kalgoorlie Desert Race
Jayden Grewar – To be in just your 4th off road race and be staring down the barrel of a tight championship fight speaks volumes of Jayden and his RAW Racing team. Jayden has pushed his X3 to the limit this year, flying the flag for the SXS competitors to consistently run up the pointy end of the field. Kalgoorlie will be a big test, but Grewar appears to be able to cope with the pressure
Both competitors come into the final race locked on 50 points, but with the WAORC using a drop your worst round system, this slightly tips the scales in favour of Percival. Grewars worst result is a 5th outright, so for him to take out the title, a 4th or better will be required to improve his points haul and hope that Percival cannot improve his. For Percival, his worst result for the season is 6th outright, so 5th or better will increase his points. Should neither driver be able to finish in these positions or higher, Kalgoorlie will be their worst round and they will remain on 50 points. If that happens the drivers will be split by the greater number of higher placings. This would make Jared Percival the 2021 WAORC champion as whilst both have a 3rd placing Percival’s next best result is a 4th placing, whilst for Grewar its a 5th. Whilst the maths may be a little complicated, the situation is simple. Both Grewar and Percival will be pushing it to the limit for a chance at WAORC glory!
Pro Buggy class is lead by Ken Styles, over Troy Schoen and Steven Phillips, however there is a hungry pack where 6 teams are virtually neck and neck for second in the standings. Jared Percival holds a strong lead in Prolite, however Michael Davis and Stephen Ketteridge-Hall lead the chasing group. Harleigh Uren has a strong lead in the Extreme 2wd class, and whilst Brad Krepp will keep him on his toes, one would suspect that the trucks will be hunting for race wins at Kalgoorlie, rather than playing the points game
The Beck brothers are duking it out in the Performance 2wd class, with Mathew Beck in the iconic Kingswood Junior development car leading over Sean Beck. The ever consistent Peer Horn leads the Extreme 4wd class and looks the goods to take home some more silverware whilst in the SXS Turbo class we have seen a massive 20 competitors score points already. Jayden Grewar is currently top of the points, with Mal Yeardley and Richard Batson both trying to hunt him down with Paul Hutchinson flying the flag for Polaris in 4th and ready to pounce if any of the CanAms in front strike trouble. Lastly, in the Sportslite class, Deon Visagie holds the class lead over Joe Hawkins as he looks to seal the class title
It all comes down to the Kalgoorlie Desert Race as the title decider and with a lot still to play for, it only adds to the excitement of what should be an amazing race!
For full points, see here
WAORC Points tight ahead of Mid West
After 2 rounds of the 2021 WAORC the points are tight at the top, with 3 big races coming up to round out the season. The Mid West Challenge is the next event on the calendar and when it comes to defining points of the season, this race is always one of them. A tough sandy challenge like no other race in the series makes it both a big opportunity to set yourself up for a good second half to the season, but equally a big chance to trip up any title pretenders. Originally scheduled as Round for 2021, Mid West moves up to Round with COVID and torrential rain preventing the running of Bencubbin in early June.
So after 2 rounds of racing, lets take a look at who has put themselves in position to have a crack at the WAORC title. The first 2 are separated by just 1 point. Leading the charge in his Toyota powered Prolite is Jared Percival. Percival knows how to put together a strong season, have won the state championship previously. The #119 machine would have to be one of the favorites for a season long points chase, choosing his moments to strike and knowing when to sit back and let the chaos unfold.
Jayden Grewar has been a surprise packet this season, his first ever crack at off road racing in the WAORC. A good result at Perenjori followed by a giant killing run at the Gascoyne Dash to pilot his CanAm onto the outright podium sees the Raw Racing Team sit 2nd outright by just 1 point behind Percival. Whilst Grewar has shown he has the pace, Mid West has been known to bite and experience may count for a lot here
3rd place is a tie between our 2 race victors, Harleigh Uren and Troy Schoen. Uren is a former race winner at Mid West and the truck is well suited to the race when the going gets tough and the holes get big. Schoen, fresh off a massive win at Carnarvon also has the machinery and the talent to take the top step at Mid West. His Aussie Built Pro Buggy is as tough as they come and will no doubt be ready to tackle what ever the Mid West Challenge can throw at them
Mr Consistency Paul Hutchinson rounds out the top 5, also in his debut WAORC season. With a Polaris Turbo S at his disposal, “Hutchy” has all the tools he needs to unlock this tough sandy course and will be hoping to string together a top 10 run to keep his championship tilt heading in the right direction
In the classes, Schoen leads the Pro Buggy battle, just ahead of Kalgoorlies Paul Nappy. Prolite sees Jared Percival holding off Michael Davis and Stephen Ketteridge-Hall. In Extreme 2wd Harleigh Uren holds a commanding lead whilst the Junior Development Program is holding their own feisty battle in Performance 2wd. Brother Sean Beck and Mathew Beck locked on equal points whilst Jayden Grewar tops the 18 strong field of SXS Turbos. Deon Visagie has a small lead in the Sportslite class as all the teams set their eyes on the run home for the rest of the season. Following the Mid West Challenge is the massively popular Three Springs race which always puts on great racing and has won the Motorsports Australia, State Event of the Year multiple times. Once the crews have picked themselves up of the canvas, its time for one more round and its the big one, the Kalgoorlie Desert Race. Doubling as a round of the Australian Off Road Racing Championship, this event has a rapidly growing reputation as being awesome for spectators, competitors and crews alike
So with 2 races down and 3 to go, its all to play for as we head to the Mid West Challenge. Entries are open and all event information can be found here
For WAORC points after ahead of the Mid West Challenge, see here
Changes to Perenjori Format
Due to the recent lockdowns restricting travel and the ability to track mark for the upcoming Rod Hatter Memorial Perenjori 360, Off Road Racing WA Inc. has made some changes to the event format in order to ensure that Round 1 of the 2021 WAORC can kick the season off in style
Unfortunately the Pre event scrutiny which was to be held at the event sponsor Gturbo has had to be cancelled. Scrutiny will now take part on Friday night (26th February) and Saturday morning 27th February. There have also been some changes to the event, with Saturdays schedule slightly pushed back to cater for the additional scrutiny which will now take place. To combat this, the event is now to be held over 5 laps, instead of 6, with section 1 being only a single lap shootout of the approximately 72km course.
Sundays schedule will remain unchanged with 2 sections, each of 2 laps putting competitors through their paces! Further Regulations have been issued and can be found here. Entries are still flowing in and the entry list and link to enter the event can be found here
Track marking will now take place on Saturday 20th February and we are again asking for volunteers to help track mark. If you can make it, the details are to meet at 8.30am at Perenjori Council yards. If you are free to lend a hand to get the Perenjori track marked (and get a sneak peak of the course), Please send an email to offroadracingwa@gmail.com or contact Danny Smith directly on 0409 689 624
Over $5000 Prize Pool for Perenjori
As if there weren’t already enough reasons to be racing at the 20th Rod Hatter Memorial at Perenjori over the labour day long weekend, here are a few thousand more! On offer will be a stack of cash for the winners as well as some other awards
1st Outright – $2000
2nd Outright – $1500
3rd Outright – $1000
Hard Luck/Pus, Pain and Persistence Award – $500
Best Presented Tin Top – $100
Best Presented Buggy – $100
Best Presented SXS – $100
Be sure to get your entries in to help celebrate and commemorate the 20th running of the Rod Hatter Memorial and to be in with a shot at taking home some cash!
Event information is available here
Perenjori Supp Regs Available
Supplementary Regulations for the 2021 Rod Hatter Memorial, Perenjori 360 are now available and entries will be opening soon. Supp Regs available here
Some key items to note for competitors:
– Pre Event Scrutiny will be held at Gturbo on 20th February
– 360kms of racing action
– Prologue to be held at 11:30 on Saturday
– 1 Section of racing on Saturday
– 2 Sections of racing on Sunday
– Presentations on Sunday night
It is also worth noting that the event organizers will soon be announcing prize money for the event to celebrate the 20th running of the Rod Hatter Memorial. Total prize pool to be over $5000!!!
Entries will be open soon and available via myraceresult
Clucas wins maiden WAORC title
The 2020 WAORC has now been run and won with the spectacular Kalgoorlie Desert Race making a fitting final event to the truncated 3 round season.
Whilst Shane Elphinstone took a strong win in the final race, it was Jake Clucas in his single seat prolite buggy who is WA #1 for 2020. His results of 3rd, 1st and battling his way to 9th at Kalgoorlie was enough to sew up his maiden title as well as the Prolite class for the year
2nd outright would go to the consistent Sean Fitzpatrick with navigator Brett Funneman who would also claim the outright navigators title. Sean’s SXS claimed 4th, 4th and 11th to seal an excellent season
3rd outright would go to Jason Galea in his CanAm X3 with his navigator Kiera Mann-Piercy claiming 2nd outright for the season. This duo missed the opening Perenjori race, but finished in 3rd and 6th outright across the final 2 races to rocket up the leaderboard
Rounding out the outright navigators podium is Michael Dodds who sat alongside Colin Bevan with 5th and 7th placed finishes across the final 2 races
Congratulations to all of the competitors and full points results including the class winners can be found here
Photos by Dakar Press Team Australia and Cagetec Racing
All to play for at Kalgoorlie
The WAORC is set for a blockbuster finale with 2 of the 3 round being run. With the unique scenario of the 2020 season paying 1.5 times the normal allotment of points at both Three Springs and Kalgoorlie the championship chase is wide open with a massive 13 competitors still in with a chance at wrapping up the 2020 Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship
Current leader Jake Clucas will have to go in as favorite having clocked up 3rd outright at Perenjori and 1st outright at Three Springs whilst hot on his heels is the Geraldton SXS Competitor with a 4th and 6th placing so far this season. Behind them the chasing pack of Deon Visagie in his Sportslite, Brad Cooper in his Pro Buggy and Jason Galea, Colin Bevan and Matt Birnie in a trio of SXS Turbo’s will be there to claim the spoils if things fall their way in the red dirt of Kalgoorlie
Throughout the classes every single class championship with the exception of Sportslite which Deon Visagie has already sewn up and Extreme 4wd which Peer Horn has claimed another title are all to play for.
Full pointscore is available here
Three Springs set to kick the WAORC back into gear!
The 2020 WAORC is set to resume again with what would have been the 5th round, Three Springs now playing host to the 2nd round. The Inland Mechanical Three Springs 360 is always a favorite amongst competitors and this year more than ever teams will be raring to go racing over the September long weekend
With the 2020 season shortened and the Gascoyne Dash, Bencubbin and Mid West Challenge all being cancelled there have been some changes to the WAORC points chase. This will now be a three round series featuring the already run Perenjori, the upcoming Three Springs 360 and the season ending Kalgoorlie Desert Race. To spice things up and bring those who missed round 1 at Perenjori into contention a little more, Three Springs and Kalgoorlie will both be worth 1.5 times the normal point allocation
Already there is a strong field of 30 competitors signed up to tackle the 2nd WAORC event of the season with many more tipped to be adding to what is already a red hot lineup. Pro Buggy, Sportslite , Extreme 2wd and SXS Turbo make up the bulk of the field with many of the sports big names ready to reinvigorate the 2020 season.
With many noteable entries throughout the classes there are a few to keep an eye on. In Pro Buggy, Schoen, Rance, and Trewhella will be locked into battle with Dean Terry who is debuting a new buggy. Extreme 2wd also looks to be a red hot race with Uren, Shepley Cochrane and Worthington ready to tackle the Yarra Lakes track in their Extreme 2wd Trucks. The SXS Turbo Class has a massive 13 entrants and it will be tough to pick a winner from this group.
Entries are closing soon but with a big field expected the track is looking dry and fast race and this is set to be a great race. For more information on the event check here
Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship 