Reigning DEWALT CAMS SXS Australian champion Simon Evans has begun 2019 on a high after claiming the first round of the year in an epic day at the Cessnock Motorcycle Club in New South Wales.
In front of one of the Championship’s biggest crowds to date, Evans ended the round on top after winning three races throughout the day, including a dramatic Grand Final against seven other drivers.
Evans had a slow start to the Grand Final, which saw him drop to as low as fifth after the first turn, but the Victorian managed to slowly work his way towards the front and eventually take the lead with two laps to go.
The round's final thrilling contest saw a number of different leaders through the five-lap race and as Evans managed to take out top spot, his brother Tom ended the day on the podium in third, while SXS Sport winner Tim Liston finished in between the two Evans brothers.
It was a brilliant performance from Simon, who he himself was thrilled with taking out the first of the four round series.
“It's been the perfect start to my title defence and the car has gone through the day without needing any work,” Simon said.
“The Polaris Turbo S is second to none and Cessnock was really challenging, yet fun track, so overall it was just a really fantastic day.
“To be honest, I didn't think I would win. Off the start line in fifth, the first thing I did was relax and give myself the aim of a podium finish. I never give up and I tried to gain a position as each lap went on.
“Fortunately for me, a few of the boys up front had some unlucky drama and with two laps to go I found myself in top position.
“I am really looking forward to getting home, fixing the car and getting to Canberra, but I have been in motor sport a long time to know not to get too far ahead of yourself.”
As for Liston, in recent years, the SXS Turbo cars have had the edge over the Sport class, but in the Championship’s first round, he bucked the trend and picked up a sensational yet rare outright podium.
Such was the brilliance of the youngster's performance, there were points during the Grand Final where even he had the lead, but he was unable to hold onto it for long as he overtaken by Evans.
Despite Liston not coming away with the outright win, the 2018 SXS Sports runner-up was still proud of the performance as he looks to close the gap on the big boys.
“It was unreal. First in class and second outright, it was an awesome day. The track was unreal, the jumps were just right,” Liston explained.
“In the last two years that we ran, we haven't been able to finish the first round due to mechanical drama, so our goal today was just to finish.
“The car was hooked up. We were in a really good position and we pushed hard.
“Our goal in 2019 is to beat Simon and the rest of the Turbo boys. We really want to show up these guys up in the Sport so we’re hoping for a big year.”
While Tom Evans may not have come away with a well-deserved victory, he came away with the SXS Turbo’s fastest lap. Despite not making the SXS Sport podium, Mitch Keyte ended the day with the SXS Sport’s fastest lap.
The next round of the DEWALT SXS Australian Off Road Championship is on 13 July in Canberra at the ACT Motorcycle Club in Majura.