The 2020 New South Wales Khanacross season is officially underway as Bill Brown took top honours in the opening round, beating 58 competitors at Awabac Park.
With drivers completing eight tests across the day, it was Brown who flexed his muscles straight from the get-go, posting the fastest time in the first five tests, including a five second win in the opener, to get out to a commanding lead.
In the sixth and seventh tests, the second placed Peter Granger managed to secure wins of his own, but it was too little too late as Brown’s lead was already too big to catch.
A final test win to the leader saw him claim the round, 15 seconds faster than Granger in second and a gallant David Wykes in third place. Remarkably all three drivers were representing the Westlakes Automobile Club – making it a dominant day for the club.
Photo: Gears and Wheels Photography
The battle for fourth was the closest throughout the event as the Thornleigh Car Club’s Aron Elliott edged out Robert Dean from the Bathurst Light Car Club by around one tenth of second.
The two Subaru WRX drivers went back and forth all day as each posted a faster time on four occasions, however the difference proved to be the seventh test where Elliot got his biggest victory over Dean.
Brown’s impressive win came just one week after the state held the opening round of its Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship at the same location where two of the discipline’s biggest names went head-to-head.
Just like on the national stage, it was Corinne East-Johnston against Aaron Wuillemin for top spot, while Benjamin Semple also threw his name in the mix after holding his own throughout the event.
Photo: Quinno's Quick Snaps
At the end of the day though, East-Johnston proved too strong for her challengers, winning all but one of the nine tests with Semple the only other driver to enjoy a test victory.
Despite Semple taking out the day’s last test, Wuillemin’s consistency across the event saw the reigning national champion secure second place by less than a second.
The Motorsport Australia NSW Motorkhana Championship continues on 8 March, while the second round of the Motorsport Australia NSW Khanacross Championship will occur in the week that follows.