The Westlakes Automobile Club (WAC) has held the second round of the WAC Motorkhana Series, with 17 drivers taking part in the multi-club round at the club’s home at Awabawac Park.
With each driver having to complete nine tests across the day, it was club President Ben Semple who took out the thrilling win over David Wykes after the two were neck-and-neck all day.
Wykes got the better start of the two drivers, winning the first four tests before Semple notched his first of the event and backed it up with wins in the next three tests, including the Double Hat test where he was more than one and half seconds faster than Wykes.
That penultimate test win would prove to be the difference between the two as Wykes’ win in the final test wasn’t enough to close the gap fully, allowing Semple to take the win with just three tenths of a second separating the duo in their accumulated times
Finishing in third place a further 10 seconds behind and securing an all WAC podium was Brad Clarke, while MG Car Club of Newcastle representatives Daryl Elliott and Christian Thompson rounded out the top five.
With New South Wales having put new region lockdown restrictions ahead of the event, Semple was proud the club was able to continue running the motorkhana and keep its members happy.
“It’s beneficial being able to run the event instead of having to cancel,” Semple said.
“We have been maintaining some momentum with events to keep the club alive. If we end up cancelling too many events or stay offline for too long, people start to drift away.
“We may have had more people at the first round earlier this year, but that was a state round with no restrictions, so we are pretty happy with how we did under the current circumstances.
“Since restrictions have eased across NSW, we have found that our people are just happy to get out of the house and do things they would normally do on a weekend.
“As for the event itself, I was pretty happy to win because it was a tough battle with Dave. He has been getting faster since he built the buggy a few years ago, but while the buggies are stronger in the tight tests, the heavier slosh boxes like mine come to their own in when it’s a bit more open.
“And that eighth test was where I won it because it had a longer run and I was able to stretch the legs. At the end of the day, it was a still a great event, so thanks to everyone who came for their support.”
Not only did the event prove mighty successful for the club, but was a solid day out for the Semple family too with young Stewart Semple posting the fastest junior time.
The Westlakes Automobile Club are straight back into it this weekend with a khanacross to take place at Awabawac Park on Sunday.