Taking place on Sunday, 16 of the state’s best motorkhana competitors are expected to turn up to the season opener at Baskerville Raceway and complete between four to six tests.

Headlining the field will be 2020 champion Stephen Turner who is confirmed to begin his title defence, but the reigning champion is no certainty to take out the event as a number of highly skilled drivers could offer a serious challenge.

The biggest name from the challengers comes in the form of previous two-time state championship winner Nick Yaxley, with his last title coming in only 2019, while a few dark horses in Tim Craig and Tony Sutcliffe are also expected to be up towards the top end of the timesheets. 

Ahead of the first round of the year, event Clerk of Course Craig Twining was looking forward to the return of the championship.

“It’s a great way to start off the year and a lot of the drivers are really looking forward to getting back into it, especially with such a lack of motorsport last year,” Twining said.

“We have a really solid entry list and while Stephen and Nick are both be expected to battle it out for the win, the likes of Tim, who has been competing for many years, and Tony in his Hyundai Excel will be certainly ones to watch out for.

“There are also a few young guns on the entry list to keep an eye on such as Cameron Howie and Katie Figil, who are both very quick and have come leaps and bounds over the past 12 months. 

“It’s my first event as Clerk of Course in a while so I am a bit nervous, but my main focus is to make sure everyone is happy because at the end of the day, it’s grassroots motorsport and we want people to enjoy competing.”

Unfortunately the club will be unable to hold spectators for the season opener, however fans should be able to attend the remaining four events of the season.