The Ipswich West Moreton Auto Club has run its first autocross for the year with an epic battle between Alan Wienert and Anthony Bonnici throughout the six-run event.

With 35 competitors taking part in the club’s autocross season opener, Wienert and Bonnici put on a show as they continued the long-lived rivalry between Subaru and Toyota.

Although both drivers enjoyed the fastest run outright on three occasions each, it was Wienert who ended up coming away with the victory - two and half seconds the difference at the conclusion of the event,

Bonnici got the better start of the two, going faster by four tenths on the first run before Wienert pipped him by nine tenths on the second run.


Wienert essentially doubled his lead at the halfway mark after steering his WRX to consecutive wins on the third run – the lead sitting at exactly two seconds.

Not giving up hope, Bonnici then brought himself right back into the competition with a comfortable win in the fourth run, bridging the gap down to just one tenth of a second.

As Wienert claimed victory by seven tenths in the penultimate run, Bonnici’s hopes of victory were slashed when he received a five second penalty, putting him out of the running.

Fortunately for the Toyota Yaris pilot, every competitor’s lowest time would be removed at the end of the event and although he beat the leader on the final run by one second, it was too little as Wienert’s official accumulated time came in two and half seconds faster.


Behind the top three was another intriguing battle for the final spot on the podium, John Butler winning that fight against Colin O’Brien by two seconds. A further two seconds slower was Michael Crase, who comfortably bested Robert Crase to finish fifth.

Other notable results from the round saw Honda Civic driver Craig Newell the fastest of the non-Class E competitors, the seventh placed Class A winner leading two other class winners in Allan Coles (B) and Jack Butler (D), while Kevin Parkes rounded out the top 10.

In 19th place outright was the best of the women entrants in Tracey Bavinton and the fastest junior of the event was young Ashley McKenzie in a Honda CRX.


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The next round of the Ipswich West Moreton Auto Club Autocross series will be on 22 May, while it will run the second round of its Sprints series next month.