Barry Nowell is finally an Australian champion after the Victorian took out the Woodcroft Car Care Motorsport Australia Khanacross Championship.

Held at the Mid Murray Motorplex in South Australia, 35 competitors competed in the first national Speed and Auto Test Championship event since 2019, with Nowell topping the time sheets after 14 runs of the multi-track circuit.

With a number of national champions entered in the event, including 2019 champion Bradley Clements, it made Nowell's achievement even more impressive.

Clements was Nowell’s biggest challenger across the weekend and ultimately finished second despite having car issues, while Samuel Humphries rounded out the top three a further 32 seconds off the winner.


In what was an intense affair between Nowell and Bradley, the former’s victory was built on the back of winning seven runs, while he was aided by Clements having mechanical dramas and penalties on runs four and 11.  

After four attempts at winning a national championship Nowell was pleased to finally achieve his goal.

“It feels great, especially since I’ve actually had a few go’s at it and this is my fourth time since it has been running,” Nowell said.

“I haven’t been to every event of course but it is something that I have been trying for a while and it’s great to get there.

“The battle with Bradley and with his father on the first day was challenging and the event definitely ebbed and flowed. I felt the pressure right until the end because obviously you can’t make any mistakes.



“Right from the start, the times were fast and I was down a bit in the first run, so it was really just driving as fast as you could at all times whilst hoping the car held together and to not make any mistakes.

“All the people and competitors were all very welcoming and helpful to me, the club was very supportive and welcoming.

“When the Clements team had a problem with their car, all other teams supported them to allow them to use their cars, which highlighted the friendly level of motorsport.”    

The Victorian wasn’t the only driver to benefit from the Clements’ car issue with Humphies capitalising on Clement's father Michael having his campaign tainted due to the issues.


Having been in contention for the outright win, Michael’s big issue also came on run four where he lost 40 seconds on the leaders and had to play catch up for the rest of the weekend – the experienced driver recovering nicely to finish fourth overall.

Rounding out the top five was SA Rally rally driver Dale Cagney, who edged out the fastest junior for the day in Oscar Farnden by two seconds – Just nine seconds separated Humpries and Farnden, highlighting the closeness for the final podium spot.

Other notable results saw 2019 Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Champion Aaron Wuillemin finished in sixth place, Daniel Haselgrove as the fastest junior under 18 and Tanya Tillett as the fastest woman

Click here to view full results.

The next Speed and Auto Test is the Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship at Willowbank Raceway on 1-2 October. 

Top 10:

1. Barry Nowell
2. Bradley Clements
3. Samuel Humphries
4. Michael Clements
5. Dale Cagney
6. Oscar Farnden
7. Aaron Wuillemin
8. Marc Tillett
9. Adam Tillett
10. Nicholas Cagney

Class winners

Barry Nowell – F Class
Samuel Humphries – G Class
Marc Tillett – E Class
Nicholas Cagney – C Class
Ethan Pickstock – B Class
Wayne Mason – MP2 Class
Daniel Haselgrove – D Class
Bradley Harry – A Class