Crespan wins second Pittsworth Sprint after emphatic performance

Tuesday 05 September, 2023
Photos: CH Images
Mark Crespan has outlasted 185 other competitors in the annual Pittsworth Sprints over the weekend to take out the highly popular event.
 
Hosted by the Millmerran Auto Club, the event saw competitors go head-to-head around the local streets of the Queensland town in an attempt to post the fastest possible lap time both on a clockwise and anti-clockwise layout.
 
The fastest individual time from Saturday’s seven runs would then combine with the fastest of Sunday’s five to determine an overall winner. 
 
At the conclusion of the 12 runs, it was Crespan came out on top as a clear winner in his AC Cobra - with his combined time of 1:31.16 one and a half seconds quicker than second place runner, Trent Laves. 

“I am over the moon to be able to win this great event again, I won it here a couple of years ago and I'm glad I was able to get up there again this year,” Crespan said.  
 
“I am very competitive; the car went really well and I was just pushing my hardest to match my time on the reverse run, not worrying about what everyone else was doing. We were really happy with it. 
 
“Trent was beating me all weekend until the final two runs, the car is quicker in the afternoon for me and I was able to put two quick ones together and do what I wanted with the car.  
 
“The organising of the event was just super, we got plenty of runs in and we packed up nicely by three and were home by five – you can't ask for a much better event. They ran a really good event. 
 
“I love this place; I love having a lot of fun here and I have been doing it for a long time, making a lot of friends in the process. I'll definitely be back next year.” 
 
With most of the damage being done on Saturday, the 59-year-old’s time of 48.85 seconds on the final run of the weekend was more than enough to claim top honours, leaving Laves in a lonely second place more than two seconds ahead of 2WD Turbo class rival and the outright third placed Paul Bond. 
 
Bond, who sat outside of the top five at the conclusion of Saturday’s action, put in an incredible 47.08-second run in his final attempt to ensure a top three finish at the expense of the 4WD AWD Turbo duo of Matt Duncan and Andrew Herron. 
 
While the top three were in a class of their own, Duncan and Herron were split by less than half a second after 13 runs - with Duncan edging out Herron on both occasions by a slim margin to take fourth outright and the class win respectively. 
 
The event also saw a number of class winners across the weekend, one being the sixth placed Scott Pedley, who despite missing out on the top five outright by less than one second, walked away with top honours in the unregistered classes, while Ryan Campbell finished eighth outright and top of Sports Cars. 
 
View full results here. 

The popular event is confirmed to return to the streets of Pittsworth in 2024 where Crespan will aim to go back-to-back for the very first time.  

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