Australian motorsport representatives Aaron Wuillemin, Corinne East-Johnston, Reece McIntosh and Marcus Watson have represented the country with pride, competing at this year’s Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship.
The Championship was held over the weekend in Sri Lanka, from 26-28 September in the city of Bandaragama.
As part of the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship, East-Johnston, Wuillemin and McIntosh participated in the second round of the Asia Auto Gymkhana Championship.
McIntosh was able to find an abundance of success in the auto gymkhana, clocking a P4 in qualifying and then again in the final. Wuillemin placed 12th in qualifying and 12th in the final.
East-Johnston was in fine form through qualifying, acquiring a P1 and a P2 in both of her qualifying runs, before finishing fourth in the final.
The weekend was far from over for East-Johnston, with the New South Wales-based driver then securing a gold medal in the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship’s Auto Gymkhana Women’s Event, overcoming the best drivers in the Asia-Pacific region to win the finals after running the course in 56.297 seconds, edging out Tarushi Vikram by seven tenths of a second.
The gold medallist noted how tough the competition was on the international stage.
“The competition overseas is always extremely tough, and going head-to-head with the best drivers from across the Asia Pacific really pushed me to lift my performance,” East-Johnston said.
“To come away with gold is just incredible. It’s the result of years of dedication and support from so many people in my life, and I’m so grateful for that.
“I could not have achieved this without the unwavering support of my mother and father, Phillip and Dianne East, and my incredibly supportive children and family.
“I was lucky enough to have my husband Chris and sister Lauren here in Sri Lanka with me, which made the victory even more meaningful.
“A huge thank you also goes to my very supportive teammates Aaron, Reece and Marcus – having them alongside me was invaluable.”
McIntosh and Wuillemin also took part in the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship’s Karting Slalom competition.
McIntosh finished the tournament with a P5 in qualifying, 21 spots ahead of Wuillemin. McIntosh then placed sixth in the final to cap off a terrific weekend in Sri Lanka.
Australia’s Esports representative Marcus Watson also enjoyed a solid weekend in Sri Lanka.
Watson got off on the right foot securing a P8 in qualifying. Watson’s form then improved, finishing second in the Quarter Final’s qualifying session and then third in the race.
Watson then doubled up on his runner-up finishes in Semi-Final qualifying and again finished in the top three to lock in a spot in the Final.
After finishing qualifying with a time of 1:19.906 and locking out the second row on the grid in fourth, Watson held a steady nerve to finish sixth in the final, with Japan’s Sota Muto taking home the gold medal.
