New South Wales competitor, and Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship gold medallist, Corinne East-Johnston has again returned to the top step of the Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship podium after a seven-year wait.
East-Johnston outdrove all other competitors, including several family members, at last weekend’s Australian Championship in Mount Gambier, edging ahead of previous champion Aaron Wuillemin by less than two-tenths of a second – with neither participant receiving a single penalty across their 12 total runs.
It was evident early on the title would be decided between the two competitors, with each splitting the first six runs for fastest time.
Wuillemin then conducted a sublime run on Waltz Clover, winning the fifth run by almost a second and a half, before East-Johnston stormed home with four consecutive fastest times to claim the crown.
The win marks East-Johnston’s fourth Australian Motorkhana Championship of her motorsport career, dating back to her first in 2011 at RAC Driving Centre in Perth.
East-Johnston finished with an overall time of 4:49.56, 0.15 seconds ahead of Wuillemin’s total time of 4:49.71. Motorkhana up-and-comer and Wuillemin’s son, Hamish East-Wuillemin, secured the final podium spot with an overall time of 5:12.88 – 23 seconds off the pacesetters.
Rounding out the top five was James Newell, who finished with a total time of 5:15.52. Meanwhile, Stuart Cotton’s 5:26.64 performance put him in the top handful of results.
Across the classes, East-Johnston would claim the win in the Front Wheel Drive Specials following the outright win, meanwhile Wuillemin would garner the class win in the Rear Wheel Drive Specials.
Cotton held a 25 second advantage in the 2WD Production Cars up to 2150mm to gain a class win, Reese McIntosh’s overall time of 5:43.76 in the 2WD Production Cars 2151-2390mm category saw him receive class honours, and Nicholas Charrett secured a best-in-class in the 2WD Production Cars 2391-2574mm with his time of 6:12.58.
In the remaining classes, Jason Sims clocked the quickest time in 12 runs for Class D with a 6:31.29 in the 2WD Production Cars 2575mm and over, whereas Adam Cullen’s 6:13.46 was the quickest in Class E (Four Wheel Drive Production Cars, which must be driven in four-wheel drive mode throughout the Event). Tony Russell (8:27.22) was quicker than Martin Drake (8:58.48) to win the Modified Production Car gong.
The Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship was made possible as a result of the efforts of officials from the South Eastern Automobile Club and put a stamp on another successful National Championship for the wider motorkhana community.
To view full and condensed results, head to the Motorsport Australia Motorkhana Championship website.
