Kiwi sensation Boston Morgan-Horan has blitzed the field on Saturday at the Loveday 400 to take a commanding lead in the South Australian event, and with it provisional top spot in the Comiskey Mining Services Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship.
Click here to view full results.
Driving a new Mason Extreme 4WD entry for the first time, Morgan-Horan was on a tear across the opening five laps of the Loveday event, building a healthy 3:41 minute lead by the completion of the day with Will Haddock in the navigator’s chair.
The subsequent points in the bank move Boston Morgan-Horan from second outright in the AORC title chase to first, after previous leader Hayden Bentley was forced to withdraw his entry over personal reasons.
West Australian Beau Robinson and navigator Shane Hutt were second-fastest on day one in their Mason 4WD Extreme trophy truck, while South Australians Todd Lehmann and Tanner James were third outright.
For Morgan-Horan, Loveday marks the first proper drive of his Mason entry formerly owned by Brent Smoothy – which is left-hand drive and much heavier than his previous Geiser entry.
However, the New Zealander said he was revelling in its superior corner speed and stronger engine.
“It was good out there. First lap I was a bit all over the show, and the second lap I managed to get my flow on for the remainder of the laps,” Morgan-Horan said.
“We had a 4WD truck back in NZ, but as far as race craft goes it taught me how to enter a corner more than anything else. In this situation that’s where I’m making up the time compared to my old car: it’s like a train on train tracks this thing, whereas the Geiser everything felt like an ice rink.
“My aim is to keep cruising. I’m way under my ability and I’m very comfortable at the minute, so if I keep doing that I think I’ll be in a good spot.”
Dale Martin finished fourth fastest in his Pro Buggy, with Nick Hicks and Nick Commins fifth and sixth respectively.
Loveday local Toby Whateley relinquished his third place at the start of the day after succumbing to mechanical issues.
A separate battle ensued in the SXS class, with current championship leader Glen Ackroyd proving the man to beat at Loveday. His speed across five laps was good enough for the top of the class and seventh outright on day one.
New South Wales driver Kane Jones was second-fastest aboard his Polaris entry, while defending champion Lachlan Bailey was third in class.
“I’m not quite sure what it is about the rough conditions but it works well for us,” Ackroyd said.
“I like the tighter conditions here and it works well. It’s very rough, that’s exactly how I’d describe it. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow and see how we go.”
Ackroyd and navigator Michael Price have the AORC SXS championship firmly in mind at Loveday, as has championship rival Bailey. For Jones, who is sporting larger wheels and a slightly different set-up to their Can-Am entries, the aim will be to chase the win.
“We did our thing and we’ll see how we go tomorrow,” Bailey said.
“There are square edges and with little tyres it’s a lot of work. I was pretty sore getting out of the car after the last section. I’m dreading tomorrow, but I just want to be smooth and to finish.”
All the action resumes at Loveday with Sections three and four from Sunday morning. Click here to view full results.
