Over the last 18 months or so there’s been a real changing of the guard with our Khanacrosses. Those who were leading the pack no longer are and there’s been a new sheriff in town so to speak. With our October 2019 Khanacross however, the guard changed again.
2019 October Khanacross – The series decider
Our October 2019 Khanacross was the last in our four round series. It would decide the overall championship and the race would go down to the wire. We completed ten tests and had twenty competitors for our season finale.
The weather factor
The day before the event we had seven mm of rain at our venue. We were a little worried that the tracks might be a bit slippery and muddy. This was more of a concern as storms in Perth drowned the city at the same time. Luckily everything was fine and the track conditions were perfect.
Good field of Juniors
For our October 2019 Khanacross we again had a stellar cast of juniors. It’s a theme that’s continued all year and shows the popularity amongst the youngsters. Why not? Cheap racing where anyone 12 years+ can race a car. Not too many other forms of Motorsport where you can do that.
On with the racing!
Generally we find some people jump out of the blocks and others take it easy on the first test just. A chance to find their way with the event and that’s fair enough. There was however a couple that set some absolute rippers from the get go and they kept the pace up all day.
It didn’t take long for the odd course marker to be knocked over as the pace quickened during the first few tests. Matt Hall’s Mitsubishi Lancer needed some running repairs along the way. A flat tyre and the need to hook up the 2nd radiator fan topped the list. Matt shared the car with three Juniors: Coen, Luca and son Gryphon.
Sunset break
After 8 daylight tests we called dinner break on the 2019 October Khanacross. A chance for cars and competitors to refuel and let the sunset. As we put the times in the results already looked interesting. More on that further down! We did find that the element of dark added another dimension. Even though some of the tests were repeated in the dark they were slower than the daylight times.
The Top Ten
After ten tests at our 2019 October Khanacross the results were in. Graham Mogg brought his lime green Hyundai Lantra to 10th place. Graham had just scraped that top ten by 0.82 seconds to Georgie Thomas who was in 11th place in her WRX.
The Falconizer
Shean MacKenzie was sharing Dave’s Falcon ute and he came ninth in his first Khanacross. As usual Dave Thomas was having a rip-roaring go in the Falcon. He came in eighth place taking pretty much every cone and tire around the tracks with him!
Mark Keltie proved quick in his two wheel drive Subaru Impreza. He probably would have been a little bit further up the leader board except for a spin at the finish garage of one test. Mark finished the day in seventh,
Sixth after two wins
Jarrod Sewell bought out his new Daihatsu charade rally car for the 2019 October Khanacross. He’d used four different vehicles during the year. Jarrod had previously won twice in a Can Am buggy. At this event he came home with a tidy sixth-place on his first outing in the new car.
Neal Johnson consistent as ever finished in fifth place in his Hyundai Lantra. Bob Percival finished a couple of spots higher than his previous event. In his Hyundai Excel, he grabbed forth place.
Winds of Change!
This as they say is where things got interesting. The guard change I talked about earlier came to the fore. Normally we talk about ladies and juniors separately to the main competition. At the 2019 October Khanacross however ladies and juniors were combined in the top three spots. It’s the first time that anyone can ever remember a Motorsport event where that has happened.
Third Place
Karen Russell took third place in her WRX. A consistent drive saw her on the podium with 13.7 seconds to Bob.
2nd and Series Champion
A lot rested on the 2019 October Khanacross for Tiana Chapman. She led the series by just one point to Jarrod Sewell. Any mistake could easily cost her top spot. She kept a level head and finished second with a tidy drive in her WRX. The great podium result bestowed Tiana with the 2019 Khanacross series title.
Flawless Victory
That left the top spot. A flawless drive on every test gave 17 year old Kelly Thomas the win in her WRX. It was the third time this year that a junior had won a Khanacross.
Well done to the ladies for the landmark results. Thanks indeed to everyone for competing in this event and our Khanacross series this year. It’s very much appreciated to have all the support and enthusiasm. Here’s a link to the Khanacross results and points.
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