Let’s go with this year’s Khanacross series round 1. In the lead up to this event in early autumn we had quite a bit of rain. It looked like we might get a bit more on the day however the weather stayed fine. (If you’re not sure what a Khanacross is, click here for more info. )
Khanacross series round 1 was a twilight event so we started in the afternoon and raced into the dark. During the day we got through ten tests and the racing was very tight. The first couple of tests saw most jump out of the blocks. That was with the exception of the Thomas family.
The WRX did not want to play
They were having a bit of trouble with their green WRX. In previous years the car taken them to plenty of podiums places. Unfortunately this particular day it really didn’t want to play ball. Before we’d even started the green Subaru had a nasty misfire. Unfortunately it couldn’t be solved and the car and its three drivers had to withdraw.
More bad luck Khanacross series round 1
The bad luck didn’t end with the WRX. The Thomas’ also had trouble with their Falcon Ute. After the first couple of tests of 2020 Khanacross series round 1 the Ford decided to drop all its coolant. Dave suspected a water pump failure and he and Jon had to give up on it before engine damage became terminal. It was sad to see five drivers in two cars withdraw with mechanical dramas.
Four down, six to go
After the first four tests of Khanacross series round 1 there were just five seconds separating the top five spots. Even tighter, first and second places were only separated by three seconds! At the top of the leader board the experienced adults were taking the race to each other however the juniors were stealing the show.
All about the kids at this Khanacross
It was the kids (all nine out of the 24 drivers) that were the majority of the pack. For two juniors Khanacross series round 1 was their very first event. I’ll talk more about the juniors further on, keep reading!
The leader changes
Afte we’d run eight tests the order had changed a little at 2020 Khanacross series round 1. Now the top four drivers were separated by just under four seconds. We stopped for a dinner break and then ran the last two tests in the dark.
Junior results – Khanacross series round 1
Before I get on to the top ten, let’s have a look at how the juniors went. First Khanacross series round 1 junior went to Allyka Percival in her shared Hyundai Excel. Second junior went to Lacey Hewer in another shared Excel. Third junior was Josh Giangiulio on his very first Khanacross in his Hyundai Lantra.
Completing the list of juniors was: Oakley Percival, Jameson Hewer, Rebecca Percival and Charlie Strates. Kelly and Corey Thomas unfortunately retired with the mechanical troubles earlier.
Top Ten
After 10 tests of fast hard racing at 2020 Khanacross series round 1 the results were in. In tenth place Nicholas Strates in his Mitsubishi Lancer. He was just 0.49 seconds behind ninth placed Dale hands in his V8 Ford Fairmont.
First time competitor Rhett Ashbury brought his Nissan Pulsar home to a great eighth place. Rohan Keltie made a welcome return to racing and brought his Subaru Impreza home in seventh place. Mixing it with the ever increasing speed of his kids, Bob Percival grabbed sixth in his Excel.
Top 5
Neal Johnson brought his Hyundai Lantra home to fifth place. Neat and quick as usual. Stewart Hewer charged hard all day also sharing the car with his kids. He came in fourth place however he missed out on third by just 0.44 of a second!
Podium Places
Graham Mogg catapulted himself up the leader board on the eighth test setting the fastest time. At the end of the day he finished third in his Hyundai Excel. That then left the top two spots. After the first four tests Karen Russell was in the lead. Over the next four tests she dropped her three second lead and was equal first.
And the winner is….
After the last two tests in the dark Karen moved to second place where she finished in her shared WRX. That left the top step of the podium. Setting five fastest test times on 2020 Khanacross series round 1, Tiana Chapman won the event by just over five seconds. Click here for Khanacross results. Briliant photos all courtesy of Ange Hewer.
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