KINCROME RACING SHOWS PLENTY OF SPEED AT TOUGH SXS OPENING ROUND

March 14, 2021
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MEDIA RELEASE/Kincrome Racing SXS – Photo: supplied

The new three-car Kincrome Racing outfit showed plenty of speed and bagged valuable championship points and a trophy in the opening round of the Kincrome SXS Motorsport Australia Championship in Rainbow Victoria today.

The round was won by Australian rally star Cody Crocker and co-driver Greg Foletta.

The field was broken into two groups for the opening race of the day, but they were combined for a third and final race after an incident on track.

Melbourne driver Alex Handley was involved in a spectacular rollover on the back part of the course on just lap two of his opening nine-lap race.

He remained in place under medical care for the remainder of the race and was eventually transported to Horsham Hospital for scans for possible back injuries.

The opening races were held in hot and dusty conditions, but the final combined nine-lap race was cold, wet and windy which created a whole set of different obstacles for competitors.

Crocker led the field with a time of one hour, 11 minutes and 14.5 seconds after his opening race and the time was enough to set him up for an outright victory.

He and co-driver Greg Foletta won the event with a combined two-race time of 2:26.16, beating home Steve Henry and Steve Walton (2:27.21) and Trevor Finck and Tyler Fitzgerald (2:29.49).

Defending series champion Jackson Evans had some issues in the first race of the day when he “popped” a drive belt on his Kincrome Polaris.

He managed to get going and finish the nine lap race, but was almost eight minutes behind Crocker.

He closed that gap by almost two minutes when he set the quickest time in the second race of the day, but the gap was always going to be too much.

Evans’ father Simon battled mechanical issues early in the day and completed seven of nine laps in the first race before retiring to ensure he had enough time to repair his car for the second half of the day.

Although he had some more minor problems in the second race he managed to finish nine laps and be classed seventh outright.

The third of the Evans’ clan, Eden, picked up a win in the SXS Sport class on debut with her co-driver Shannon Jennings.

It was an impressive start for Eden who was to make her debut in 2019 before COVID-19 put an end to the championship.

The next round of the championship will be at Alice Spring on April 17.

SIMON EVANS – DRIVER/TEAM OWNER
“The day was pretty frustrating on a few counts, but we had some terrific speed and that is always pleasing in the opening event of the year,” said Simon.

“I had my own mechanical battles, but Jackson was flying in the afternoon race.

“The effort from Eden was outstanding and it was pretty cool for her to win a trophy in her first race.

“I wasn’t expecting her car to come back in one piece on such a difficult track for her first race, but she did an outstanding job.

“We have a little work to do with the Kincrome tools in the next couple of weeks, but we are already looking forward to round two and getting the job done.”

JACKSON EVANS – DRIVER/2019 SXS CHAMPION
“I probably pushed a little hard at the start and paid the price,” said Jackson.

“The whole day was a little weird when it came to race conditions with it being hot and dusty in the morning and cold, wet and rainy in the afternoon.

“The car was on rails in the afternoon race and I managed to close the gap and bag some championship points, which is vital at this part of the season.

“There is no doubt that we head to Alice Springs with plenty of confidence.”

EDEN EVANS – ROOKIE DRIVER
“It was fantastic to finally get my first event under my belt and to come away with a trophy was a big bonus,” said Eden.

“There were just so many changing conditions out there during the day and I learnt so much, including how to drive with mud all over my visor.

“My goal today was just to finish and we did that and managed to come away with a gold Kincrome spanner was very cool.

“Bring on Alice Springs, I say.”

OVERALL RESULTS (Combined two races)

1: Cody Crocker/Greg Foletta: 18 Laps – 2:25.16.5
2: Steve Henry/Steve Walton: 18 Laps – 2:27.21.7
3: Trevor Finck/Tyler Fitzgerald: 18 Laps – 2:29.49.9
4: Jackson Evans/Claudia Evans – 18 Laps – 2:32.03.9
5: Nathan Wiesel/Anthony Harris: 16 Laps
6: Chris Collins/Erica Savage: 16 Laps
7: Simon Evans/Max O’Brien: 16 Laps
8: MollyTaylor/Daniel Gardner: 16 Laps
9: Mathew Keene/Jack Keeble: 14 Laps
10: Eden Evans/Shannon Jennings: 13 Laps
11: Andrew Daniel/ Brayden Kendrick: 11 Laps
12: Jake Williams/Kevin Williams: 9 Laps
13: James Cook/ Mitch Aucote: 8 Laps
14: Paul Borg/Sebastian Borg: 3 Laps
15: Tom Evans/Samual Horrocks: 3 laps
16: Alex Handley/Jack Battye: 1 lap

CALENDAR

2021 – KINCROME MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA SXS CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 1 – Rainbow, Victoria – March 13
Round 2 – Finke Desert Race, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, April 17
Round 3 – Kooralbyn, Queensland, May 15
Round 4 – St Helens, Tasmania, August 7
Round 5 – Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, September 11
Round 6 – The Bend, South Australia, October 16
Round 7 – Nabiac, New South Wales, November 13

MORE MOTORSPORT NEWS…

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