First Focus Radical Cup Australia

While he didn’t win either of the final two races, Peter Paddon, run by Garth Walden Racing, won the fourth round and extended his points lead over Arise Racing rival and second overall Cooper Cutts.

Paddon led Race 3 from the outset and through a safety car period when Brad Russell had a spin at Turn 8 and could not refire. Paddon and Cutts were locked together after the restart, and both edged away from Justin Tigani and his challenger Mark Brame.

Cutts was right on Paddon until he pulled off an unexpected and successful move through Turn 7 on the final lap. Tigani held off Brame while Chris Reindler placed fifth in front of Nick Kelly, Peter Clare, Ash Samadi and Shaun Hannah.

Paddon won the start of the last and led until he couldn’t hold off Bart Mawer no longer. Cutts languished fifth at the end of Lap 1 before he mounted a surge that earned him third when the race went safety car, so close to the end that it didn’t go green again.

From the back of the 22-car grid, Josh Hunt (sharing with Clare) made it to fourth ahead of Tigani, Brame, Jon Collins, Moore, Kelly and Samadi.

Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars

The fourth round belonged to Dean Campbell and Cameron Crick in the former’s Class X BMW M2. Campbell won the morning’s 30min race after  a hard-fought scrap with class rival Grant Sherrin (BMW M4). They even had contact at Turn 2 and Sherrin dropped to third behind Tyler Mecklem (Class A2 Ford Mustang) until he regained second.

Nathan Callaghan (A2 Chev Camaro) finished fourth ahead of Leigh Burges (M4), Chris Sutton was next and won A1 in his Mitsubishi Evo X, ahead of Paul Buccini (BMW M140i), Zaki Wazir (BMW 1M), Trent Whyte (Toyota Yaris) and Class C’s Allan Jarvis (VW Polo GTi).

It was the latter’s demise with a broken ball joint, nine laps into the one-hour fourth race that sparked drama. The resultant safety car triggered Crick, Sherrin and Hadrian Morrall (Mustang) to execute their compulsory pitstops.

The regulations stated that the stops were not allowed in a safety car period and would have to be done again. While Sherrin continued on to take the chequered flag first, Crick and Morrall made their second visits.

Crick was able to rally and come through for the win as Sherrin was penalised two laps. Simon Hodes (M4) took second while Chris Lillis (Camaro) was third. Then followed Sutton, Courtney Prince (B1 BMW 135i), Tom Shaw (1M), Morrall (after a PLP for speed in the pits), Whyte and Buccini.

Giti Australian Formula Open

The winner of Races 2 and 3, Ryan MacMillan in a Tim Macrow Racing Dallara F308/12 wrapped up the AF01 class with a round to go at Island Magic in November.

He won both races as he led throughout while the action was on for second between F308/11 pilots, Thomas Gallagher and Kyle Evans. They each recorded a second and third after some furious positional exchanges and an off by Gallagher in the last.

Rod Baker (F399) finished fourth in Race 2 and led home the AF02 class, narrowly over George Kantzios (F304). Baker spun and was stuck at Turn 11 in the last which put Kantzios in front, ahead of Lawrence Katsidis (F304). Matt Roesler leads the class with Chris Slusarski still a chance to overhaul.

AF04 was headed by Jayden Hamilton (Tatuus T421) but the title has already gone to the absent Isaac McNeill whose four successful rounds means he cannot be beaten.