The SXS Australian Championship returned to Victoria for the sixth and final round of 2017. Championship leaders Ewan McClue and Ivan Skutz arrived at the State Motorcycle complex in Broadford on Saturday with just 6 heats of fierce wheel to wheel racing and a field of offroad motorsport royalty standing between them and their respective titles.
A new addition to the Championship in 2017, Broadford proved to be challenging course to master, with the slippery surface that weaved in and out of the topography catching out Tom Evans and Greg Foletta before the lights even went green.
The Yamaha’s of Dan McKenzie, Richard Plageman and Ivan Skutz dominated the six heats of Superlite A racing, with a cameo by Matthew Wyndham who picked up his first race win during the course of the day. When the clocks stopped, just one point determined the Superlite A Class results. Daniel Mckenzie finished on top of the leaderboard in his #5 Pro Motorsport Academy Yamaha YXZ1000 on 29 points, ahead of the #8 Hawker Richardson Racing YXZ driven by Richard Plageman in second on 28 points. Ivan Skutz capitalised on a lucky escape from a roll over late in the day to ensure it was a clean sweep of the podium for Yamaha, finishing third in his #668 IJS Plumbing YXZ with 24 points.
Ewan McClue shelved the conservative approach to racing he brought to round 5 in Newcastle and hit the track in Broadford with all guns blazing in the Superlite B turbo class. Despite huge pressure from Simon Evans, Peter Carr and Cody Crocker, McClue was first across the line in 5 of the 6 heats to take the Class win in the #657 Emac Electrical/CNW Can Am with a total of 35 points. The #698 CanAm of Peter Carr and #619 Polaris RZR Turbo of Cody Crocker were neck to neck on the leaderboard all day, with Carr’s win in the final race concreting him into second with 32 points, ahead of Crocker in third on 29 points. Rounding out the top 5 were BFGoodrich Racing’s Simon Evans in the #360 Polaris RZR Turbo and Brett Comiskey in the #51 CanAm, both on 23 points.
“It was really tough trying to keep control of the car with changing conditions, especially when they flooded the track. However the BFGoodrich tyres were nice and consistent on the variable surface and we were able to put some huge angles on the car and still keep control. You just had to commit and not get out.” Said Simon Evans, continuing “I’m looking forward to developing the Polaris in the off-season and making it better for next year. The championship is growing and it is a good time to be part of it. It’s getting more competitive and faster, it is fantastic and a lot of my rally mates have been up to have a look and now want to buy one because they can see the potential in it.”
The 2017 SXS Australian Championship Superlite A (Non-turbo) Class was an all Yamaha affair with Ivan Szkut taking the overall season win in his #668 IJS Plumbing YXZ1000R. Skutz stormed home in the second half of the season to amass a category winning total of 185 points. Second in class was a newcomer to the championship in 2017, Daniel Mckenzie in his #5 Pro Motorsport Academy YXZ1000R with 168 points. The class win at round 3 in Queensland helped Tim Liston lock in third on the Superlite A podium in his #17 Tim Liston Carpentary YXZ1000R at the end of the season with 119 points.
The 2016 RZR Australian Championship winner, Ewan McClue made a smooth transition to the turbo Superlite B Class in 2017. Kicking the season off in style with a win at Albury, McClue went on to bank 3 event wins in his #657 Emac Electrical/CNW CanAm Maverick, rewarding him with a total of 207 points and the 2017 Superlite B SXS Australian Championship. Cody Crocker once again proved to be one of the stars of the sport, finishing second after six rounds of competition in his #619 Polaris Dealer Team RZR Turbo with 178 points. Rounding out the Superlite B Turbo Class in third was Nathan Weissel in the #607 O2 Motorsports Polaris RZR Turbo with 152 points.
For more information visit: https://sxs-racing.com
