Raw Speed Round 3 - Race Report

One of the founding principles of the Raw Speed Series is to provide a bedrock of support for our clubs and the 1/8th off-road racing enthusiasts they serve. That principle has never been more evident this year with the Taree and Maitland rounds, where extreme weather events and lack of funds left both clubs on their knees. The Raw Speed series allows clubs to showcase their track and facilities to a broad community and, most importantly, gain a much-needed financial boost to help rebuild.

What a phenomenal round we enjoyed the past weekend at Maitland. The club has done an incredible job rebuilding the track, particularly considering the council's constraints. A record of 90 entries saw huge fields for both IC and EP buggy, nine novices, and the truggy class running. Saturday practice was buzzing as competitors worked out the nuances of the new layout and the setups to optimise the Raw Speed Villain control tyre. A few thousand laps later, the sun set on a glorious day, and everyone primed for Sunday's racing.

As mentioned earlier, the novice class had its largest field of 9, which comprised children aged between 7 and 12. It is heartening to see the next generation of drivers coming through, and their ability to navigate their high-powered EP8 buggies around such a large layout was commendable. There were lots of smiles and enjoyment across the two days, and in the end, Riley Lander-West won 1st place, followed by Zac Panic, with Oliver Highton rounding out the podium places—a huge well done to all our novice drivers.

It was great to see the Truggy class getting an opportunity to run with IC and electric trucks combined to participate in the action. After many spills and thrills, Jaydan Brown expertly navigated his truck into 1st place, with Shane Goldsbrough 2nd and Chris Ossio, 3rd, making up the podium places.

EP8 remains as competitive as ever, with a full-sized field of 28 drivers. From the Port Macquarie club, Steven Patterson was all class sealing TQ with his HB buggy, but he would not have it all his way in the finals. Wily veteran Darren Pryor navigated some of the closest racing across the weekend to win all three finals. Community favourite and all-round nice guy Gavin Webb backed up his podium in the Taree round to claim 2nd place, while Steven Patterson overcame a poor first final to claim a 3rd and 2nd and sit equal points with Webby. Remarkably, Webby would clinch 2nd place by just four-tenths of a second in the fastest round count back.

That brought us to the epic IC final, which was close to a state titles-level field. RC stalwart Ari Bakla TQed, closely followed by industry veteran Craig Laughton, with the ever-improving Peter Seckold starting 3rd on the grid. Reigning 1/10th scale state champion Jarod Ment made a rare appearance on the 1/8th scene and demonstrated his transferable skills by claiming the 4th spot. The race kicked off at a wicked pace, with mere tenths separating the top 4 from the outset. The intense pace brought out a rare error from Bakla, which set him back to 3rd and unleashed Laughton, who has been one of the fastest 1/8th off-road drivers in the country for over a decade. Seckold settled into second, and his continual improvement was on full display as he maintained the gap to Bakla for well over a dozen laps. Laughton looked imperious at the front before a mechanical failure abruptly ended his race just after mid-race distance. Laughton's demise left Seckold out in front, chasing his first major win against a top-class field, and the youngster gave it everything he had before Bakla managed to reign him in.

Once the dust had settled, despite Seckold's best efforts, Bakla's class and race-craft saw him come out on top once again. Seckold's joy was on full display as he sealed 2nd on the podium, and Jarod Ment kept the top guys honest in claiming the final podium spot. It's a fantastic effort from Jarod, considering how little 1/8th he runs, and he suffered a flameout in a crucial mid-race pit stop.

Round 3 was in the bag, and the 1/8th circus travels to Batemans Bay in two weeks for the State Titles before the Raw Speed series continues in earnest at Orange in September. Grab yourself a 1/8th buggy and join the fast-growing Raw Speed series. You won't regret it.