Wilson dominates the Tarmac West 

Troy Wilson took a clean sweep of the three AASA sanctioned Tarmac West Rallysprint events to go back-to-back in WA in his 2010 Mitsubishi Evo X.

The ex-West Coast Eagles footballer won every single stage across the Ellenbrook, Malaga, and City of Perth sprints, with 96 competitors taking part over Thursday and Sunday with over 18,000 spectators getting roadside.

There was also an additional event, the Engine Shop City Sprint, on the Sunday Morning for drivers only (no co-drivers) with was taken out by Peter Bergman in his 1990 Mazda MX5 NA-K24, with a 2.5s advantage over Alexis Hernandez in a 2001 Mazda MX5, and Harley Owens in a 2007 Subaru WRX.

Wilson started off his dominant weekend in Ellenbrook on the thursday. Image: Yusuf Kathawala

But it was Wilson who stole the show again, using a mix of old tyres and slightly green and off-put co-driver in Brodie Kirwan.

After his final and victorious City run, Wilson said the Rally Gods were on his side at the Targa West event.

Hundreds of cars were on show on the cities river side during the weekend. Elevation Digital

“I had a lucky run in the city where there’s massive kerbs, anything can go wrong. I guess the Rally Gods were smiling on me today, it does take a bit of luck for everything to go your way to win,” the Evo X driver said.

“I’m happy. It’s been a great few days of racing. My co-driver on other hand, left feeling really sick, it was his first time co-driving and I have a feeling it might’ve been his last….”

18-year-old Max Whiting took two podium finishes across the three RallySprints in his WRX. Image: Elevation Digital

Midland Toyota Ellenbrook Rallysprint

It all opened on Thursday in Ellenbrook with a 1.8km Tarmac street stage with 6,000 spectators enjoying the speed and the sun.

Wilson took every stage to finish 12 seconds ahead of Matthew O’Neill and Kelly Thomas in the 2006 Subaru WRX STi Spec C, with Brett Morse and co-driver Rodney Ng only two-tenths of a second behind in the 2019 BMW M2 Competition.

O’Neill, who first started competing in tarmac rallies in 2013, said he was stoked with second place.

“You don’t know how many weeks I’ve spent in the shed until 2am, just for three days for fun, but this makes it worth it,” O’Neill said.

“Ellenbrook was really good, great atmosphere, lots of people, and it was great to get back behind the wheel and race the clock again.”

WA State championship contenders Alex Rullo and Ben Searcy recovered for a third place in the Malaga stages. Image: Elevation Digital

Alex Rullo and co-driver Ben Searcy were initially holding second place in the Hyundai i20 Rally 2 until they overcooked a corner and ended their night in a water barrier.

Make Smoking History Malaga Sprint

Sunday kicked off in the Malaga industrial area in the city’s north, with around 3,500 spectators lining the 5.85km stage, with four repeat runs.

Again it was Wilson who took the honours, but the competition was close as he did it on three-year-old tyres. But when he strapped on a pair of Yokohama’s with a bit more tread, he really hit his straps and found some proper grip.

O’Neill and Thomas were consistent all weeknd in their WRX.

But 18-year-old Max Whiting, alongside co-driver Savanna Maxted, was hot on his tail through the early stages.

In the 1999 Subaru WRX that he and his father built, they eventually finished in second place 3min and 35s behind Wilson, whilst 7.6s behind Whiting, Rullo and Searcy recovered from their Ellenbrook slip up for third.

There were also plenty of classics on show, like this 1968 Porsche 911 driven by Jansen Tan/Tim Mills. Image: Elevation Digital

City of Perth Rallysprint

In perfect conditions, thousands of spectators were on hand for the events closing Rallysprint, with 8.4 km of competitive racing on show.

Again it was Wilson who stole the show by taking all four of the 2.1 km stages with O’Neill and Thomas taking second place, 14s in arrears.

Stuart McLagan and Lachlan McLagan piloted this good looking 1971 Datsun 240Z. Image: Elevation Digital

Whiting and Savannah impressed again for their second podium of the day, showing good pace down the Riverside Drive straight.

“This is our first time running in the open category and to be consistently up the front, it feels so good to progress,” Whiting said.

“The past couple of years we’ve been in the middle and now we’re battling up the front with the fast boys and it’s awesome.

“The city stage was just amazing – there were so many people there and I had a few mates from school come down to watch and they loved it. 

“I thought it was going to be a challenge to do two events in one day and I’m super happy with the organisation and how it all ran. Thanks to Ross, Jan, AASA, I just want to thank everyone.”

Mark Cates and Bernie Webb competed in this handsome Porsche 911 GT2 RS Club
Sport. Image: Elevation Digital

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