Williamson keeps Americans at bay

Callum Williamson delighted the crowd at Perth Motorplex as he became the first local to appear in victory lane in the USA v WA Speedweek.

Williamson was in control but with six laps to go he found himself under pressure from American star Brad Sweet, who had a look on the inside just prior to the late caution.

However, the home hero held him off in the #3 in the six-lap dash to the flag to the roar of the crowd and secure a long awaited win after finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the previous three races all won by Americans.

Williamson was a relieved figure post race, fearing he had lost his chance of the breakthrough win before keeping Sweet at bay in the tense finish.

“It feels good. It’s been two years since I have had a win,” Williamson said.

“I thought it was going to get ripped away from me and then the lights came on.

Callum Williamson (centre) was delighted to finally be on the top step of the podium with runner-up Brad Sweet and third place finisher Dayne Kingshott.

“Once you have someone like that (Sweet) sticks their nose underneath you with six to go and you get a chance to lead off again, you don’t sort of go out there and just stroll it around nicely, you go out there and put the hammer down.

“We have started on the front row for three nights and did not do anything with it, so it is nice to finally get it.”

Williamson showed pace from the get-go, topping his qualifying group with the fastest time of the day a 13.899s run,

Andrew Priolo, Dayne Kingshott, Luke Oldfield and Sweet were the only others to dip below the 14s barrier and were all in a competitive opening group, while Cory Eliason topped Group 3 with a 14.232.

Across the three heats Luke Oldfield, Trent Pigdon and Jason Kendrick were victorious.

Williamson continued his strong form by taking out the A Dash, while Eliason secured the B Dash.

The intensity rose with spots up for grabs across the Midpack Madness and Last Chance Qualifier races taken out by Jaydee Dack and James Inglis respectively.

This set the stage for the main event, the 30-lap feature, but racing hardly got underway before Kendrick and Dack collided at turn 1.

But this did not disrupt Williamson, who was bolted to a sizable lead over Sweet, Eliason and Zearfoss, who climbed from seventh to fourth at the restart.

Brad Sweet takes the high line as Cory Eliason speeds along the bottom at Perth last night. Image: Richard Hathaway Photography

Jack Williamson was another early victim, taking to the infield after just 10 laps with a collapsed front wing.

At midway Sweet found some pace and hauled in leader Williamson to set up a thrilling final 15 laps.

The pair had distanced their nearest rival Kingshott and the five-time World of Outlaws champion took his chance with six laps to go.

Sweet dived down the inside of Williamson, who was contending with traffic, but before the American could make it stick, the red lights were on and stopped the race.

The stoppage was required after Oldfield hit the fence heavily at turn 4.

When racing resumed, the stage was set for a thrilling final six laps and Williamson held his nerve to secure a long awaited win ahead of Sweet, Kingshott, Zearfoss and Abreu.

Despite finishing second best, Sweet said it was just part of the game, but admitted he is still yet to be comfortable in the car.

“That’s just how racing is. I have been racing for a long time now and I have had those types of things go both ways,” he said.

Andrew Priolo and Rico Abreu racing at Perth Motorplex on January 2. Image: Richard Hathaway Photography

“You are racing hard, it’s crazy that sometimes those things happen –  you weren’t making a pass for 24 laps and then you make the pass and then the yellow comes out.

“It’s a game of inches and its timing, luck and everything in between.

“We have got nothing to hang our hats on. Callum is extremely fast, he has a torrid pace and he’s done a lot of laps here and you can tell he is comfortable up by the wall and running hard.

“We just have a few things we need to get better on our end. I still haven’t felt that comfort level that I am looking for yet and that’s a big deal when you are racing at this level.

“Racing for wins you need to be comfortable and you need to get the car right.”

Drivers and teams will enjoy a four-day break before the USA v WA Speedweek returns to Bunbury Speedway this Saturday night.

Main Image: Richard Hathaway Photography

Perth Motorplex January 2 results

USA V WA Speedweek championship points

Rico Abreu 586, Callum Williamson 582, Cory Eliason 564, Dayne Kingshott 554, Kaiden Manders 544, Brock Zearfoss 530, Bradley Maiolo 524, Jamie Maiolo 524, James Inglis 518, Luke Oldfield 508

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 On the latest podcast, Bruce, PG and Andrew talk about their three motor racing highlights of 2023, and to balance it out… The three lowlights as well, not lowlifes Bruce!