19/04/2026
Winter Championship – Round 3 Race Report
Round 3 of the Winter Championship was run under beautiful sunny conditions following a chilly start to the morning. With 34 entries on hand, it promised to be an action packed day, and it certainly delivered, with great racing across all classes.
Kyosho Racing
With 7 entries, Kyosho racing was, as always, full of thrills and spills.
Q1 went to Big Stu, ahead of John Dennis, with Darren Perry in P3.
Q2 saw positions shuffle, with John Dennis taking the win from Big Stu, and Daniel Wilson grabbing third just ahead of Darren. This locked in the top four qualifier positions for the finals.
Finals:
A1: Big Stu took the win from John, Darren finishing third.
A2: Big Stu again secured the win, this time ahead of Daniel and Darren, with second and third still undecided heading into the final race.
A3: Promised to be action packed—and it delivered. Big Stu completed the hat trick with another win, John comfortably taking second ahead of Daniel.
Kyosho Results
1. Stuart Sinclair
2. John Dennis
3. Daniel Wilson
TCR
The TCR class fielded three entries, and it was great to see Scott Latimer back on track after some time away.
Both qualifiers and all three finals were largely processional, with Jamie O’Brien demonstrating impressive consistency all day. Jamie took TQ and the overall win from Glen Coates, with Scott finishing third.
Despite the results, Glen and Scott enjoyed several close battles throughout the day, although they were no match for Jamie, even with race control trying their best to get into his head before every race!
TCR Results
1. Jamie O’Brien
2. Glen Coates
3. Scott Latimer
21.5 Touring
The largest field of the day once again belonged to the 21.5 class, with 16 entries.
Q1: Gerry Thomas took the win from Sam Winspear, with Jack Cooper in third.
Q2: Gerry again topped the timesheets, but this time Jack claimed second ahead of Sam. This locked the grid for the A finals.
Finals:
A1: Gerry led from start to finish, completing 18 laps, while the rest of the field managed 17. Sam finished second ahead of Jack after some excellent sportsmanship from Jack, who re addressed after accidentally tagging Sam during a passing move.
A2: Much the same as A1, with Gerry putting down another commanding 18 lap run. Jack and Sam followed in second and third, one lap down.
A3: With the overall already secured, Gerry elected to sit out. Jack led from the start, while Sam suffered early car issues and was forced out. Glen Coates drove a strong race to take second, with Darren “Carnage” Perry storming from 10th on the grid to finish third, turning earlier bad luck into a great result.
21.5 Results
1. Gerry Thomas
2. Jack Cooper
3. Sam Winspear
13.5 Touring
The 13.5 class had four entries, with Tim Forster debuting his new ARC for the first time at Bendigo—and it certainly looked the goods.
Q1: Tim dominated, winning by over a lap from Jamie O’Brien, with Scott Rawlings in third.
Q2: Jamie and Scott stepped up, matching Tim’s 19 lap pace. Scott took the win over Jamie, with Tim finishing third. This set the grid for the finals, with Nash McGillivary in P4.
Finals:
A1: A crash ended Tim’s race early, and Nash was unable to start. Scott and Jamie battled it out, both completing 19 laps, with Scott taking the win.
A2: Scott again jumped to the front, with Jamie staying close for the entire race. Scott held on to win by just 0.273 seconds, while Tim finished a lap down and Nash recorded a DNF.
A3: Scott, having secured the overall, sat out. Tim again suffered bad luck with another DNF, handing Jamie a comfortable win, two laps ahead of Nash.
13.5 Results
1. Scott Rawlings
2. Jamie O’Brien
3. Nash McGillivary
Modified
The day wrapped up with four Modified drivers showcasing some serious speed, and a bit of controversy.
Cooper Davis pushed the limits early, running an illegal body without headlights or grille. After a few rounds of good natured mockery, common sense prevailed and no sanction was issued. Scott from S2H Bodies came to the rescue with a Sharpie masterclass, as only Scott can.
With the weather cooling and tyre testing on 36s, grip was hard to find.
Q1 & 2 Cooper was ultra consistent, taking both qualifiers ahead of Jack Dewhurst, Brad Gale, and Karl Popkorn.
Finals:
A1: Jack showed improved pace, trading lap times with Cooper, but Cooper’s experience prevailed with a 3 second win. Brad crashed heavily on the straight, registering a DNF and providing one of the day’s most spectacular moments, promoting Karl to third.
A2: Only two cars finished. Cooper again led from start to finish. Jack hit the wall on lap one and, after fighting back past Karl, chose to retire due to low grip. Brad chased Cooper but couldn’t close the gap, taking second. Karl retired with car issues but completed enough laps for third.
A3: More of the same from Cooper, leading every lap for a clean sweep. Jack and Brad looked set to battle for second before Brad spun in the sweeper after touching the yellow paint. Jack took second, with Karl finishing third—giving his Xray X4 ’22 a fitting farewell before upgrading to the X4 ’26.
Modified Results
1. Cooper Davis
2. Jack Dewhurst
3. Karl Popkorn
A massive thank you to everyone who helped blow the track down on Saturday, it made a huge difference on race day.
Thanks also to Master Chefs Jack and Gavin for the awesome BBQ; it was great to have it fired up again.
Finally, a big thanks to our President, once again running the show and leading from the front. Your hard work is greatly appreciated by everyone.