ROAD TO THE AIR
THE newest motorsport venue on the fringes of the Gold Coast is about to play host to its first official event, the third round of the Kincrome Motorsport Australia SXS (Side-bySide) Championship.
An eclectic mix of competitors from a crosssection of disciplines will dine out on some highflying action.
SOUTHEAST Queensland’s newest motorsport venue will turn the key on its first official event when The Compound at Kooralbyn hosts the third round of the Kincrome Motorsport Australia SXS Championship next weekend.
A recreational facility for the past couple of years, The Compound will be taken over by the Southeast Queensland Off Road Racing Association, which will officiate for more than 15 cars from across the country.
SXS (side-by-side) racing has grown enormously in popularity in recent years as a low-cost but spectacular form of motorsport which has attracted an eclectic mix of competitors from various motorsport disciplines.
The highest profile competitor in the field is fourtimes Australian rally champion Simon Evans, who won the SXS title in 2018.
Evans is one of the best products from the modern era of Australian rallying and offroad racing and began his career 30 years ago winning the Victorian Rally Sprint Series outright in his debut year.
Evans went on to win four national rally championships in five years from 2006 to 2010 for three different manufacturers.
He gained a reputation as one of the country’ most versatile drivers, winning the Targa Championship for Mazda in 2012 before tackling motocross events on a quad bike and even circuit events in a Sports Sedan.
He had his first taste of SXS racing in 2016, the same year he finished second in his final run in the Australian Rally Championship for Subaru.
He competed in the full SXS championship in 2017 and finished fifth before coming back and winning the title the following year.
In 2019 he teamed with his son Jackson in a two-car team and had to settle for third in the championship while Jackson clinched the title at this first attempt.
This year Simon has entered three cars in the national championship under the Kincrome Racing banner.
Jackson is back to defend his crown after a year off in 2020 because of COVID and Simon’s daughter Eden is making her championship debut.
“From everything we have seen, The Compound looks like a pretty cool venue and we are excited to be the first official event at the place next weekend,” Simon said.
“It is a little closer to the mainstream population than
some of the venues we compete at and hopefully that will encourage plenty of spectators to come out and watch.
Timing malfunctions at the previous SXS round at Alice Springs last month meant the original results had to be readjusted and new points allocated.
As a result, the title fight is one of the closest seen in the recent series history. .
Victorian Trevor Finck and Queenslander Stephen Henry share the championship lead on 194 points but Jackson and Simon Evans are breathing down their necks on 188 points a piece.
Kincrome-backed privateer Chris Collins sits an impressive
fifth on 182, 12 ahead of Matthew Keene on 170.
Eden Evans is seventh on 166 after class podium finishes in the opening two rounds, but her inaugural season has not been without incident.
“I ended up on my roof in the last round at Alice Springs but we got out, pushed it back on to four wheels and got going again,” laughed Eden.
“Dad says it was always going to happen and I am just glad we have the first one out of the way.”
Entry to the May 15 event is free for spectators with the The Compound located at 132 Brooks Drive, Kooralbyn, about 90km west of the Gold Coast.