One more time, it’s a Williamson win
Callum Williamson finished the Perth Motorplex season in the same spectacular form that won him the Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series championship, taking out the Speedway Grand Final on Saturday night.
Williamson, once again driving for Monte Motorsport, dominated the feature race. Taylor Milling secured a positive finish to his Western Australian season with a second place, while Jason Kendrick racked up third position on the podium.
Williamson said his driving confidence was at an all-time high with good results coming each week and the mighty Monte Motorsport team behind him. Williamson has been a replacement for the team’s regular driver, Victoria-based James McFadden.
“I’ve had a lot of confidence getting into the car every round, being quick from one meeting to another,” he said.
“I’ve been talking to (the team) about how they manage James. He works with them a lot and they gauge how he drives. They know how to relate that to me a little bit.
“The feature was pretty good. I was running against the wall but then we got rubber down on (the track surface) in turn one and two, so it let us get through lapped traffic a bit easier. Taylor Milling gave me a bit of a scare toward the end there, but I used the track to my advantage.”
Finishing on top was a perfect end for Williamson, who said it had been a great season at Perth Motorplex.
“The Sprintcar Speedweek was a highlight. Getting the USA drivers here through the COVID times was amazing, and I had a hell of a time. I can’t wait for the next Speedweek they put on.”
Williamson now plans to travel to Darwin to do some racing with his own team once again.
“We’re heading off to spend a couple of weeks over there racing, have a bit of fun and relax. There’s no pressure, and usually when you are having fun you get good results.”
The Speedway Grand Final formed the last round of the Maddington Toyota Triple Crown mini-series, where Jason Pryde emerged as the victor after Williamson’s points from the opening round were stripped.
“From Boxing Day onwards this season was all a highlight,” Pryde said. “We hit the ground running from there. We have run four different chassis in the last four weekends of racing and yet still we have been consistent. We just need to get to the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle to be on the podium consistently.”
With ten divisions competing across two nights at the Speedway Grand Final, there were plenty of trophies to hand out. Other winners included Kye Blight (BGC Late Models), Kaiden Manders (Pool Shop Group Speedcars), Michael Keen (Limited Sprintcars), Blake Iwanow (Wingless Sprints), Chris Dymock (Formula 500s, Saturday), Matt Brown (Formula 500s, Friday), Anthony Beare (Street Stocks), Kyle Sayer (Production Sedans), Bryn Lake (V8 Dirt Modifieds), and Brandon Buszan (Junior Sedans).
The Perth Motorplex speedway now enters its off-season, though action still continues on the drag strip with Formula Tech Whoop Ass Wednesdays scheduled through until June.
Words: Luke Nieuwhof
Pic: Richard Hathaway and Peter Roebuck