23/02/2025
The WEST COAST Stabilisers SAWA Sprintcar Series headed to Moora Speedway on Saturday 22nd February for Round 8 of 2024/25 Championship. Last year the Moora round was unfortunately rained out after qualifying, so it was a welcome sight for all that there was a zero percent chance of rain for the night.
The crowd were looking forward to a showdown with Aaron Chircop holding a 94 point lead over Ryan Farrell heading into the event – it was always expected that Flyin’ Ryan would come out and put immense pressure on Chirky.
With hot laps completed in the dry and dusty conditions, it was straight into qualifying. It was great to see the 360-LS sprintcars going head-to-head again on track, and the run order would see Chircop take on Farrell in the last group, setting the scene for a direct clash of the series leaders on track. It was however Kyle Francis that crashed the party as he went Quicktime in the group prior with a 14.536 which would not be beaten. Chircop was second with a 14.550 whilst Farrell set a time of 14.776 to claim third.
The night would see a total of three heat races with all drivers competing in two of them. Francis started Heat 1 on pole with Farrell alongside, but Farrell pounced immediately to take the lead and went on take the win with Francis second and Joel Ettridge third.
Chircop started Heat 2 from pole with Jeremy Warren next to him whilst Farrell would start at the back in P6. Chirky got a great start as expected, but it was Farrell behind that made an immediate impact, railing around the outside before cutting to the bottom through turn 1 and exiting turn 2 in P2 and looking to chase down the #45 of Chircop.
Farrell was on a charge, and a single-file restart after a stoppage would offer up a great opportunity. But Farrell couldn’t relax either, as he had Joel Ettridge right on his tail as well. Despite the immense pressure from Farrell, Chircop would go on to claim the heat win. It was 1-1 in the shootout between the #45 and the #95.
Corey Hunter and Gavin Noy started Heat 3 on the front row, and it was a welcome return to the series for Hunter who after having a big crash in the opening round at Pithara and hurting their motor in round 2 has had to sit on the sidelines up until now. Whilst Noy had his nose in front by a whisker as they headed towards turn 1 for the first time it was Hunter that slotted into P1 on the bottom as they entered the corner with Noy tucking in behind him.
Chircop started the heat race at the back in P7 but was unable to make an impression in the early stages. The track was still very dusty and turn 4 was extremely challenging, causing the cars to jump around. A restart after spin on the front straight bunched the cars up again, but no-one could catch Hunter who took the heat race win ahead of Gavin Noy whilst new-comer Carl Della claimed P3 in only his second event. Behind them it was Kyle Francis and Luke Mewett whilst Chircop had to settle for P6, with Ashly Barnett only recording 1x lap completed.
Ryan Farrell would start the Feature Race from pole position with Kyle Francis earning a front row start alongside him. Chircop and Ettridge occupied the second row with Jeremy Warren and Gavin Noy on row 3. Carl Della was rolling along nicely, securing the inside of row 4 with Hunter for company, whilst Luke Mewett was having a tough night and had to settle for a P9 start alongside Ashly Barnett.
Farrell settled into the lead immediately as expected with Kyle Francis running P2 for a short while before Chircop pounced and set off after his main title rival. Francis was comfortable in P3 with Ettridge giving chase and Noy just behind waiting for a mistake ahead. Meanwhile, Carl Della was holding his own against the experienced Jeremy Warren and Ettridge managed to get past Francis and Kyle ran high exiting the treacherous turn 4.
By now the leaders had caught up to lap traffic and it was Farrell who loves the challenging country tracks who was excelling in the difficult conditions. A spin by Hunter through turn 3 with 13x laps to go brought on the yellows. Hunter was unable to rejoin the race, and Barnett also pulled infield during the stoppage. The top 3 restart order would be Farrell, Chircop and Ettridge.
Farrell would only complete one lap after the restart however, with a differential failure as he exited turn 2 and pulled infield. It was heartbreak for the #95 team as Farrell looked to be in complete control up until that point.
The yellows came on soon after as Noy spun in the middle of turn 1 and 2 whilst Warren who had made it past Della was looking to pass Noy. Warren was penalized for the incident and would need to go back a few spots.
With 8x laps to go it would be Ettridge that stepped up to put pressure on Chircop with Francis comfortably in P3 and Della holding down P4. But the order wouldn’t change – it was Chircop that claimed the win with Ettridge and Francis sharing the podium. P4 for Carl Della was a fantastic result for the new driver.
The Series moves to the Perth Motorplex for the final round on Friday 14th March. We look forward to seeing everyone trackside to celebrate the end of another great season.
Release and 📸: Motorsport Media Australia
More photos to come.
360-LS Sprintcars Qualifying
1. Kyle Francis 14.536
2. Aaron Chircop 14.550
3. Ryan Farrell 14.776
4. Jeremy Warren 14.780
5. Luke Mewett 14.809
6. Gavin Noy 14.901
7. Joel Ettridge 15.133
8. Carl Della 15.153
9. Ashly Barnett 15.374
10. Corey Hunter 15.630
360-LS Sprintcars Heat Race 1, 8 Laps: 1. 95 Ryan Farrell, 2. 58 Kyle Francis, 3. 76 Joel Ettridge, 4. 52 Jeremy Warren, 5. 55 Luke Mewett, 6. 86 Corey Hunter, 7. 83 Ashly Barnett
360-LS Sprintcars Heat Race 2, 8 Laps: 1. 45 Aaron Chircop, 2. 95 Ryan Farrell, 3. 76 Joel Ettridge, 4. 96 Carl Della, 5. 52 Jeremy Warren, 6. 81 Gavin Noy
360-LS Sprintcars Heat Race 3, 8 Laps: 1. 86 Corey Hunter, 2. 81 Gavin Noy, 3. 96 Carl Della, 4. 58 Kyle Francis, 5. 55 Luke Mewett, 6. 45 Aaron Chircop. DNF: 83 Ashly Barnett
360-LS Sprintcars Feature Race, 25 Laps: 1. 45 Aaron Chircop, 2. 76 Joel Ettridge, 3. 58 Kyle Francis, 4. 96 Carl Della, 5. 52 Jeremy Warren, 6. 55 Luke Mewett, 7. 81 Gavin Noy. DNF: 95 Ryan Farrell, 86 Corey Hunter, 83 Ashly Barnett
