Cutts clinches maiden First Focus Radical Cup Australia crown

IT MAY HAVE been three years in the making, but Arise Racing ace Cooper Cutts has claimed his maiden First Focus Radical Cup Australia championship title at The Bend.

The title fight again went down to the final race, this time however, it was Cutts who was 63 points clear of Paddon as the field rolled out on Sunday morning. Cutts only needed to finish 12th or better to clinch the championship, doing one better to win the race and round, also delivering Arise Racing a history-making maiden Driver’s and Teams Trophy. Outright round honours also went to Paddon in second, ahead of Ruairi Avern in third.

“Firstly, Happy Father’s Day to Terry, Dad – I hope this is a good present. It’s been a really tough year and obviously, huge congrats to Pete as well. We fought so hard all year, and even today it, was a really intense battle. But yeah, really happy to get it done.

“I contemplated taking the lead, because I didn’t have to, but then I got a good enough tow down the straight, and I just thought I’d look back at it and regret it, so I thought I’d just live in the moment.

“When the safety car came out, I knew I was getting a really good run onto the straight all weekend, so I was just waiting for the green flag. As soon as it went green, I went and just had to capitalise. Turn 1 got quite spicy – I checked my mirrors and Pete was right on my bumper with Ruairi. I don’t know what happened there, but yeah, just really happy to get it done.”

Round 5 outright podium

In the Challenge (AM) class, Zig Fuhrmeister took the round honours over Brad Russell and Terry Knowles, with the latter two also taking out first and second in the Master’s fight, after a tense weekend of racing between the pair. 

Round 5 Challenge (AM) class podium

Chris Reindler and Bryce Moore wrapped up third overall in 2025, while Jim Hernandez took home third in Radical Masters.

Cutts claimed his second win of the weekend in Race 2 over Paddon and Avern, as Russell and Knowles rounded out the top five.

Cutts and Paddon again lined up on the front row of the grid, going wheel to wheel as Paddon swept across in front, and the field went five wide off the line. Behind them, Moore moved up to third and applied pressure on the back of Cutts.  

Cutts, likewise, kept the pressure on Paddon, looking for a moment that came to fruition at the start of lap 6, with the position change allowing Cutts to run away with the race lead, setting a 3-second margin. Moore tried to take advantage as well, but was unable to make the move stick, still sitting in third.

Both Cutts and Paddon dove into pit lane as soon as the compulsory pit stop window opened, while Moore opted to stay on track, as did Avern, both waiting until the final moment to take their stop, with Avern in lock step behind Moore. 

As the stops cycled through, Avern got the jump on the #28, now with Reindler behind the wheel, with Cutts and Paddon out in front, the former 4.4-seconds clear.

A wild moment early on for Ibby Hadeed saw the #222 in a spin, narrowly avoiding the #47 of Peter Clare, while Stephen Champion also took a tour through the grass. Later in the race, Hadeed again found himself off the track and stuck in the gravel trap after the fast right-hander coming onto the main straight, triggering the only Safety Car intervention of the weekend. 

With the field compressed, Paddon defended against Avern to retain second place on the road as Cutts again ran away from the field. Reindler also had a look in, but was shuffled backwards by a charging Russell, doing everything he could to create some space back to Knowles. 

Russell and Knowles were locked in battle with Zig Fuhrmeister (sixth) throughout the race, while Mark Cirillo and Dave Allan finished in seventh, just ahead of Dylan Canto, the teenager delivering another impressive drive to cross the finish line in eighth.

Chris Reindler and Bryce Moore finished ninth in what was a difficult race for the Lance East Exotics pair, while Jim Hernandez rounded out the top 10.