Four from four for Cutts to win the round in Sydney

Cooper Cutts has taken the First Focus Radical Cup Australia championship lead thanks to a flawless weekend and round victory in Sydney.

Despite four second-place finishes himself, championship rival Peter Paddon wasn’t able to find an answer for Cutts’ outright pace and performance.

The pressure was on and building for both Paddon and Cutts on Sunday. For Cutts, it was to continue his dominating Saturday performance, while for Paddon, it was to maintain his hold on the top step of the podium. Ultimately, Cutts would prove too hard to catch, topping every practice session, securing pole position and winning all four 25-minute sprint races, handing the West Australian young gun his fourth round win, equalling the most round wins in the category, a record previously held by 2023 series winner, Alex Gardner.

A strong weekend overall for Radical rookie Ruairidh Avern helped him secure the final step on the round podium.

Sunday morning’s race came down to who had the most confidence with their tyres, and for the third time this weekend, Cutts and Paddon led the field across the control line. Paddon once again attempted to get the #1 First Focus XXR around the outside of the #16 at Turn 1. Coming into Turn 2, Paddon ran wide but managed to hold on to position and slot back into second on the road.

Behind them, Avern and Brad Russell ran side-by-side with the rookie holding on to third position as the field started the second lap. However, a 15-second post-race penalty would bump him down the order to sixth.

While the top three were all but set from the opening laps, racing was on for the rest of the pack. By midway through the race, Tim Edgell in the Albany ITM-backed #34 GWR Australia entry was fighting for a top-five finish and putting pressure on Chris Reindler before a suspected electrical gremlin saw the #34 drop down the order, eventually stopping the track just before the chequered flag flew.

Peter Clare also looked to be on for a strong finish for Volante Rosso Motorsport, battling with Russell and climbing as high as fifth before an unforced error sent the #47 tumbling down the order to finish just outside the top 10.

Mark Brame and Russell both continued their strong performances from Saturday, with the two AM class racers putting on a great show, finishing fourth and fifth, and elevated to third and fourth post-race.

Reindler, Warwick Morris and Terry Knowles were also among the AM drivers in the mix, coming home in sixth (elevated to fifth post-race), seventh, and eighth, respectively.

Jim Hernandez had been hovering just outside the top 10 all weekend, finally breaking in to finish ninth, with Ibby Hadeed also making his first top 10 appearance of the weekend.

Elbows were well and truly out by Sunday afternoon, with Cutts and Paddon again going wheel-to-wheel running into Turn 1, this time with Avern also poking the nose of the #22 down the inside of Paddon. Cutts had the advantage, though, and quickly ran away with the lead, where he stayed for the remainder of the race. Paddon, meanwhile, had the pace, trading fastest laps with Cutts throughout, but was unable to catch him up.

After qualifying third on Friday, Josh Hunt finally broke into the top three in the #45 Volante Rosso Motorsport entry, with Avern in fourth and Moore rounding out the top five.

Having been searching all weekend, Hunt took advantage of a lock-up from Avern, who was then under pressure from Moore before eking out a small margin with Moore concentrating on fending off Edgell, who finished in sixth.

Brame, Russell, Clare, and Hernandez were also in the mix across the session and rounded out the Race 4 top 10.

From five points off the lead coming into Round 2, Cooper Cutts now takes a significant points advantage into Round 3. It’s a fitting milestone for Cutts, who took his first category win at Sydney Motorsport Park.

First Focus Radical Cup Australia is back on track in four weeks’ time at Queensland Raceway across 30 May to 1 June.