Grand showdown in store for outright, Masters titles at The Bend

A TITANIC title showdown between the two dominant drivers of this year’s First Focus Radical Cup Australia will determine the 2025 champion this weekend in South Australia.

Current series leader Cooper Cutts will target his first title this weekend, leading defending champion Peter Paddon by 42 points ahead of a pair of climactic 50-minute enduro races set for this weekend.

The Radical title will be the first major national series to be decided this year.

With 184 points up for grabs, third-placed Chris Reindler and Bryce Moore remain in mathematical calculations for the title, though their 165-point deficit means the two leaders would have to strike serious issues in both races for the West Aussie duo to contend.

Meanwhile, a four-way fight for the master’s class will be staged with 100 points covering leader Brad Russell, Tery Knowles, Jim Hernandez and Peter Clare heading into the Grand Final this week.

However, it’s the outright fight that has stolen much of the headlines this year after a breathless season of domination from Cutts and Paddon.

History will be made either way this weekend with Cutts looking for his first championship and the maiden title for the Perth-based Arise Racing, who have finished runner-up for the last two seasons.

For Paddon, he’s seeking to become the first back-to-back champion in the current era of one-make Radical competition in Australia.

The pair come from vastly different backgrounds; Cutts the son of a WA-Speedway icon and a young driver on the rise through the motorsport ranks. Paddon, the owner of Sydney IT firm First Focus, is one of the most experienced and successful one-make Radical racers around with more than a decade at the pointy-end of the category in Australia.

Following the return of one-make Radical competition to Australia in 2022, Paddon has finished runner-up (2022) and fourth (2023) before ending as champion last year.

Cutts’ debut season in 2023 saw him finish third overall, before improving one position last year to chase Paddon all year and only missing the crown by 27 points.

Their fight this year has been one of the tightest in series history with several tense moments but always great respect between the pair – and their competing teams.

The pair have claimed 11 of the 14 race victories between them this year; Cutts claiming 7 victories and Paddon 4. In every single race one driver has won, the other has finished second showcasing the immense pressure between them both.

Paddon opened his account with victory at Phillip Island before Cutts struck back to claim victories at Round 2 (Sydney Motorsport Park) and Queensland Raceway’s third round.

Just three points then split them in second and third, respectively, at Sandown last time out as debutant Mason Harvey stole the round honours.

Of Cutts’ margin, 13 valuable points have come from bonus points awarded for either pole positions or fastest race laps, which could end up being the difference in such a tight title fight.

While two points are on offer for pole position and one point each race for fastest lap, winning each race this weekend will pay 90 points - which means if Cutts claims race one on Saturday, Paddon would need to finish seventh or better to take the title battle into the final day.

Similarly, should Paddon win race one, a sixth-place finish from Cutts would see them tied heading into the decider.

Meanwhile the battle for the Radical Masters will be equally intense though current leader Brad Russell holds a slightly more comfortable 50-point lead over Terry Knowles. Third-placed Jim Hernandez and fourth-placed Peter Clare remain in contention, the latter 100 points behind the leader.

Russell, who like Cutts also drives for Arise Racing, has been the model of consistency this year.

He won Round 2 of the championship in Sydney, finished runner-up at Phillip Island and third at Queensland Raceway, only narrowly missing the podium last time out at Sandown.

Knowles, meanwhile, has claimed two round wins however lower scores at the season opener and more recently in Melbourne explain his 50-point deficit to his nearest rival.

Jim Hernandez claimed Round 4 last time out to move to third in the championship, while Clare has a pair of third place round results to his credit this year.

Another battle of note this weekend will be the Radical Teams championship, Arise Racing leading GWR Australia by 51 points in the prestigious battle between the muti-car squads. Volante Rosso sit third however are outside of title hopes.

A 15-strong field will compete this weekend at the South Australian circuit; 17-year-old High School student Dylan Canto the only new addition to a grid filled with familiar faces.

Ibby Hadeed returns for the season finale’ having contested the opening two rounds of the championship.

The series returns to enduro mode this weekend with a pair of 50-minute race adding to the challenges within the title battles.

Both races will be broadcast live on 7plus this weekend, as will qualifying on Saturday morning.