Two winners from two races, and the round win to Paddon on Sunday

Peter Paddon has thrown down the gauntlet in his First Focus Radical Cup Australia title defence, taking the Round 1 win with two race victories to his name—including a wet and wild endurance race on Sunday afternoon—in the opening round of the 2025 season at Phillip Island.

Cooper Cutts’ win in Race 2, along with two second-place finishes across the weekend, was more than enough to secure second overall, while strong performances from Chris Reindler and Bryce Moore locked in third for the duo.

In a repeat of Saturday’s race start, Paddon and Cutts were side-by-side into Turn 1—you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a quarter-mile drag race rather than a round of the First Focus Radical Cup Australia.

Despite an issue with his timing beacon showing him well down the order for the first half of Race 2, Cooper Cutts kept the pressure on yesterday’s Race 1 winner at the front of the field after the latter got the better run into Southern Loop. 

With track position on his side, Paddon emerged as the race leader while Jim Hernandez came unstuck through Turn 1, sending the #23 off the track.

It wasn’t long before Cutts made a dive for the lead, with the pair swapping positions numerous times coming into the Hayshed. Paddon fended off the West Aussie’s advances but wasn’t so lucky when the young gun made another move to take control of the race heading into Siberia.

The #28 of Bryce Moore and Chris Reindler moved up into third during the first lap—where Moore comfortably remained for the rest of the race—shuffling Terry Knowles back to fourth.

The subsequent battle for fourth, fifth, and sixth between Knowles, Brad Russell, and Ruairidh Avern raged for most of the race, coming to a head on the final lap as Russell attempted an unsuccessful dive on Knowles, sending the trio three-wide.

Avern’s Arise Racing stablemate, Dave Allan, along with Peter Clare, Adam Naccarata, and Warwick Morris, rounded out the Top 10.

Melinda Price drove an excellent race to finish 11th, despite idle issues causing last-minute dramas just before the start. International Radical racer Ibby Hadeed struck trouble again with his second DNF of the weekend, while Stephen Champion retired midway through the race.

Showers that had been forecast earlier in the day arrived just before Race 3, which began behind the Safety Car to build tyre temperature and give the field time to assess the slippery conditions.

Cutts led the field in a single-file start, but Paddon quickly passed him at Turn 1 and began pulling away, while Avern found himself off track as Russell and Knowles jostled for position at Miller Corner. By the end of Lap 1, Paddon had already built a three-second gap to Cutts, extending it to six seconds before the second Safety Car of the weekend was deployed to retrieve the bogged #4 of Warwick Morris from the gravel.

Before the Safety Car intervention, two fierce battles had begun to unfold—Knowles, Russell, and Allan fighting for fourth through sixth, and a four-way scrap behind them involving Champion, Naccarata, Clare, and Avern. The latter emerged the clear winner, climbing into sixth.

As the rain eased and the green flag waved again, Paddon held the lead at the restart just as the pit window opened. He, Cutts, and Reindler were among the first to dive into pit lane for their compulsory stops.

It was Cutts who gained the advantage after the stops, emerging as the effective leader ahead of Paddon, Avern, Clare, and Knowles as the track continued to dry and the field cycled through.

With 10 minutes to go, Paddon was on a mission—setting the fastest lap of the race and using traffic to close the gap to Cutts. Paddon finally found the perfect moment to pounce with two minutes remaining, diving down the inside at Turn 3 to retake the lead.

Behind them, Moore was charging through the field and putting pressure on Clare, while Avern drove a stellar race on his debut weekend to cross the line in third, ahead of Clare in fourth and Moore in fifth.

Knowles, Russell, Champion, Mark Cirillo (co-driving with Allan), and Naccarata rounded out the Race 3 Top 10.

First Focus Radical Cup Australia next heads to Sydney Motorsport Park for Round 2 across May 2–4 2025, as part of the brand-new SRO Motorsports Australia platform. Event details, including schedule and broadcast times, will be available soon.