Following a disappointing conclusion to last season’s Western Australian Junior Sedan Title, Blake Iwanow well and truly bounced back during last weekend’s running of the event at Albany’s Attwell Park Speedway, achieving an impressive clean sweep to clinch his maiden state title crown.
Having been the leading Junior Sedan driver throughout his home state of Western Australia over the past two seasons, picking up a whopping nine feature-race wins last season, Iwanow has experienced significant success on a local level, but a state title victory is something that had eluded him, with his previous attempt ending in heartbreaking fashion.
Running second in last season’s Western Australian Title with only a couple of laps remaining when his rear bumper fell off, relegating him to the rear of the field and costing him a chance at victory, the 16-year-old driver had unfinished business heading into last weekend’s event, and with nine feature-race wins already under his belt this season, including one at the Albany track, he was in good stead to achieve redemption.
Experiencing a flawless campaign over both nights of competition, Iwanow more than proved that he has what it takes to handle the pressure of a title event, winning each of his four heat races aboard his WA # 24 UltraTune – Cannington supported Hyundai Excel to qualify on pole position for the feature race, before leading each of the 25 laps to claim a dominant win over eight seconds clear of his nearest rival.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more this weekend. It’s an amazing feeling to finally win my first title event and to do it so convincingly makes it even more special,” commented the Byford, WA-based driver, whose uncle Rick also won the 1997 Western Australian Junior Sedan Title and Blake’s older brother is the current Western Australian Wingless Sprint Title holder.
“We’ve been consistently on the pace over the past few seasons, but we hadn’t yet been able to prove ourselves in a title event, so it’s a big relief for the whole team to get the monkey off our backs.
“I can’t thank my family enough for all of their support and everything they do for me both at the track and away from it. Racing wouldn’t be possible without them and this win is as much theirs as it is mine. It’s also pretty special for the whole family to win the event that my uncle had won and join my older brother as a current Western Australian Title holder.”
In other news for the Iwanow family, Blake’s older brother Matthew will be hoping to emulate his brother’s results this weekend as he attempts to defend his Western Australian Wingless Sprint Title at Kalgoorlie International Speedway on Saturday and Sunday night.
Iwanow is proudly supported by the family-business UltraTune – Cannington, along with Demon Racecar Fibreglass, Redline Racecars & Rollcages, Hyundai Heaven, Castrol, T&R Green Automotive Service, and Bling Custom Coatings. Special thanks go to his mum and dad (Jody and Murray), and his brother Matthew.
