New South Welshman Lawson Clarke has continued his epic run of good results here in the West tonight at the Tyrepower Manjimup Speedway , taking home the WA Chip 2026 SSA Junior Sedan WA Title just one week after being crowned Australia #2 at Esperance Speedway.
In a nail biting final Clarke took over the lead on the second circulation and held strong over multiple restarts to go on and take the win, an emotional one for the youngster who joins Brock Atkins and Todd Atkins as only the third interstate driver to claim the WA Title event.
Twenty-three cars would roll out for the start of the feature event with defending Champion Oscar Amato using his Champions provisional to start from position twenty three after falling just short of automatically qualifying.
However, it was heartbreak as the field rolled off, with Lucas Stevens, who qualified into the main event through the B Main, unable to fire, leaving a field of twenty two to take the green.
As the race went green for the first time, pole sitter Noah Bain looked to get the best of the start but former WA Champion and fellow front row starter Jake Leaman was able to draw alongside, the lead duo side by side down the back straight before Lawson Clarke also joined the party, Bain leading Clarke and Leaman on the opening lap.
Clarke was then able to dive down low once again and claim the lead from Bain on the second circulation.
Victorian Brad Marshall was also making his presence felt at this point, passing Leaman for third on the third lap, the order now Clarke, Bain, Marshall, Leaman and Harrison Beres.
The top three broke away from the rest of the pack, with positions four through to fifteenth all fighting it out in close quarters.
With eight laps complete the yellow lights came on for the first time, contact between Luke Bailey and night one points leader Jesse James Samuels seeing Samuels slide to a stop in turn two. Bailey was sent to the rear while Samuels retook his position in the field, with WA Champion Amato also getting some assistance on the infield under the stoppage.
Clarke was able to pull away quickly on the restart as Marshall put the pressure on Bain for position two, while Leaman and Beres continued to fight it out for fourth and fifth respectively.
With eleven complete Beres got by Leaman by 0.020 seconds, and a lap later the yellows came out as Sam Mills made contact with Samuels, both spinning and somehow Brax Hardy just avoiding the pair. Mills was sent to the tail for the restart.
Clarke bunched the field up on the start and Bain took the opportunity to dive underneath through turns one and two, but Clarke was able to slam the door and Marshall took his chance to draw alongside Bain for second.
Samuels got by Leaman for fifth and Mackenzie Silver became the first retiree of the race, but up front Clarke quickly built a gap, 1.3 seconds ahead at the fifteen lap mark and recording the fastest lap of the race at that point.
Shortly after the yellows were on again as Australian Champion Lachie Burke and Cody Colmer made contact, Colmer spinning to a stop and Burke sent rear before he would become the second car on the infield.
Clarke again banked the field up on the restart, but it didn’t take long for him to begin building up his gap again, though the race would only stay green for the one lap as Joel Bowman spun in turn two after a concertina affect ahead of him, with Zac Favero also launching over the infield berm and getting all four wheels off the ground to bring out the yellows.
All cars were able to restart, but again it only lasted for one lap as Samuels and Leaman came together in the battle for fifth, bouncing off each other down the front straight and Samuels spinning through turn one to bring out the yellows once again, with Samuels ultimately heading infield.
Cars were not giving an inch as they passed the cone on the restart and it continued for the whole lap, the lead three all coming together in turn four, Clarke, Bain and Marshall all sustaining damage before Beres was left with nowhere to go but into the melee. Bain was the one who ended up infield with a flat tyre while the other three cars would reclaim their positions.
Unfortunately Marshall didn’t get going on the start and went sideways, with cars scattering all across the track, forcing the field to line up once again.
Clarke and Marshall left the rest of the field for dust on the next attempt at a restart, with Beres doing all he could to hold off Leaman with only seven laps to go.
Clarke was well clear in the lead with five to go, Marshall also clear in second, and just as the race looked to be going to run clear to the chequers, the yellows came on for Cody Colmer who spun after contact with Amato, Amato being sent rear.
Jesse Hamon was the only one who made a position on the start as he got by Leaman for fourth, then a lap later he drew underneath Beres to take third.
Up front though Clarke was well ahead with Marshall also running a lonely race in second, the lead duo never challenged as they crossed the line.
Hamon crossed the line in third ahead of Beres and Max Lang, who charged all the way from position eighteen to grab fifth in the dying stages ahead of Jake Leaman.
Behind them though, all chaos broke loose in the final corner, two separate incidents seeing cars spinning and cannoning into each other and leaving them strewn all across the track and leaving officials with a job to sort out a final finishing order.
When all was said and done though, Lawson Clarke was officially crowned as the 2026 SSA Junior Sedan Title winner, defeating Brad Marshall and Jesse Hamon in an event that will be remembered for years to come at the Manjimup Speedway.
A Main, 25 laps: 1. W76 Noah Bain, 2. W70 Jake Leaman, 3. WA18 Harrison Beres, 4. N10 Lawson Clarke, 5. V58 Brad Marshall, 6. W31 Jesse James Samuels, 7. W15 Luke Bailey, 8. WA23 Archie Root, 9. W5 Jesse Hamon, 10. W56 Sam Mills, 11. A1 Lachie Burke, 12. W34 Baxter Trouchet, 13. W9 Brock Barrett, 14. WA88 Mackenzie Silver, 15. WA17 Zac Favero, 16. W3 Cody Colmer, 17. W23 Brax Hardy, 18. W2 Max Lang, 19. V14 Jake Bradley, 20. Q10 Bailey Chandler, 21. WB5 Lucas Stevens, 22. W52 Joel Bowman.
RESULT
1. N10 Lawson Clarke, 2. V58 Brad Marshall, 3. W5 Jesse Hamon, 4. WA18 Harrison Beres, 5. W2 Max Lang, 6. W70 Jake Leaman, 7. W34 Baxter Trouchet, 8. W3 Cody Colmer, 9. W9 Brock Barrett, 10. W52 Joel Bowman, 11. V14 Jake Bradley, 12. Q10 Bailey Chandler, 13. W23 Brax Hardy, 14. W15 Luke Bailey, 15. W56 Sam Mills, 16. WA1 Oscar Amato, 17. WA23 Archie Root, 18. WA17 Zac Favero. DNF: W76 Noah Bain (17), A1 Lachie Burke (17), W31 Jesse James Samuels (17), WA88 Mackenzie Silver (14). DNS: WB5 Lucas Stevens. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 1.183. Fastest Lap: 21.345 N10 Lawson Clarke.