After experiencing a few teething problems during the early stages of his debut Limited Sprintcar season, Dylan Sexton’s 2017-18 season certainly took a turn for the better at Kalgoorlie International Speedway recently, when he scored what was no doubt an upset victory in the Western Australian Title.
Following in his dad Graeme’s tyre tracks and stepping into Limited Sprintcars after contesting five seasons in Junior Sedans, Sexton didn’t set too many high expectations, other than to get more track time and gain more experience, for himself heading into the WA Title event, having only completed half a dozen race meetings with the class.
Returning to the Kalgoorlie track for the first time since his Junior Sedan days, the 20-year- old Limited Sprintcar rookie was impressive and broke the Limited Sprintcar lap record on five separate occasions on the night, collecting a pair of wins in his heat races and placing fourth in the other to reward him with the best possible start for the 30-lap WA Title- deciding feature race: pole position.
Aboard the WA # 72 Kerries Automotive Engineering-backed Maxim, which last season had been piloted by Sean Zemunik (Rocka’s son), Sexton slipped back to second in the opening laps, before coming taking control of the lead when he passed fellow front-row starter Dickinson on a restart, which was caused by someone back in the field.
Withstanding some early pressure from Dickinson and former WA Champion Brayden Miller, Sexton retained his position through the handful of stoppages and subsequent restarts, along with surviving accidental contact with a lapped car in the latter stages of the race, to come away with what was an unbelievable result up against his more experienced rivals.
“We really weren’t expecting to be so competitive in the WA Title, let alone come away with the win, so we’re pretty blown away,” enthused Sexton, who resides in the WA town of Merredin.
“A lot of work has gone into the car, so big thanks must go to my dad Graeme, along with Rocka (Zemunik) through his tutoring, for helping make this a possibility for me, and everyone else who has helped us out and put in so much hard work to make us so competitive. This win is as much theirs as it is mine!”
In the 2017-18 season, Sexton is proudly supported by Kerries Automotive Engineering and A1 Hi Performance. He would also like to give special thanks to his dad (Graeme) and mum (Trudy Higgins), his brother Drew, Kerrie from Kerries Automotive Service, Leon from A1 Hi Performance, Rocka Zemunik and the rest of the Zemunik family, the Kalgoorlie International Speedway track, and WA Limited Sprintcars President Chadd Aitken.
