Motorkhana Round 4 – A Chilly Finish to 2026!
14 November 2026 / Story by Bryan Shedden, Photos by Rob Wilko & Andrew Edgar
Sydney Motorsport Park Skidpan | Sunday 8 November 2026
After a very warm Saturday, competitors arriving at Sydney Motorsport Park on Sunday were in for a rather rude awakening! A stiff southerly was blasting across the skidpan, making a mockery of the optimistic 17°C forecast. Those who had selected shorts and T-shirts soon discovered that single-digit apparent temperatures called for a rather different wardrobe!
Despite the chilly conditions, 29 Club members and four visitors turned out for the final round of the 2026 MX-5 Club of NSW Motorkhana Championship.
One of the real highlights was seeing so many new faces. Ten competitors had joined the Club within the past year, with most others joining in the last few years. With an average competitor age of just 36, motorkhana is clearly proving popular with our younger members. That's fantastic news for the Club as we continue to develop events that appeal to the next generation of MX-5 enthusiasts.
It was also great to see how family-friendly motorkhana can be, with plenty of father-and-son or father-and-daughter combinations competing. These included Michael and Matt Tarrant, John and Charlie Karayannis, Adam and Emma Anderson, Peter and Julian Carruthers, Adam and Hudson Darvell, and Adam and Will Donaldson. David Raddatz was also there supporting son Chase, although staying out of the competition himself!
Six tests kept everyone busy, with Charlie Karayannis taking fastest time in Top Hat, Plumb Crazy and Cloverleaf. John Karayannis topped Crazy Square and Oh What a Feeling, while Julian Carruthers, driving a Toyota GR86, won Spiro Slalom and the Non-MX-5 Class.
The day's biggest battle was undoubtedly the father-and-son contest between John and Charlie Karayannis for MX-5 Open honours, sharing John's NB8B. Charlie won the head-to-head tests, but John edged him out on aggregate time: 143.80 seconds against Charlie's 143.93. A margin of just 0.13 seconds! That's incredibly close, although still not quite as close as their extraordinary 0.02-second difference at Round 3!
Coming into the final round, Charlie led the championship 35 points to John's 29. However, with only the best three of four rounds counting, John ultimately claimed the Open Class title on 37 points, with Charlie second on 35 and Christopher Stevens third on 29.
In the Ladies Class, Annie Chan was the sole Lady competitor on the day and finished an impressive 12th outright. She secured the Ladies Championship with 45 points, ahead of Ella Russell on 35.
The Junior Class provided another entertaining contest, with Chase Raddatz taking the day's honours against Emma Anderson. Chase's exuberant drifting style and characteristic on/off throttle technique certainly provided plenty of entertainment! He also secured the overall Junior Championship with 40 points, ahead of Emma on 30.
A huge thank you goes to our dedicated volunteers who made the event possible: Barry and Jenny Luttrell (Event Secretary and Administration Officials), David Wilson (Clerk of Course), and timekeepers Grant Spinks, Phil Donnelley, Phil Reid and Ian Combes.
Finally, thanks to our generous photographers Rob Wilko and Andrew Edgar for capturing the action and sharing their photos online.
Congratulations to all our competitors, and here's to another great year of motorkhana in 2027!
2026 Motorkhana Round 4 Results
2026 Motorkhana_Pointscore_Final
Rob Wilko's Photo Album (231 photos)
Andrew Edgar's Photo Album (1205 photos)
