In just his third ever Polaris Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) event, Sean Beck has the opportunity to become a national class champion.
The West Australian has confirmed he will compete in October’s Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race, with his sights set on winning the Performance 2WD class on home soil.
As it stands, Beck currently leads the class after taking out the win at last month’s Loveday 400 – a mighty effort considering it was just his first ever race outside of his home state.
Behind the wheel of a crowd-pleasing Holden Kingswood, Beck and navigator Daniel Fahey were the 17th and second last car to finish every lap of the South Australian event – their second event finish in just their second ever AORC event after debuting at the 2022 Kalgoorlie Desert Dash.
With class rivals Trent Gravestock failing to finish Loveday, Beck claimed victory and skyrocketed to the top of the class ahead of the season finale in WA.
“The goal for us was just to finish, but the expectation was that it was going to get rough being a short track and it was going to catch some people out, which it did,” Beck said.
“Travelling as far as we did, not finishing would have been pretty disappointing, so we wanted to finish and just beat the time-out time – anything else is a bonus.
“There is no point trying to go fast and kill the car, we did the maths before the event and the reason we went over was to bank as many points as we can.
“Our cause was made easier when Trent didn’t finish and we got the full points, so I would like to think that we have a good chance of winning the title now.
“I am not saying I am going to win, but right now, we have enough points in the class to just finish Kalgoorlie and win the title. Even if there are 10 class five cars, as long as we put points on the board for every section, we should still win.”
While the class battle will be on his mind, the youngster is just enjoying being behind the wheel, helped by being part of a junior support program within the state.
“Off road racing is great – it’s a real challenge, but I just love it – the faster you go, the harder it gets, and I love that sort of stuff,” Beck said.
“Even though we don’t have a fast car, it’s fast enough to get you in trouble if you’re not careful.
“Me getting over to Loveday was because of the support that our team had received from sponsors due to progressing this junior program.
“Most state races, my brother and I compete in two cars, and every so often we go to state rounds and try and involve young talent who don’t have parents into motorsport -and that is where our sponsors come from.
“However, at this point, my focus is on Kalgoorlie and looking forward to potentially winning a class title on home soil – I will be very appreciative if I can make it happen.”
The Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race takes place in Kalgoorlie on 19-22 October.
