Luke Seaton has been a regular of Modified Bike at Perth Motorplex for many years and he was finally rewarded with his first victory on Saturday.
Seaton, whose gradmother passed away before the event, went racing in tribute and began knocking down the roads.
“After my first run was pretty average, I was like ‘can I even be competitive?'” he said. “I got back, cleared my head and said, ‘you can do this.’
“Round one was probably the toughest race of the night against Gordon Crawford with both of us basically having the same difference in reaction time and dial in, with me winning at the line by 0.012.
“Round two I had Rob Good and lucky for me he pulled a red but also had issues off the line which gave me a chance to run it out the back door. Definitely an advantage being the chaser.
“Quarters finals I had a solo which was lucky as my bike launched hard to the right which made me have to get out of the throttle for a small bit. Semi finals was against Zoe Nieuwhof who has always been a tough racer. Always close races between us and again some more luck with her having issues with her two-step giving me a huge advantage off the line, I got off it just past the 1000 feet mark to make sure I didn’t break out.
“Then came the finals against Chris Fryer. I wasn’t too nervous this time round as I knew regardless of the result my grandma would be proud, but it was his first final too so both new territory for us. Again I was the chaser with Chris going first. He pulled a great light and was off. I took off and my bike kept picking the front up all the way down but I stayed in it. I was getting closer and closer but by the 1000 feet mark I realised I just wasn’t going to get there but in the same thought I knew he must been well ahead of his dial in. Sure enough he crosses the line and no green light then I cross the line and the green light comes on.
“I let out a few yells and screams before I turned into the braking area. I looked to the sky and pointed and said this is for you Marnie. I stopped in the shut off area to just have a moment and congratulate Chris on a great run with all the officials coming up and congratulating me.”
With the local drag racing community right behind Seaton, what happened next was an emotional moment he would never forget.
“I started riding back down the return road and the tears started flowing again. Riding past the finish line all the officals and ambos were clapping. Then I get to the crowd and people started standing and clapping. Kids were running to the fence. The more this happened the more I cried. I got a high five from Stuart Hope on the way through the burnout pad. Then I see about five different teams waiting to congratulate me near the start line and the motorplex TV crew.
“I’m truly blessed and honoured they stopped running the finals for a moment to get my raw emotions and feeling at the time and for me to honour my grandmother in the way. I still don’t even know what I said but I’ll never forgot the support and the huge cheer after they finished the interview.
“That’s when my close drag family Brodie Messenger, Christopher James Moore, Emma Maughmer and of course my mum jumped all over me and hugged me to death with many tears flowing.
“I only managed another five metres before I got congratulated and hugged by Paul DeKlerk. Hearing his words, ‘I’m so bloody proud of you’, meant so much. He was the reason I’m back racing to the top of my potential again. He was the reason I got through those last two rounds, keeping me focussed and working out a dial in for where me and the bike were at.
“Even riding through the pits so many bike give me congratulations and thumbs up. Troy Thompson stopping me in the middle of the road to give me a huge hug and to say congratulations and knew what it meant to me. Also Neil Marlborough and Liz Johns stopping me too I remembered that too lol.
“I just want to say thank you for all the support from the public, racers and track staff. I’ll never forget it and it’s why I love this sport so bloody much. Thank you to the riders that came out during the opening to support me and my mum. Brodie and Chris for the amazing kind gesture of the stickers and again to the riders that ran them on their bikes or helmets.
“This trophy will always be my favorite one and mean the most. My first win and dedication to my Grandma Marnie.”
