After two days of solid performances Pittard qualified second for the super heavy division 16 lap final, only two hundreds of a second off the pace.

He knew there would be no room for mistakes and set out to make an immediate statement in his quest for a third title in a row.

“I went round the first corner and then opened a gap and held on from there,” he said.

“I drove three hard laps and saw how the gap was, then looked after tyres and engine and made sure it didn’t close.”

Pittard had overcome the pressure of knowing a strong field would push him all the way – and suffered extreme butterflies beforehand.

“Five minutes before the race I was throwing up I was that nervous,” he said.

“But as soon as I was pushed out on to the track and start concentrating as hard as you can all the nerves are gone.”

Drivers race at up to 150 km/hr on a bitumen track with a bit of push and shove expected and conditions can change daily.

“We just knew track would have more rubber on it at the end of the weekend and we (with dad and mechanic Ray) set the car up to that,” Pittard said.

“I was more happy after the race than the first one – because the first time I was too shocked to take it all in for a few days,” he said.

Pittard is now looking towards the WA championships and vowed to make amends for crashing out last year.