Wakefield was released on probation for drug possession

Former Supercars driver and nightclub owner Wayne Wakefield was recently released from court on a suspended sentence for drug possession.

Wakefield, 53, faced a number of charges related to two police raids on his homes in the space of a year, starting in May 2020.

He pleaded guilty to 18 charges, including possession of a dangerous drug over two grams, breaching an electronic device access order and possession of a controlled substance. However, a more serious traffic charge was dropped.

Wakefield was a successful race car driver and raced alongside Marcos Ambrose in the iconic #4 Pirtek SBR AU Falcon in 2001.

Despite a promising start after Ambrose took a famous pole position on his first trip to the Mountain, the race did not go as planned and the pair retired after 42 laps with engine problems.

He was a former development series leader (Super2) and regular in the now defunct V8 Ute series.

In the inaugural Super2 series, Wakefield finished third behind Dean Canto and Matthew White and won the first race at Eastern Creek in 2000.

After his Great Race debut in 2001, Wakefield continued to drive sporadically in Supercars until 2003 and Super2 until 2007.

More recently he competed in the V8 Ute Racing Series in 2013 and 2014 where he won in Adelaide.

Wakefield’s defense said he attended rehab for abusing a mix of drugs as a result of his business going bankrupt when the COVID-19 restrictions.

During the first police raid on 19 May 2020, officers found 4.8g of pure MDMA, 1.82g of pure cocaine, 0.51g of a substance containing methamphetamine and 525.07g of GBL, a substance chemical that turns into the drug GHB when consumed.

In March 2021, police were alerted to the presence of an envelope outside an apartment block in the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley.

Wakefield was caught on CCTV removing the envelope, which was found to contain five zip-lock bags, each containing around one gram of the meth-containing substance.

A subsequent search of Wakefield’s apartment in May 2021 revealed seal bags containing 1.08g of a substance containing cocaine, 0.7g of a crystal substance containing methamphetamine, three vials containing 6.48g of pure GHB and 13.97 g of morphine.

Police also found a cutting agent used to dilute the drugs, a large plate of white powder and a rolled $5 bill, two electronic scales, four glass pipes, $500 in cash and $675 in casino chips .

Wakefield’s defense argued that he had the drugs for his personal possession, but some of his offenses were compounded by the fact that he was on bail.

Wakefield used his time in custody and on bail to get off drugs and find full-time work. His defense said he now looks like a completely different person.

“I have known Mr. Wakefield for several years. He looks like a completely different person now,” Kimmins said.

Judge Kelly said Wakefield had shown genuine remorse.

Wakefield was sentenced to 15 months in prison, immediately suspended for a period of 15 months.

As he left the courthouse, Wakefield said he felt “fine.” It remains to be seen what the future holds for the former racing driver.

Image: Motorsport Images

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