One... Two... Three... For Pittam At SA Championships

AKA press release

One tree Hill (Adelaide) driver Paul Pittam was the standout performer at the Dunlop South Australian Karting Championship hosted by the Barossa Go-Kart Club at the Bolivar Raceway over the weekend.

Competing in three senior categories – Clubman Heavy, Leopard Heavy and Rotax Heavy – Pittam was one of the busiest of the 300 entrants at the event but his hard work paid dividends in the way of three podium results.

Above: Paul Pittam
pic - photowagon.com.au

In the Rotax Heavy final Pittam proved to be too strong for the highly talented interstate contingent to claim the eighth state championship of his career, but more importantly the first in his home state.

Simon Gwilliam from WA took second just ahead of Melbourne driver Rick Pringle, who won his Australian title in this class at the Bolivar track in 2006.

In the final of Clubman Heavy a chain of seven karts fought for the podium positions, with Pittam right in the thick of the action.

In the final half of the race Sydney driver Jason Hryniuk, Pittam and Daniel Baker forged a small gap over the rest setting up an exciting finish.

Above: Jason Hryniuk
pic - photowagon.com.au

Hryniuk led entering the final lap, defending from a fast finishing Baker. As the trio entered the final corner Baker clipped the back of Hryniuk’s CRG, forcing him to run wide and drop down the order, allowing Hryniuk to take the win from Pittam and Lee Mitchener to step up to third.

Pringle was simply too strong and took a comfortable victory over fellow Victorian Paul Rodgers, Pittam and Top Kart pilot Craig Stauner in the Rotax Heavy class.

“This is my first state championship that I’ve actually won in my home state, it’s great to not only get the win but also a podium in every class I raced over the weekend,” said Pittam.

“I've gone racing cars and raced Formula Ford, so stuff like that was a big learning curve for me but all those extra challenges that you do seem to prepare you for big meetings like this.

“For the first two days on Wednesday and Thursday in practice, it was pretty hard coming in from one kart and just hoping straight back into another kart, but once racing got underway things seemed to smooth out a bit.

“It was a challenge to get the set-up sorted but we got there in the end, a lot of thanks must got to my Dad and Kym (Pearce) from Omega Racing Karts.

“Racing three classes may have taken the edge of each of them, it might have taken it back to say 95 percent in each kart but at the end of the day we got them all pretty close to where we wanted them and came away with three podium finishes.”

Canberra’s Mathew Hart secured a pair of championships in the Junior Clubman and Formula JMA categories.

The Junior Clubman final was one of the races of the day with Hart, National Champion Chris Hays and Joseph Mawson all took turns of leading the way.

Above: Mathew Hart
pic - photowagon.com.au

Hart always seemed to have the edge, able to claw back the lead when both Hays and Mawson grabbed the ascendancy.

Queenslander Lucas Ward was also looking very fast in fourth spot and was catching the lead trio when he suffered a mechanical failure with 12 laps to go.

James Macken led the first half of the Formula JMA final before Hart made his move at the end of the back straight with seven laps remaining.

New South Wales driver Trent Grubel came home like a steam-train aboard his Kosmic kart, passing Macken on the final lap at the end of the back straight for Macken to jump back into second at the very next corner.

Hart was well ahead by this stage and took a comfortable win aboard his Arrow.

Another driver to ‘double up’ at the championships was James Kovacic. The New South Wales driver proved too good for the high-quality opposition in both the Clubman Light and Leopard Light categories.

Other drivers to claim victories were Ryan Reynolds (Senior National Light), Scott Simpson (Clubman Super Heavy), Bradley Jenner (Junior National Light), Max Johnston (Rotax Light), Lachlan McHugh (Rookies), Reece Sidebottom (Midgets), Remo Luciani (Clubman Over 40s) *Final result under appeal and Jordan Nicolaou (Junior National Heavy).

The full results can be viewed by clicking here.

Above: Lachlan McHugh
pic - photowagon.com.au

Dunlop South Australian State Karting Championships
Hosted by the Barossa Go-Kart Club at the Bolivar Raceway

Junior National Heavy

RESULTS: Final
1. #34 Jordan Nicolaou - 21 laps
2. #14 Macauley Jones
3. #23 Mason Thomas
4. #41 Simon Hodge
5. #1 Darsey Kondopirakis

The final three corners of the Junior National Heavy final were chaotic at best, but amidst all the carnage Jordan Nicolaou held the lead to take the title.

Behind him, Macauley Jones was run wide while in second place on the entry to Tyson’s Corner on the last lap, but vaulted back up to second when Travis Kodric and Chris Farkas ended up beached in the gravel trap on the exit of the penultimate corner.

The race had been punctuated by a long snake of karts vying for the podium positions all race long and in the end Mason Thomas was good enough to claim third place.

Midgets

RESULTS: Final
*Result under Appeal
1. #90 Reece Sidebottom - 21 laps
*2. #5 Thomas Schou
3. #3 Chase Wooley
4. #7 Jordan McGregor
5. #51 Jordan Murphy

It was a battle royale between Reece Sidebottom and Thomas Schou in Midgets, with neither youngster deserving to lose the dice, such was the composure and skill of each.

In the end Sidebottom continued what is shaping as a stellar season for the Victorian, but the lead was literally changing hands with every corner at some points throughout the race.

Back in third the racing was equally close, with a tough last lap resulting in the final step on the podium going to local Chase Wooley.

Clubman Over 40s

RESULTS: Final
*Result under appeal
*1. #20 Remo Luciani – 21 laps
2. #71 Darryl Tolmer
3. #13 Simon Layne
4. #32 Trevor Whitby
5. #56 Rob Landsmeer

Remo Luciani crossed the line first in the final of the Clubman Over 40s category at Bolivar Raceway, however, he will have to await the outcome of an appeal against a post race techinical ruling before he can celebrate the 50th State Championship of his illustrious career.

Luciani had to deal with local hero Darryl Tolmer in the first half of the race, but over the course of the race Luciani’s Monaco chassis continued to charge and the evergreen racer pulled away to take the chequered flag in front of the wide applause of the assembled crowd.

Leopard Light

RESULTS: Final
1. #2 James Kovacic - 21 laps
2. #29 Josh Tynan
3. #81 Fergus Symes
4. #16 Shay Mayes
5. #90 Lee Mitchener

James Kovacic was simply faster than his rivals in Leopard Light, resisting an early battle to pull away in the second half of the race and take the win.

Kovacic has a rough and tough dice with local ace Josh Tynan in the early stages, but soon the young gun was able to pull away and take the win.

Junior Clubman

RESULTS: Final
1. #26 Mathew Hart - 21 laps
2. #88 Joseph Mawson
3. #1 Chris Hays
4. #10 Aidan Wright
5. #14 Todd Hazelwood

In one of the best races of the day, Matt Hart, Chris Hays and Joseph Mawson all took turns of leading the way in the Junior Clubman final.

Hart always seemed to have the edge, able to claw back the lead when both Hays and Mawson grabbed the ascendancy.

Lucas Ward was also looking very fast in P4 and was catching the lead trio when he suffered a mechanical failure with 12 laps to go.

Rotax Heavy

RESULTS: Final
1. #33 Rick Pringle - 21 laps
2. #10 Paul Rodgers
3. #96 Paul Pittam
4. #91 Craig Stauner
5. #73 Blake Mooney

In a reasonably uneventful final Rick Pringle was simply too strong and took a comfortable victory.

Fellow Victorian Paul Rodgers chased him down and tried his best to put Pringle under some late-race pressure, but in the end Pringle held his nerve and took the win.

Clubman Light

RESULTS: Final
1. #29 James Kovacic – 21 laps
2. #79 Ben Jurczak
3. #94 James Sera
4. #31 Jason Burns
5. #2 Warren White

James Sera led early in his Azzurro but James Kovacic was never far behind. Mid-race Kovacic made his move and he slowly but surely pulled a small gap over the rest to ensure he took the title.

Ben Jurczak, who like Kovacic is one of the younger crop of senior drivers, also chased down Sera and claimed second.

Jason Burns was involved in a skirmish on the opening lap and dropped down the order to around 10th place but by the end of the race used his lightning pace to get back to fourth.

Rookies

RESULTS: Final
1. #23 Lachlan McHugh - 21 laps
2. #95 Rhys Woolley
3. #11 Tyler Morrison
4. #8 Jordan Boys
5. #45 Mitch Wilson

Lachlan McHugh pulled a huge gap on the field to win the Rookies final by quite a margin.

Four-kart dice for second heated up in the second half of the race, with local drivers Rhys Woolley and Tyler Morrison taking the minor steps on the podium.

Mitch Wilson and Jordan Boys rounded out the top five, losing third to Morrison on the final lap as the pair diced hard through the final corners.

Formula JMA

RESULTS: Final
1. #62 Mathew Hart - 21 laps
2. #89 James Macken
3. #74 Trent Grubel
4. #14 Macauley Jones
5. #8 Luke Bergens

James Macken led the first half of the race before Matt Hart made his move at Tyson’s corner with seven laps remaining.

Trent Grubel came home like a steam-train aboard his Kosmic kart, passing Macken on the final lap at Tyson’s only for Macken to jump back into second at the very next corner.

Hart was well ahead by this stage and took a comfortable win aboard his Arrow.

Clubman Heavy

RESULTS: Final
1. #45 Jason Hryniuk - 21 laps
2. #99 Paul Pittam
3. #90 Lee Mitchener
4. #20 Remo Luciani
5. #1 Matthew Wall

This race at the 2006 Nationals was a case of Jason Hryniuk and Lee Mitchener streeting away from the field, but this time around the two interstaters had no such luck.

A chain of seven karts fought for the podium positions, with local lad Paul Pittam threatening early.

In the final half of the race Hryniuk, Pittam and Daniel Baker forged a small gap over the rest setting up an exciting finish.

Hryniuk led entering the final lap, defending from a fast finishing Baker. As the trio entered the final corner Baker clipped the back of Hryniuk’s CRG, forcing him to run wide and drop down the order, allowing Hryniuk to take the win from Pittam and Mitchener to step up to third.

Rotax Light

RESULTS: Final
1. #24 Max Johnston - 21 laps
2. #57 David Whitmore
3. #79 Ben Jurczak
4. #7 Damian Ward
5. #99 Joel Smith

Max Johnstone may be new to senior-level competition but he was still the class of the Rotax Light field.

The field spaced themselves out evenly early on in the 21-lap race, making for a trouble-free race.

Junior National Light

RESULTS: Final
1. #94 Bradley Jenner - 21 laps
2. #74 Trent Grubel
3. #14 Todd Hazelwood
4. #88 Joseph Mawson
5. #55 James Hughes

Brad Jenner held the lead for most of the race in a three-way dice for the blue plate.

It was on the penultimate lap that the big moves were made, with Trent Grubel and Jenner swapping positions in the final corners of the lap as they approached the ‘last lap’ board.

Over the final lap Jenner held the gap and was able to take the win ahead of Grubel and local favourite Todd Hazelwood, who was a part of the leading trio for the duration as they pulled a sizeable gap on the rest of the pack.

Leopard Heavy

RESULTS: Final
1. #96 Paul Pittam - 21 laps
2. #21 Simon Gwilliam
3. #33 Rick Pringle
4. #48 Lee Chapman
5. #99 Rowan Booth

Paul Pittam was too strong on his home track, holding off a trio of interstate stars to take the title.

Simon Gwilliam from WA took second just ahead of Melbourne driver Rick Pringle, who won his Australian title in this class at the Bolivar track in 2006.

Clubman Super Heavy

RESULTS: Final
1. #23 Scott Simpson - 21 laps
2. #4 Ben McKinley
3. #3 Josh Brooker
4. #5 Jason Stania
5. #40 Craig Denton

Controversy struck Clubman Super Heavy when local driver Danny Errigo, who crossed the line first in the 21-lap final, was excluded from the meeting following post-race technical inspection.

His downfall elevated Scott Simpson into first place, ahead of Ben McKinlaya and Josh Brooker. Jason Stania came through the field to finish fourth and local Craig Denton rounded out the top five.

Senior National Light

RESULTS: Final
1. #9 Ryan Reynolds - 21 laps
2. #89 Nathan Taylor
3. #35 Cassy Budgeon
4. #11 Matthew Panella
5. #3 Logan Reiter

The first final of the day was a tricky one for competitors, with the 21 lap race held in drying conditions.

As various karts showed different speed and different times of the race as a result of running on either wet or slick tyres, the race was an interesting affair in terms of strategy.

In the end Ryan Reynolds won out ahead of Nathan Taylor and Cassy Budgeon with the leading trio covered by less than a second.

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