Nelson & Greenwood To Tackle Ipswich 24-Hour Race
press release
Doyle’s Racing Kartsport drivers 18yo Brendan Nelson and 22yo James Greenwood will next weekend be part of the 6 driver line-up at Climatrol Air Conditioning Enduro Karting Team for the 24 hour race at Ipswich Kart Club’s Willowbank Raceway.
Above: Climatrol Racing's James Greenwood behind the wheel of the Team's Honda Powered BRM Endurance Kart
pic - Michael Anderson
Greenwood has been a regular driver with the Climatrol Racing Enduro Team after leaving the Doyle’s Racing Kartsport outfit in late 2008. Recently re-joining his former Sprint Kart Team for a few guest drivers has seeded the invitation and opportunity for Nelson to now also try his hand at the very different enduro format.
The pair will team up with Climatrol Racing's other regular drivers Aaron Brown, Michael Anderson, Steven Dawson and fellow 24 hour guest driver Jamie Newnham to tackle the rigours of race strategy, race radio chat, pit stops, driver changes, refuelling and race damage repair over a gruelling 24 hour period.
The Climatrol Racing Team’s season so far could only be described as disappointing after missing the first race of the season, followed by a terminal incident with a back marker in Toowoomba and then missing the start in Nanango due to a broken engine mount in the last laps of practice. Setting the second fastest lap during the Toowoomba 6 hour race and a Top 5 lap time at Nanango has been some consolation. Although the Team has shown exceptionally good race pace, they are longing to translate this into results so far in 2010. All of the Team’s regular drivers are capable of producing competitive lap times and adding the sprint Karters of Newnham and Nelson to the line up should make them a formidable force at Ipswich.
“We are definitely looking for a good showing at Ipswich having invested more preparation time and resource than for any other race. We know we have a kart capable of running at the pointy end of the field and it will be interesting to see if we can compete with the likes of the leading #5150, PDS, Resi and Atlas Teams in more than just the quickest lap,” said Team Strategist and Regular Driver, Michael Anderson. “We proved in last year’s 24 hour race that we have the speed and ability to run at the front. We qualified 4th and ran in the top 3 for the first 6 hours until mechanical failure dropped us down the field”.
The Team has certainly established a decent support crew bringing in Gary Greenwood to assist Crew Chief and Climatrol Air Conditioning Owner, Warren Brown to maintain the Kart for the longer 24 hour race. Doyle’s Racing Kartsport Team members Trevor Beetham and younger brother Robert along with others will be on the Climatrol Pit Crew to support the drivers in their quest to take a home track win.
Above: Climatrol's Warren Brown, Principal; Jared Brown, Project Manager; Aaron Brown, Customer Care Manager; Michael Anderson, Project Manager
Team Enduro Karter, James Greenwood said, “It’s very different to Sprint Karting. It’s a true team effort to keep the pace up for 24 hours and our support Crew is plays a significant role in these long races. I’m sure there will be plenty of competition from the NSW teams pushing everyone to the limit. Given last year’s ridiculously fast and consistent pace set by Jets Team, winning is not necessarily going to come down to who has the fastest kart or driver. It’ll be all about qualifying well, getting out of the traffic early and just banking consistently good laps. As long as we can steer clear of incidents and stick to our strategy, this should put us in a good position to go the race distance and be at the pointy end when the chequered flag falls on Monday morning.”
The gates open at 6:00am on Sunday 13th June at the Willowbank circuit, with Official Practice and Qualifying at 7:00am before the LeMans Start to the 24 hour Enduro at 9:00am.
The Teams will race throughout the day before the lights are switched on to take them through the winter night and well into the Monday morning. The Chequered flag will fall at 9:00am Monday with the Trophy Presentation scheduled shortly thereafter for 9:15am.
Climatrol Racing | Team Profiles
Regular Driver: Aaron Brown (Azza) 30yo
Role: Team Owner / Driver
Occupation: Service Manager Climatrol Air Conditioning
Bio: Aaron will race anything on bitumen, dirt or water and is always fast. He started his race career as a child racing his brother around the yard on dirt bikes and graduated to speedway karts where he took the Qld Title for his class in 1996 among other major wins before early retirement. He is always looking for more speed and loves to race hard.
Regular Driver: James Greenwood (Stig) 22yo
Role: Test Driver / Driver
Occupation: Electrician
Bio: James came to us through work at Climatrol and as expected from the minute he got in the kart he was fast. So long as the kart is working well and his hair is right, he is happy and will punch out super fast, race leading, consistent laps all day. He loves close shoulder to shoulder racing and is known for rubbing the sponsor’s name off the side of the kart.
Regular Driver: Michael Anderson (Spanners) 34yo
Role: Strategist / Driver
Occupation: Project Manager and Design Consultant Climatrol Air Conditioning
Bio: Michael will do anything for an adrenalin rush. Fairly new to Karting, he came of age in the last race at Nanango where he stepped up and posted times on pace with Aaron and at the pointy end of the field. His strategy could prove the winning or losing factor in the 24 hour race.
Part Time Driver: Steven Dawson (Turtle) 22yo
Role: Communications / Driver
Occupation: Apprentice Refrigeration Mechanic Climatrol Air Conditioning
Bio: Steven is more accustomed to cruising with the Commodore Car Club than elbow to elbow racing, but proved extremely useful in last year’s race both in the pits and on the track. His job this year will be consistently lapping, staying off the kerbs and away from other karts on the track and staying calm on the radio for his long periods off the track.
24 Hour Driver: Jamie Newnham (Hoon) 21yo
Occupation: Carpenter
Bio: Jamie raced in last year’s 24 hour and put in some great lap times. With more experience racing his own sprint kart in Clubman Heavy this year, we will be looking for fast, smooth, consistent and damage free laps especially in the early hours of the morning.
24 Hour Driver: Brendan Nelson (The Ringer) 18yo
Occupation: Sports Management Student, Griffith University
Bio: We are expecting big things from Brendan, but he is an unknown quantity in the long distance form of Enduro Karting and new to the team this year. From all accounts if he can handle the rigours of driving for longer than 1 hour and the cold and sleep deprivation, he could prove to be a great pick up and find himself driving for a substantial portion of the race.
Crew Chief: Warren Brown
Role: Primary Sponsor / Race Chief
Occupation: Owner Climatrol Air Conditioning
Crew: Gary Greenwood
Role: 24 Hour Kart Setup
Crew: Trevor Beetham
Role: 24 Hour Kart Setup
