Hot Start To Speedway Season
press release
The New South Wales Speedway Kart Club kicked off its 2011 season on a very hot (39 degrees) day on Sunday, 20 February. Regardless of the heat, the racing on display from the 68 drivers who entered was nothing short of spectacular and the modest crowd that turned out to watch enjoyed what they witnessed.
The spectator hill was a Who’s Who of speedway and some of the faces spotted during the day were legends Steve Brazier and Sid Hopping and such current stars as “Gas Girl“Kelly Linigen and “DC” Darryl Campbell. It is great to see so many industry involved people coming out to support the nursery of speedway.
Above: Clubman Light action, 95 Louie Calleja, 12 Matt Tourish
pic - stillshots.com.au
Next on track was the Fire Service Plus sponsored Rookie Class. These drivers aged between 10 and 13 put on some very spirited racing. The four races were won by two drivers, Luke Sayre was the victor in Heat 1 and he took out the feature race while Andrew Beattie won Heats 2 and 3. At the end of the day both Luke and Andrew were tied on points and the count back system used by the NSWSKC awarded 1st place to Luke Sayre, 2nd to Andrew Beattie and lady racer, Taylor Rietdyk, was 3rd.
The Hopping’s Mowers sponsored KT Modified Light field was next out to race and the class was dominated by Nathan Bailey. During the day Nathan was able to win all 4 races and claim 1st place. The minor placings however, were very interesting with rookie P plate racer, Kyle Caunt, claiming his first podium position in 2nd and another P plate racer, Brook Briton, taking 3rd place honors.
The very competitive Clubman Heavy Class was next to face the starter. The 3 heat races saw Joel Rhind win in Heats 1 and 3 while James Camilleri took out Heat 2. The feature race was won by David Cochran. The end-of-day placings for overall points went 1st Joel Rhind, 2nd Tim Baker and 3rd Shannon Bree, another first time racer.
The largest field of the day would be next to hit the track. The Junior Class had 16 entries and cutting traffic and finding a way through the field was a difficult task all day. Such is the quality of the field, the 3 heat races and the feature had 4 different drivers come home in first place. Heat 1 was taken out by Nikki Briton, Heat 2 was won by Daniel Sayre, Heat 3 saw a win by Michael Saller and the feature was won by Katelyn Hickey. The overall points finishing positions again saw a tie and, again, the count back system was used to separate the lead two drivers. Daniel Sayre was credited with 1st; Michael Saller 2nd and 3rd place was awarded to Ayden Elliott.
The final class was the newly formed KT Modified Pro Class. This division has been formed to attract drivers into a highly competitive class of which some very seasoned and talented drivers are now part. Judging by the crowd watching the feature race, the concept has taken off and we will see this class grow throughout the year. This division gave spectators some of the fastest and closest racing all day. David Boyd took the win in Heats 1 and 3 with Wayne Baines winning Heat 2. The feature race saw David Hopping drive from the back of the field to win. The day’s standings were 1st David Hopping, 2nd David Boyd and 3rd Michael Jordan.
Other awards on the day were:
The Speedsport Media High Points Award – won by Nathan Bailey
The On Track Automotive Hard Luck Award – won by Richard Elliott
If the racing in Round 1 of the championship is anything to go by, Round 2 on 20 March -The Nepean Open - should be a great race meeting to attend.
The New South Wales Speedway Kart Club would like to thank their corporate partners for their support in 2011 -
Coghlan Oval Track Racing
Karting World
Sayre Racing
Wescranes
Hopping’s Mowers
Fire Service Plus
Stillshots
On Track Automotive
