Dodge & Stankovic Lead The Way In Yamaha Challenge
press release
In four weeks time, the Grand Final of the 2011 CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE will fire into action at the Mount Sugarloaf Raceway near Newcastle, NSW.
In the Yamaha Challenge categories, it’s Cairns driver Lydon Dodge (right, AF Images/Budd pic) and Sydney youngster Stefan Stankovic (Padstow Heights, NSW) who lead the way in the Clubman and Junior National categories respectively.
Entering the penultimate round in late July, Dodge held a 50-point lead at the top of the standings courtesy of some impressive performances aboard his Kart City-prepared CRG kart during the opening three rounds.
However, when he failed to finish the main event in round four he saw his buffer over Aaron Borg (Minchenbury, NSW) diminish to a mere eight points.
“The last round was just one of those weekend’s were simply nothing went right, I just couldn’t get the kart to react the way that I wanted to and then I crashed out in the final heat and again in the final – it was a disaster,” said Dodge.
“It was a weekend that I think I’d rather forget but the best thing is I’m still in the lead and still have the opportunity to win. Now, with the New South Wales State Championships at Newcastle two weeks before the final round of the series I’ll be using that event as a very intense testing session for the Yamaha Challenge.”
Dodge’s DNF in the round four main event at has also allowed his CRG team-mate (Orange, NSW) Brett Robinson to move within 23 points of the title lead.
“Both Aaron (Borg) and Brett (Robinson) are very strong competitors, especially in New South Wales, and having the two rounds at Newcastle will probably give them a bit of an advantage. However, I’ll be out there giving it my best next month,” said Dodge.
With a trip to compete in Japan on the line for the series victor courtesy of the Yamaha Motor Company Australia, Dodge believes that only having a slender lead could actually help him to focus on securing the biggest prize of his career.
“All year I’ve been simply trying to take one round at a time and going into the last round with a 50 point lead I may have started to get ahead of myself with people talking to me about what would happen when I won,” said Dodge.
“I’m trying to keep it all out of my head and now being only eight points in front could actually be a godsend, as I won’t have people saying I’ve got it in the bag. I really have to focus and work for it if I’m going to win.”
Throughout the opening four rounds, Stankovic and fellow Sydneysider (Mt Vernon, NSW) James Abela have battled intensely for the points lead in the Junior National category.
A pair of victories in the pre-final and final at the most recent round elevated Stankovic into the points lead, while two sixth place finishes dropped Abela to second, 20 points adrift of his title rival.
Following the leading duo in the standings is James Duckworth (Wattle Grove, NSW), Callum Walker (Cornubia, QLD) and Mitchell Kennedy (Freemans Reach, NSW) in the chase for the title won by Queenslander (Caloundra, QLD) Mitchell Gee in 2010.
The fifth, and final, round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE will be hosted by the North Shore Kart Club at the Mt Sugarloaf Raceway in Newcastle on October 15/16.
An hour-long television package, focusing on the championship decider, will be broadcast on SPEED (Foxtel 505) later this year.
