Sunday Report - Pro Tour Melbourne
Tweetpress release - full results on AKA CM:s
The final day of racing from Rotax Pro Tour Todd Road provided plenty of surprises and exciting racing spread across the six classes and 172 competitors that attended the second round of the 2011/12 Rotax Pro Tour.
The main focus was on the hotly contested Rotax Light. With only 39 grid spots available for the Pre-Final and Final, 11 drivers failed to make the cut.
The Pre-Final over 16 laps became a three horse race between multiple Australian champion and 2011 Rotax World Finalist, David Sera, fellow World Finalist Pierce Lehane and Daniel Rochford. Sera led the early stages, but issues with bottom end power that troubled him in qualifying looked like they re-appeared when Lehane took him mid way through to take the lead, followed by Rochford. Lehane would win the Pre-Final and keep his winning record from the weekend intact.
Above: Daniel Rochford, now aboard Kosmic, leads Rotax Light
pic - IKD
In the Final, the roles were reversed at the start when Rochford got the jump from Lehane and Sera. The trio was in close company for most of the race before Rochford took charge and opened enough of a gap to take out the 24 lap Final from Lehane, Sera, Pro Tour Canberra winner, Joey Mawson and Josh De Maio.
Rotax Heavy was another master class demonstration by Troy Woolston. The Australian champion, who also raced in DD2 throughout the weekend, had dominated each of the heat races and despite the best efforts Aaron Rintoul, Rick Pringle and Daniel Richert, they couldn’t catch him in the Pre-Final, which he won by over three seconds.
The story was the same in the 24 laps final, but it wasn’t without drama. Shortly after the completion of lap two, Chris Board was involved in a rollover after touching a fellow competitor in a racing incident. Landing on his head, the initial thought was that he had been unconscious, but was only winded and got on his feet after a few minutes and taken to hospital for a precautionary checkup. Once the race resumed, Woolston took command and made a clean sweep from Rintoul and Richert.
Junior Max had been the domain of Liam McLellan throughout the heat races and some intense competition from Jaxon Evans, James Golding, Mitchell Gee and Mitchell Griffin could not stop him. That was until the Pre-Final, which Jaxon Evans took out convincingly after taking the race lead just after half distance. McLellan finished second ahead of Griffin, Andrew Kahl and Golding.
The 24-lap final was another intense affair between McLellan, Evans and Griffin with McLellan taking charge from the get go. Evans threw plenty on the Arrow Kart driver, but got gobbled up when Luke Marquis got through for second, thus starting a chain reaction for others to push Evans down the order. Evans would finish fifth behind Golding. McLellan would hold Marquis to take the win with Griffin taking third.
Above: Arrow mounted Liam McLellan, Jnr MAX winner, here leading Thomas Randle (FA), James Golding (Wright), and Mitchell Gee
pic - IKD
Picking a winner from the 17 drivers entered in Rotax Over 40s was not as easy as it looked. Dean Penrose and Steven Johnson shared the spoils of class wins during the heat races on the Saturday and the choice to find a winner for the Final wasn’t made any easier in the Pre-Finals. Dean Penrose would take out the 16-lap race whilst defending some close racing from the likes of Johnson, Darren Day, Shane Karandrews and Nick Karmalis, who found some speed after an indifferent Saturday.
The Final was an eventful affair. Karmalis took command in the opening few corners until he was involved in an incident one third of the way through the first lap and retired, ending any chance of a decent result. This allowed Karandrews to pounce when some of the frontrunners struck trouble, eventually taking the lead just after the half way mark. On lap 17, the race was stopped after Barry Laver and Julian Watts collected each other whilst battling for ninth and flipped over. Both drivers emerged uninjured and walking about soon after. The race was declared after 17 laps with Karandrews taking the Final from Johnson and Mark Poole in third.
Hamish Leighton took full command of DD2 Masters from the moment the heat races began. He took all three victories before continuing his domination in the Pre-Final. Rotax World Finalist Brent Coghlan showed to many why he drove well in Dubai and crossed the line second in the Pre-Final, but was excluded when his transponder came loose and fell off, relegating him to the rear of grid. Tony Prendergast was elevated to second in the standing with Paul Mapperson moving up to third.
Coghlan was determined to make amends in the 24-lap Final and charged through the field, hounding down Jose Ruiz, Scott Connole and Cameron Harch, who sat for third for the most part. Harch got loose on the back straight and went back two spots before regaining to fifth. In the end, Leighton made it a clean sweep in DD2 Masters, ahead of Prendergast and Coghlan.
Tyler Greenbury, who showed terrific pace throughout the weekend and put the likes of Kyle Ensbey, Jason Pringle, Troy Bretherton and Pro Tour Canberra winner Troy Woolston on notice, dominated DD2. Greenbury took out each of the heat races before taking total command in the 16-lap Pre-Final ahead of Pringle and Bretherton.
In the Final, the main focus was on the battle between Pringle, Ensbey, Bretherton and Woolston, who had struggled for pace throughout the weekend. Ensbey missed the start and fell to fourth behind Bretherton, who managed to keep Ensbey at bay through the entire race duration. The battles behind him allowed Greenbury to drive a clean and consistent race and take out the Final from Pringle and Bretherton, until Bretherton was excluded in post-event scrutineering for being underweight, allowing Ensbey to finish third.
The next event on the Rotax Pro Tour is Rotax Pro Tour Gympie on March 23-25, 2012.