NSW TaG Super Series Lights Up At Manning Valley
Tweetby Sam Taylor
- update - TaG Super Series point score HERE.
Manning Valley Kart Club hosted the 1st round of the NSW TAG Super Series on Saturday the 25th of February. The event attracted large fields with 114 entrants from all over NSW. The NSW TAG Super Series is run throughout the state and is offered only to high performance 125cc engines.
The Manning Valley Kart Club members have put in a huge effort in upgrading the track facilities for this event. The track now boasts a new control tower as well as updated canteen facilities which were erected during the Christmas period and contributed to the smooth running of this event. Many competitors began practicing at the track on Friday to begin tuning their race setup. The Manning Valley Kart Club also offered regular club day classes to ensure the casual racers didn’t miss out on the action.
Race proceedings began at 1.00pm with all entrants managing to get in some quality practice before racing commenced. Qualifying and heat races were held during the afternoon, whilst finals were run during the evening under lights. Manning Valley is one of very few tracks which have the capacity to race during the night period and local knowledge proved crucial during these tricky conditions.
Manning Valley Kart Club is licensed as a bi-directional circuit and the choice was made to run this event in an anticlockwise direction. Racing was close and competitive, with many high profile racers finding the local drivers a serious challenge. Being the beginning of the racing season, many drivers launched new machinery ready for the year ahead.
Daniel Austin of Newcastle showed superior speed in the Cadets class and took a well deserved victory. He was kept honest by local boys Jordan Poynting and Jake Horsey who finished second and third respectively. These drivers showed great maturity and raced cleanly at high speeds despite being under ten years of age.
The Rookies category was a dose of the usual with Taree’s St Joseph’s Primary School student Kody Garland yet again dominated the competition. This young boy from Tinonee has a bright future in motorsport and is a local favourite due to his laidback attitude. Connor Baldwin was impressive on his way to second and continues to close the gap to Garland at each and every event. Third place was taken out by Newcastle’s Harrison Kilpatrick who is the current NSW C grade champion.
In the Junior National Light class it was a case of girls versus boys. Local hotshot and club champion Todd Stocks made sure the boys won the gender battle by winning the class convincingly. Port Macquarie resident Alex Ramsay drove well to finish second, demonstrating why he is a member of the Australian endurance kart championship winning team. Charlotte Poynting ensured that the girls were well represented and took home the last piece of silverware in her new Arrow kart. Jordan Greedy of Newcastle did well to compete with the lighter drivers and took home first place in Junior National Heavy.
The Senior National Light division was a battle of the locals. Royce Sutherland took a clear win ahead of Brad Drury. These two have shared wins throughout 2011 and it looks to be shaping up the same for the 2012 season. Michael Sutherland could not match his brother’s performance despite a few updates to his kart and finished a credible third. Peter Jolly was the single entrant in the Senior National Heavy division and was merged with the lighter drivers.
TAG100 was dominated over the weekend by Pacific Palms resident Stephen Barnett. Barnett took a comprehensive win over Darren Chick. Iain Sutherland used a borrowed a kart to debut in the class over the weekend and walked away with the third place trophy.
In the Clubman Light division, Brock Greedy took the win as he did at the Dave Hamnett Memorial back in December. He didn’t have it all his own way though with Cameron Godbee pushing him hard to a second place finish. The number 91 kart of Michael Varcoe finished an impressive third in the competitive field. Taree’s Braydon McFawn made his debut in seniors and took out the Clubman Heavy division.
The TAG Super Series classes produced some very impressive racing and many of the circuit records were broken throughout Saturday. TAG Restricted Light had 18 entrants who fought hard over Manning Valley’s 650 metre bitumen circuit.
Lithgow racer Michael Sieders showed why he is the 2011 TAG Super Series class champion by taking out qualifying followed by every race on offer. Italkart kart team driver Benjamin Hellyer raced consistently and was well rewarded with a second place finish in the final. It was unlucky times for Ricki Bunt who figured at the pointy end of the field all day but could only manage ninth in the 12 lap final. Newcastle BRM driver Scott Johnston finished third after some tough heat racers. Unfortunately, Manning Valley’s Jamie Loersch failed to make the podium but still finished an impressive fourth place. Special mention to P plate driver Matthew Kenneth who finished a sensational seventh in the final after starting all races from the rear of the 18 kart grid.
TAG Restricted Heavy was far less predictable with four different race winners. The final was a nail bitting event which could have gone so many ways. Newcastle’s CRG driver Peter Drain took the win, despite carrying a weight disadvantage. He led home Steven Vegh who was the pacesetter for much of the day’s proceedings. Phil Middleton proved too fast for the rest and took an excellent third place ahead of Michael Lawrence who did well to recover from some early carnage. Manning Valley local driver Adam Vickers finished in a well deserved 6th spot in the 18 kart field. Sydney resident and TAG Super Series coordinator Phil Warder managed to finish a strong 7th whilst still attending to his off-track duties.
In the TAG Restircted Super Heavy class, Manning Valley members were supporting local drivers Robert Garland and Andrew Poynting. Garland started well by qualifying on pole and racing strong before a rib injury forced him to the sidelines. Poynting was plagued with engine issues throughout the day and never challenged for the lead. David Robinson made clear that he was the man to beat early on and it remained that way for the rest of the event. He was followed home by Lee Gardiner in second and David Jones in third.
The 125cc Sportsman classes are the most competitive classes on offer in the TAG Super series. In the Sportsman Light class there were 18 entrants who were each capable of producing top quality results. Manning Valley’s star driver Andrew Mitchell made his debut in the class on Saturday and produced a flawless performance. Mitchell used his local track knowledge to his advantage and managed to win all races convincingly setting a new lap record in the process. Liam Ferry of Newcastle raced using borrowed equipment at the event and quickly adapted to the new machinery finishing in a fantastic second place. Ferry had former Taree kart racer Jarrad Corney assisting him with setup. Corney is soon to commence racing Formula Ford and Manning Valley Kart Club would like to wish him all the best for the future. Tonykart pilot and Sydney based driver Josh Attard finished third in the Sportsman Light Category ahead of last year’s series champion Mitchell Hewitt. Former lap record holder Mitchell Tulich from Newcastle finished an impressive sixth place.
Sportsman Heavy was far from dominated by one driver. Each driver in the 13 kart field was capable of finishing on the podium. Manning Valley’s Trevor Mutton struggled with kart setup early in the day and was unable to bridge the gap to the front runners come final time. Runaway Motorsport’s Matt Endres had been fast all day and waited patiently to make a move for the final and took a clear win ahead of Sam Taylor. Endres broke the class lap record in the concluding stages of the final when conditions were best. A fast finishing Benjamin Richie took third after starting further back on the grid. It was unfortunate that early pace setter and heat race winner Blake Haswell was forced to retire due to a puncture early in the final.
The event concluded at 9.30pm with competitors enjoying a free BBQ during the trophy presentation. Many of the competitors camped at the circuit before heading back on track Sunday to do some further testing.
Manning Valley Kart Club is located at the Wingham Sporting Complex on Comboyne Road. The next event will be run 25/3/12 with all competitors and spectators welcome. The next round of the TAG Super Series will be held at Lithgow in mid April.
