A Day of Firsts In Ipswich
Tweetpress release
It was a day of firsts during qualifying day at Round Three of the CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE in Ipswich today.
In the Pro Gearbox (KZ2) ranks Lee Mitchener and John Grother (right, AF Images/Budd pic) broke through for their maiden heat race victories during their debuts aboard new chassis makes – Formula K (Mitchener) and Energy (Grother) respectively.
Mitchener won the opening two 15-lap heat races, while Grother was victorious in this afternoon’s final encounter.
“The Formula K kart has been very strong all day long, we haven’t had to make any major changes from the base set-up, it’s more so been minor adjustments to suit the track conditions,” said Mitchener, who will start from pole position in tomorrow’s opening final.
“It was great to get the two wins today and I feel confident we can be there or therabouts again tomorrow.”
With championship leader Kyle Ensbey suffering a couple of mechanical failures during the day, Vodafone-backed Energy kart driver Chris Hays now leads the championship for the first time in his career.
In the Pro Junior (KF3) ranks Top Kart driver Cameron Hill has taken over the championship lead by a handful of points after a two wins throughout the day – and as a result he will start on pole position for tomorrow’s opening final.
“My Top Kart has been very strong, especially during the second half of the race which is a good sign for the longer races tomorrow,” said Hill.
“After winning last round I’m not putting any pressure on myself but more so just going into tomorrow with the confidence that I know I can get the job done.”
Joseph Burton-Harris (above, leading Jake Coleman, AF Images/Budd pic) , who secured his first pole position earlier in the day, will start from the outside of the front row, while former championship leader Jake Coleman will start from fifth after an issue with his accelerator cable dropped him to 12th in heat two.
2010 Pro Light (KF1) champion Cian Fothergill chased down Fujitsu Cool driver Joseph Mawson in each of the three races to remain undefeated throughout the day.
“Qualifying didn’t quite go the way that I would have liked, I was struggling a bit for pace. Coming into the heat races we made some set-up changes which gave us some good speed late in the race and my Kosmic kart was very strong on old tyres. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” said Fothergill.
In the Challenge categories James Sera will start from pole position in the Australian Leopard Challenge while Brendan Nelson is the pacesetter aboard the new Arrow X-2 kart in the Heavy category.
Series leader James Greenwood won two of the three heat races in the Clubman category in the Yamaha Challenge.
The Stars of Karting Twitter (@starsofkarting) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/CIKStarsofKarting) will be updated regularly throughout the weekend.
Results will be posted as soon as possible after each race on the AKA results system and can be viewed by clicking here.
CIK STARS OF KARTING SERIES
presented by Castrol EDGE
Championship points after qualifying day at Round 3
PRO LIGHT (KF1)
- Daniel Rochford 328
- Adam Hughes 315
- Cian Fothergill 312
- Jake Spencer 292
- Joseph Mawson 289
- Brooke Topp 234
- Jake Parsons 231
- Tyler Greenbury 224
- Jake Klarich 216
- Jarryd Ebzery 194
- Jordan Nicolaou 190
- Luke Gabin 184
- George Geranis 174
- Peter Hollings 158
- Damian Radosevic 103
- Ben Edwards 98
- Matthew Waters 97
- Daniel Holihan 90
- Hayden Jackson 45
PRO GEARBOX (KZ2)
- Chris Hays 321
- Jason Pringle 314
- Kyle Ensbey 314
- Tyler Greenbury 297
- Lee Mitchener 264
- Matthew Wall 251
- Daniel Currey 239
- Anthony Martin 212
- Troy Bretherton 208
- Jason Faint 175
- John Grother 169
- Hayden Patrizi 163
- Leigh Nicolaou 158
- Ricky Capo 154
- Jordan Ford 149
- Troy Woolston 147
- Ben Van Ryt 133
- Chris Pratt 122
- Matthew Hunt 118
- Matthew Erdmann 117
- Daniel Price 93
- Scott Taylor 74
- Joshua Pontello 45
- Kris Trotter 41
- Michael Saller 31
- Ben Hardinge 31
- Paul Williams 30
- Matthew Bode 28
- Aaron Ivermee 28
- Mark Domaschenz 15
PRO JUNIOR (KF3)
- Cameron Hill 331
- Jake Coleman 325
- Joseph Burton-Harris 303
- Brock Plumb 296
- Thomas Randle 279
- Lachlan McHugh 258
- Joshua Smith 256
- Kurt Kostecki 229
- Dimitri Agathos 222
- Callum Walker 216
- Lachlan Gibbons 211
- Jake Klein 206
- James Abela 194
- Patrick Martin 177
- Sanae Meyland 150
- Dalton Ellery 133
- Tristan Ellery 99
- Jaxon Evans 50
YAMAHA CHALLENGE – CLUBMAN
- James Greenwood 200
- Chris Farkas 160
- Shay Mayes 140
- Brenton Simonds 136
- Daniel Nolan 133
- Leon Mramor 132
- Samantha Millar 130
- Jordan Zammit 100
- Gordon Wilson 85
- Aaron Borg 75
- Bryce Davidson 71
- Jesse Batson 68
- Alex Baker 67
- Trent Rogers 60
- Matthew Panella 60
- Matthew Southwell 49
- Michael Saller 48
- Andrew Harpas 43
- Wayne Bourke 35
- Sam Lumsden 30
- Richard Peasey 30
- Brody Chardon 30
- Adam Metcalfe 30
- Joshua Lawson 30
- Jason Burns 25
- Luke Lane 25
- Robert James 25
- Sam Houston 25
- Jarred Lane 15
AUSTRALIAN LEOPARD CHALLENGE
Leopard Light
- Jedd Stojakovic 174
- Adam Willison 140
- Iain McDougall 139
- Adam Mercer 130
- Daniel Edmonds 126
- Ben Stewart 126
- James Sera 115
- John Reynolds 103
- Pierce Lehane 85
- Sam Taylor 77
- Mitchell Hewitt 73
- Mathew Nipperess 69
- Brett Fortainer 69
- Ryan Rannard 63
- George Gutierrez 60
- Mitchell Tulich 51
- Samuel Kelly 48
- Scott Kissock 43
- Patrick Carter 40
- James Macken 30
- Sam Taylor 30
- Holly Patrizi 30
- James Reid 30
- Joshua Crossingham 30
- Jeremy Landt 30
- Peter Richards 30
- John Tatnell 25
- Robin Petersen 25
Leopard Heavy
- Michael Griffiths 170
- Gaven Whitmore 165
- Travis Martin 161
- Steven Lintott 136
- Scott Goldman 135
- Matthew Boylan 133
- Michael Hazelton 110
- Matthew Nicholson 81
- Paul Pittam 70
- Elle Brydon 62
- Aaron Lawrence 54
- Simon Layne 41
- Brendan Nelson 30
- Scott Howard 30
- Luke Kersnovske 30
- Patrick Mather 30
- Michael Doherty 25
- Klinton Hancey 25
Above: Harrington Doyle Racing's Brooke Topp during the Pro Light (KF1) action (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: RK Karts Australia driver James Macken in the Australian Leopard Challenge (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: The large field of Junior National competitors in the Yamaha Challenge (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: Jason Burns and Chris Farkas leading the way in the Clubman category (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: Joseph Mawson qualified fastest in Pro Light (KF1) (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: Formula K Australia driver Lee Mitchener on his way to the Pro Gearbox (KZ2) pole position (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Above: Top Gun Racing's Joseph Burton-Harris qualified fastest in Pro Junior (KF3) (Pic: AF Images/Budd)