Ipswich Karting - July Races & Other News

from John Goddard

The Ipswich committee and their small group of helpers and officials have been very busy over the past couple of weeks after a long 3 month break from racing.

Round 3 of the CIK Stars of Karting series was a very successful meeting held at Ipswich on the 16th and 17th of June.  CIK showcases the pinnacle of kart racing in the professional way the meetings are promoted and run and the high level of skill and commitment from the participants and the officials. A wrap of the meeting was published at the time of the event HERE.


Above: TaG Light lining up at Ipswich - eventual winner Bodine Aantrobus (16), Luke Baldry (6), Troy Leoskow (17), Matthew Goddard (81), Thomas Pomrpy (19) and Scott Gray (7).

I had earphones on for both days of competition; it gave me an insight into the care taken by a highly proficient group of stewards who at all times had the best interests of the competitors at heart. Because of the driver talent and experience on display, the stewards were not as busy as I have seen them at your average club meeting but all incidents that I was aware of were dealt with swiftly and fairly.      

President Ashley Waardenberg could not speak highly enough of the support shown to the club by everyone involved, but emphasized the efforts of Lee Hanatschek and his organisation of the meeting.

At drivers brief Ashley said “Lee is an absolute asset to karting and its great to know that the CIK organising committee is doing their best to lift the profile of karting in Australia”.


Above: Between races, the social side of karting kicks in

Club Secretary Vacancy

Ipswich Club Secretary Andrea McKay is resigning in July and will leave a big hole in the club committee, filling both the secretary and race secretary positions. Andrea has done a massive job for the club and will she will be sorely missed, not just for all the great work she has done, but because of her genuine interest in helping karters enjoy the sport and all the friendships associated. Our thanks go out to her and the best of wishes for her future adventures.

There is a weekly remuneration for the right person who ticks all the boxes for this job so if you are interested, please email Andrea, secretary@ipswichkartclub.org.au or Ashley,  president@ipswichkartclub.org.au.  The ideal situation would be for someone with experience in an organisation like Ipswich Kart Club and someone that could start immediately (giving Andrea the opportunity to train someone while she is still at the club) but the committee is flexible and keen to get someone on board.

The Race Meeting

Most Ipswich meetings are Saturday “day-night” meetings but this time we had something different. The classes dropped were Cadets and Rookies and because they are always large fields, the numbers were down on the last meeting but we still had 144 competitors turn up for a rare Sunday “Day” meeting.

The family and social side of karting is what the sport is all about to some people and it was never more evident than at Ipswich on Sunday.


Above: The floor of the trailer comes in handy when the Little Ones crash for some Zzzs

The weather had been wet and miserable for most of the previous week but on Saturday morning and right on cue, the sun shone and the temperature soared from around 6 degrees in the morning to a beautiful 23 degrees.

The track was the full track but in the reverse way of going (anti clockwise) so that’s probably why there were so many at practice on Saturday trying to nail a setup with their heads spinning in the opposite direction.

Gary Webb, Greg Lloyd and the rest of their stewards did a terrific job at getting the meeting rolling and keeping it going at a blisteringly fast pace.

I couldn’t believe how soon our races came round, our final was finished by 3.15pm and there were only a few following us. It was a cracking pace with no holdups. Everyone got plenty of racing and got home at a reasonable hour. Great work to everyone involved.

RACE REPORT

Junior National Light
Jordan Kidas started the day well with a solid win in the first heat but William Brown came back strongly and took out JNL after winning heat 2, the pre final and final. Kidas was second with Joshua Davey showed his talent with a very consistent display, scoring 3 seconds and then a third in the final.

Kevin Sinclair was also very consistent and is fast finding form in this class finishing 4th. There were 21 entries in the class and it just shows how strong karting will be in the future here at Ipswich.

Junior National Heavy
A field of 14 kids hit the track in JNH but it was Nicholas Andrews who showed everyone a clean pair of heels to take out all 4 races in commanding style.

Jack AhQuay finished second with and was very consistent with 4 second places followed by Matthew Kennedy in third. Again it was a good field of juniors and that augers well for the future of karting.

Clubman Light
Boy was this a competitive field, throwing up 3 different winners in the 4 races. There was a lot of close racing and lead changes and for much of the meeting you could throw a blanket over most of the field.

The very competitive Alexandra Whitley had the wood on the men with a win in the second heat and the final giving her the first place trophy and ramming it home to the guys that she will not be intimidated. Nicholas Dalton won the pre final and finished the day second with Christopher Jeffery finishing third after winning the first heat.

I am not an expert but I think it is about time Pete Nolloth bought himself a set of tires or maybe we could all chip in for him. Last year’s Qld State Title tires are no longer doing the job mate and just quietly, MG Reds are not meant to last 8 meetings and 5 practice days.

CLUBMAN HEAVY/ OVER 40
The old stager Gary Scott has done it again, he caned the opposition except in the pre final when Paul Brackam showed some of his guile from many years of karting when Scotty got in his way. Brackam took out the race with Scotty left licking his wounds on the side of the track, but Scott came back hard in the final to catch and pass Brackam with three laps remaining.

The sneaky old reprobate had his kart set up to catch the front runners by mid race and then pick them off one by one. He achieved that goal and I am guessing that Scotts bum was tightly clenched in the last couple of laps because his kart was going “off” but he just hung on for the win from Brackam and Amundsen.

Craig Amundsen was his usual fast and consistent self and finished third overall for the day. Gee the over 40s are fun to watch, it’s so intense, head down, leaning into the corners, going hard, almost like every race is going to be their last.

Tag 125 Light
 You can't help but think that the formula must be right as once again a twenty strong field of competitors fronted up for round four on the weekend. Ryan Sponseller, who won round one, blew his race engine, on Sunday he borrowed an engine and it took him and his pit crew most of the day to get a handle on it. He came from the rear of the field to 6th place in the final. First time appearance for Bundaberg's Troy Loeskow in the Leopard saw him put in some impressive performances.


Above: Matt Goddard's view fo Bodine Antrobus chasing Luke Baldry

Matt Goddard, having his last drive for a while due to work commitments, had an up and down day with a DNF in the second heat, shuffling him back in the field for the pre-final. Goddard finished the day strongly in the final for a 3rd to just miss out on a podium position for the day. He was followed in by Thomas Pomroy and Scott Gray.

Luke Baldry caught fastest qualifier Bodine Antrobus off guard in heat one, Baldry took the win and looked threatening all day but Antrobus dug in to win the next three races running away to take the honors. Baldry was second overall and Loeskow third. Well done everyone.

Les Antrobus

Senior National  - 150kg
In any class respect and trust is important, more so in J racing because the SL tyres are low grip. J racing is always close so all the competitors rely on each other when racing nose to tail, that’s what makes this class so good to watch, close racing, lead changes and sliding passes.

This was a strong field of with the leading contenders being Blake Worboys, Richard Dimmock, Alexandra Whitley, Ethan O’Farrell, Oliver Etter, and Keishi Ayukai. The winner could have come from anyone of them. As usual the racing was close with Worboys winning heat one from Dimmock and Whitley. Heat two saw Dimmock get his act together with a strong win from Etter and Worboys with Whitley a close 4th.

In the pre final it was on, Dimmock lead for most of the first 7 laps but on the last lap Etter took the win after his foot inexplicably got caught under his brake pedal. Regrettably for the race leader, Etter’s braking mistake resulted in Dimmock being sent spinning out of the race and left him to lament what might have been.

In the final, Blake Worboys was fast, taking the win from Etter with Whitley third in another close race. The final result was a thoroughly deserved win for the respected Blake Worboys, Etter second with Richard Dimmock third.

TaG Restricted Light
Well, the big field in TaG Restricted Light showed that not even the chilly morning would keep them away, after a 3 month break from racing at Ipswich, everyone was keen to get back on the track. With 27 entrants it was set to be a day of tough competition, Robert Hackwood took first place with a win in 2 of the races, Blake Worboys took second after a DNF in the first heat pushed him back down the grid for the pre-final and Domenic Mesiti with a consistent drive, took third.

Donnelle Waldon

RESULTS

CLASS

FIRST

SECOND

THIRD

JUNIOR NATIONAL LIGHT

William Brown

Jordan Kidas

Joshua Davey

JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY

Nicholas Andrews

Jack Ah Quay

Matthew Kennedy

CLUBMAN LIGHT

Alexandra Whitley

Nicholas Dalton

Christopher Jeffery

CLUBMAN HEAVY/O 40’S

Gary Scott

Paul Brackam

Craig Amundsen

TAG 125 LIGHT

Bodine Antrobus

Luke Baldry

Troy Loeskow

TAG 125 HEAVY

Daniel Creed

Scott Howard

Klinton Hancey

SENIOR NATIONAL @ 150KG

Blake Worboys

Oliver Etter

Richard Dimmock

TAG RESTRICTED HEAVY

Kerry Allston

Craig Holmwood

David Douglas

TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT

Robert Hackwood

Blake Worboys

Domenic Mesiti

 

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