Ipswich's Final Race Event For 2014
| by Geoff Salmon – Sportsvoice | 14 January 2015 |
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IPSWICH KART CLUB, 29th NOVEMBER 2014
- Round 9 Club Championship
- Round 6 SEQ JMAX TITLES 2014
A beautiful day welcomed 160 drivers with spanner men, families and friends to the last race meeting for 2014 at the Ipswich Kart Club. The feature class for the day was the SEQ JMAX Series Round 6, the final round of a Series that has been running all year throughout the South East of Queensland and with a total of 34 drivers participating this year, the carry on Series from the Inaugural 2013 SEQ JMAX Titles has proven to be very popular indeed.
A total of fourteen drivers attended the last round and the racing was superb, the format as it has been throughout the year, Qualifying over 6 minutes, one heat of racing over 12 laps, prefinal over 15 laps and a final only to count over 20 laps.
After qualifying the heat grid positions were as follows: Pole Cameron Shields (#73) 50.133; P2 Daniel Plant (#12) 50.285; P3 Joshua Davey (#83) 50.338; P4 William Brown (#99) 50.439; P5 Rhys Astley (#65) 50.569; P6 Zak Hudson (#18) 50.586; P7 Harrison Hoey (#97) 50.605; P8 Sebastian Blindell (#36) 50.703; P9 Nathan Hadlow (#8) 51.321; P10 Max Adams (#7) 51.436; P11 Karla Curtis (#25) 51.446; P12 Luke Van Herwaarde (#11) 51.488; P13 Eyrn Osborne (#31) 51.700; P14 Jamie Gillan (#19) 51.816 second lap, with 1.683 seconds separating the 14 drivers we certainly were in for something special.
JMax Heat. (12 laps)
With Shields and Plant starting from the head of the grid we watched the 14 youngsters race away to complete the first lap, Shields led the first two laps before Davey took over, behind these two came Plant from fourth after 2 laps to move past Astley for third, Brown sixth after the first lap and dropping back to eighth on the second, then back to seventh for two laps before passing Hudson into sixth, the race for the point still not decided with Davey holding off Shields throughout to take a win in the heat, Shields, who got the better of Davey on lap ten, before Davey was able to secure the win, Shields second, Plant in third with Brown fourth and Astley fifth, the fastest lap recorded by Shields with a time of 50.487 on lap nine.
Above: Will Brown, Harrison Hoey, Rhys Astley
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
JMAX Prefinal (15 laps)
Davey took control of the prefinal and was to lose the point position only once on lap thirteen when Shields negotiated a pass, but Davey was able to retake Shields on the following lap for the win, a comfortable third going to Plant from Brown fourth and Hoey fifth, the fastest lap recorded by Shields with a time of 50.140 on lap ten.
JMAX Final (20 laps)
The final got under way with Davey showing a distinct urgency to lead by a large margin, which he was able to accomplish for the first seven laps before dropping back to firstly second on lap eight then tenth on lap nine with a further drop back to twelfth before recording a D.N.F. on the twelfth lap, this giving Brown the opportunity to take control of the final, which he did and was to take the win with a margin of just under half a second, Shields running second with Plant in third and Hudson running fourth, Hoey holding on to fifth position, the fastest lap recorded by Daniel Plant with a time of 49.919 on lap seventeen, two other drivers dropped into the 49 second bracket, Shields with a 49.974 and Brown with a 49.929 second lap.
The overall standing for the day saw William Brown take the win from Cameron Shields in second and Daniel Plant running third, the results overall for 2014 and after points were tallied the podium was as follows; Daniel Plant winner of the 2014 SEQ JMAX Title 2014, with second place going to Rhys Astley and third to Joshua Davey, congratulations to these boys.
Above: Cam Shields, Will Brown, Dan Plant
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Above: Overall 2014 SEQ JMax Title Podium - Rhys Astley, Daniel Plant, Joshua Davey
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Cadets (29)
A great field of youngsters rolled out for the final time in 2014, after the 6 minute qualifying session the grid looked as follows: Pole Jai Brown (#9) 58/.198; P2 Thomas Cooper (#55) 58.346; P3 Bayley Douglas (#37) 58.459; P4 Luke Pink (#49) 58.623; P5 Declan Matthews (#8) 58.671; P6 Charlie Ploetz (#3) 58.700; P7 Marcos Flack (#11) 58.701; P8 Tyler Collins (#16) 58.843; P9 Chris Christensen (#53) 58.863 seconds, the top ten separated by just .6 of a second was to guarantee some great racing throughout the day.
Cadets Heat (8 laps)
Cooper was first away and held the lead throughout the 8 laps of racing, Brown able to duplicate the performance one position back in second, Douglas after securing a pass on Matthews on lap 2 able to continue the run and finish in third, fourth going to Matthews with Pink making a last lap pass on Flack for fifth, the fastest lap recorded by Declan Matthews with a time of 58.106 seconds on lap seven.
Above: Thomas Cooper, Josh Kern, Chris Christensen
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Cadets Prefinal (10 laps)
Four drivers were to feature in the prefinal, Brown, Douglas, Cooper and Pink, Cooper burst from the pack early and led the first 5 laps, being hard pushed by Brown in second, Douglas in third and Pink, Brown snatched the point on lap 6, but only held it for the one lap before Douglas took over at the point, this with Brown second and Cooper third, two laps pasted and the lead was to change again, this time with Brown regaining the lead, Douglas to second and Cooper to third, Pink meanwhile holding rear guard in fourth, throughout, after the 10 laps were completed the results of racing in the heat stood as follows; Jai Brown from Bayley Douglas then Thomas Cooper with Luke Pink fourth, the drive of the heat going to Declan Matthews 13th on lap one to finish fifth overall, the fastest lap recorded by Jai Brown with a time of 58.237 on lap five, this time would have placed him second in qualifying.
Cadets Final (13 laps)
Brown led the first lap followed by Cooper with Douglas third and Matthews fourth, positions changed on the second lap with Cooper taking point from Brown now second and Douglas still third Thomas Cooper and Matthews holding fourth, the positions changes again on the next lap with Brown taking over point with Douglas now second, third Cooper and still fourth Matthews, lap four and we see change again, Douglas holding point, second Brown, third Cooper and Matthews fourth, Douglas held the lead through laps five six and seven, with Brown second, Cooper third and Matthews fourth, lap eight and again changes with Brown back to point, second Cooper, third Matthews and fourth Douglas, Brown went on to hold point until the twelfth lap before Cooper jumped again and held point, Brown now second, third Douglas and fourth Matthews, the final lap and we see changes again, Cooper holds the point with Douglas up into second, third Matthews and fourth Luke Pink with Brown dropping to fifth, WOW what a race, the fastest lap recorded by Thomas Cooper with a time of 58.305 seconds on the fifth lap.
Above: Bayley Douglas, Thomas Cooper, Declan Matthews
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Rookies:
A field of fifteen drivers presented for qualifying and after the 6 minute session was completed the grid was as follows; Pole Gabriel Gasperak (#14) 56.854; P2 Jac Preston (#43) 56.910; P3 Ben Deissler (#78) 57.320; P4 Tristyn Martin (#85) 57.872; P5 Ben Jenkinson (#97P) 58.727; P6 Sam McCarthy (#91) 58.731; P7 Harrison Stock (#20) 59.042; P8 Jared Boys (#64) 59.124; P9 Christos Vivlios (#9) 59.140; P10 Declan Matthews (#5) 59.566 seconds, with a total of 2.712 seconds separating the first ten again we were in for some great racing.
Rookies Heat (8 laps)
Deissler jumped away and led the first four laps closely followed by Gasperak then Preston in third, fourth after passing Stock on the second lap came Martin, lap five and Gasperak jumped into point, second now Deissler with Preston third and fourth Martin, running fifth Stock, lap five saw Gasperak into the lead, Deissler now second still third Preston with Martin fourth and a great battle developing between McCarthy and Christos Vivlios for fifth and sixth with McCarthy getting the advantage, after the eight laps were completed, Gasperak took the win with Deissler in second, third going Preston with Martin fourth and McCarthy fifth, fastest lap recorded by Gabriel Gasperak with a time of 57.434 on the third lap.
Above: Ben Jenkinson, Gabriel Jasperak, Ben Deissler, Jac Preston
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Rookies Prefinal (10 laps)
Deissler led from the first lap though until the end of the prefinal and led with confidence, the gap at one stage out to as far as .9 of a second, Preston and Gasperak continuing to fight for advantage throughout for second and third with Preston jumping into second on the third lap, Gasperak snatching the position back to second on lap five before Preston was able to hold second until the end of the prefinal, Gasdperak finishing third and Martin running home in fourth, fifth going to McCarthy, fastest lap recorded by Gabriel Gasperak with a time of 57.260 on lap ten.
Rookies Final (13 laps)
Deissler again took control of the final and led throughout, Gasperak and Preston again showing true grit and determination to finish on the podium in second, and after a race long struggle Gasparak got the better of Preston just two laps from home, Preston finishing in third and again Tristyn Martin finishing fourth, a good drive from Harrison Stock who dropped as low as tenth on lap four to claw his way back for a well- earned fifth, fastest lap in the final recorded by Ben Deissler with a time of 57.197 seconds on the third lap, the margin Deissler to Gasperak a huge 3.942 seconds at the end, just the one D.N.F Bradley Balchin (#7) on lap three.
Above: Ben Deissler drove brilliantly all day to win Rookies
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Junior National Light/Heavy
A good field of 22 drivers drove onto the track for qualifying, we had one Heavy Driver Nicholas Currie (#28P) also, after the 6 minute session was completed the grid looked as follows: Pole William Brown 99) 55.467; P2 Cameron Shields (#73) 55.668; P3 Tomas Gasperak (#5) 5555.775; P4 Ryan Jordan (#27) 55.907; P5 Ryan Suhle (#4) 55.954; P6 Samuel Poulsen (#9) 56.244; P7 Damon Ash (#58) 56.402; P8 Josh Goddard (#25) 56.463; P9 Kade Vink (#22) 56.579; P10 Bailey Sagaidak (#16) 56.721 and Nicholas Currie (#28P) Junior Heavy 1.00.190 seconds in 21st.
Above: Jack Grambauer finished 11th from 22 in the Heat
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Junior National Light/Heavy Heat (10 laps)
Brown jumped well and led for the first five laps followed by Shields then Suhle in third, Shields snatched the lead on lap 6 holding point for the next 2 laps before Brown retook the position on lap 8, Shields second with Jordan now third, Suhle fourth and Poulsen finishing in fifth, Gasperak running third up until lap 6 faded back to 13th before regaining 4 positions to finish 9th, fastest lap by Ryan Suhle with a time of 55.536 on lap 9, Brieann Moyse (#72) 1 of 2 young ladies in the class finishing in 11th with a best time of 56.577 seconds in lap 3, our second young lady Taylah Agius (#23) up from Lismore finishing 18th recording a time of 58.294 seconds in lap 9 , 3 D.N.F.’s Nicholas Currie, Kade Vink and Matt Erickson.
Junior National Light/Heavy Prefinal (12 laps)
Brown again jumped away and led the first 5 laps before Suhle snatched the lead, but only for 1 lap, before Brown snagged it back again on lap 7, Gasperak 5th on lap 1, making his way forward firstly by Jordan on lap 5 then Shields on lap 10 to go on and record third, Suhle after a 1 lap visit to the front finished second the margin just .123 of a second, Shields 4th with Jordan 5th and Poulsen finishing in 6th place, fastest lap going to Will Brown a time of 55.514 on lap 11, 2 D.N.F.’s Jasper Winnett running 11th at the time completing only 3 laps and Matt Erickson not recording a time, Brieann Moyse again 11th with a best time of 56.577 on lap 3 and Taylah Agius in 19th with a best time of 58.481 on lap 2, best performer Kade Vink from 17th to finish 12th, our Junior National Heavy driver Nicholas Currie (#28P) finishing in 21st, time of 1.11.189 seconds on lap 4.
Above: Taylah Agius enjoying her day racing in JNL
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Junior National Light/Heavy Final (15 laps)
Brown led early, from Suhle then Gasperak and Shields, lap 3 and Suhle jumped into the lead, followed by Brown then Jordan and Gasperak being followed by Shields in 5th , Suhle held point for 4 laps before falling to the persistence of Brown, Jordan likewise to Gasperak and Shields still 5th, Brown held on to the second last lap before Suhle pounced again and took the win margin .189 of a second, Gasperak held 3rd with Shields taking a diving pass on the last lap to secure 4th over Jordan 5th, Poulsen with an eventful day finishing in 6th, best lap by Ryan Suhle, time 55.522 on lap 9,our Heavy driver Nicholas Currie almost making it to the finish, recorded a D.N.F. on lap 14, Brieann Moyse in 12th best time 56.862 on lap 7 and Taylah Agius unfortunately finishing with a D.N.F. along with Costello, Sagaidak, Ash, Cullinane, Thomas Shields, Winnett and Erickson, our Heavy driver Nicholas Currie finishing 15th.
Above: Junior National Podium, Will Brown, Ryan Suhle, Gabriel Gasperak
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG 125 Heavy
Fifteen first class drivers moved onto the track to contest the 6 minute qualifying session for the last race meeting of the year.
TaG 125 Heavy Qualifying:
After the 6 minute session was completed the grid for the Heat was as follows; Pole Peter Richards (#36) 50.677; P2 Klinton Hancey (#21) 50.860; P3 Steve Vidler (#4) 50.595; P4 Ashley Lester (#27) 51.100; P5 Martin Swindells (#65) 51.103; P6 Dan Creed (#9) 51.133; P7 Trent Usher (#85) 51.214; P8 Jarad Neinert(#18) 51.214; P9 Marcello Surace (#14) 51.417; P10 Gaven Whitmore (#35) 51.459 seconds; the top ten separated by just .782 of a second was too guarantee some great racing in TaG Heavy.
TaG 125 Heavy Heat (10 laps)
Hancey jumped early and led for 9 of the 10 laps chased along by Richards with Lester in third for the first 4 laps before falling victim to Creed on lap 5, who moved past Richards on lap 7 for 2nd , but only for 3 laps before again dropping back to finish in 6th, big change on the final lap with Richards in 3rd on lap 9 followed, Neinert in 5th, Swindells in 4th, Lester in 6th and Creed running 2nd, the final lap saw Peter Richards take the win from Jarad Neinert 2nd, Martin Swindells finishing 3rd with Ashley Lester in 4th and Steve Vidler in 5th, Dan Creed dropping from 2nd back to finish 6th, Klinton Hancey from 1st on lap 9 to finish 13th, the fastest lap recorded by Jarad Neinert with a time of 51.278 seconds on lap 5. Best performance award to Jarad Neinert from P8 to finish 2nd.
TaG 125 Heavy Prefinal (12 laps)
Richards jumped away well and led throughout the prefinal taking the win by a margin of 1.822 seconds over a strong second place to Martin Swindells, Gaven Whitmore driving well to finish just 770 one thousands of a second back in third, Creed finishing in 4th with Tony Knight finishing in 5th and Klinton Hancey in 6th, fastest lap to Jarad Neinert who finished 9th with a time of 51.044 recorded on lap 6 a number of D.N.F.s were recorded Craig Holmwood, Bradley Dawson and Scott James.
Above: Peter Richards came out to race and won the TaG Heavy
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG 125Heavy Final (15 laps)
Again Peter Richards led from start to finish with Klinton Hancey finishing 1.631 seconds back in second, Martin Swindells drove a well calculated 3rd just .132 of a second away, Jarad Neinert finishing the day in 4th with Dan Creed in 5th and Ashley Lester in 5th, the fastest lap by Klinton Hancey with a time of 51.023 seconds on lap 3.
TaG 125 Light
A top field of 18 drivers had fronted for the last of the year and after the 6 minute qualifying session was through the grid for the Heat was as follows: Pole James Wilkins (#5) 49.886; P2 Regan Payne (#65) 49.934; P3 Nich Dalton (#9) 49.960; P4 Chris Burley (#8) 49.982; P5 Mitch Maddren (#92) 50.057; P6 Adam Mercer (#41) 50.210; P7 Blake Brooks (#18) 50.224; P8 Troy Morrissey (#10) 50.350, P9 Trent Mercer (#39) 50.460 and P10 Luke Baldry (#6) a time of 50.462; with just .576 of a second separating the first ten this class was also one to be watched with interest.
TaG 125 Light Heat (10 laps)
Wilkins jumped cleanly away and led throughout being pushed along by Payne with Mitch Maddren (up from Juniors getting the feel – one to be watched) running in third, Adam Mercer from P6 up to finish in 4th, Dalton 2nd on the first lap dropping away to as low as 6th before gaining some ground towards the end to finish 5th, another good drive from Morrissey to finish in 6th, 7th going to Chris Burley up from Lismore as he has been doing all year, 8th Baldry, 9th Brooks and 10th Trent Mercer, equal fastest lap going to both James Wilkins and Regan Payne recording a 50. 146 second lap, Wilkins on lap 9 and Payne on lap 4, three more Juniors now up into Seniors for their first competitive run and “getting the feel” of some real horsepower, Blake Brooks running 9th with James Litzow and Brock Lannoy finishing 12th and 13th respectively, welcome to the big time boys, two D.N.F.’s Kris Usher and Ed Wilkins.
TaG 125 Light Prefinal (12 laps)
Regan Payne jumped out of the blocks and took control of the prefinal from start to finish, the race saw some interesting developments throughout with lap 2 seeing Tom Davidson dropping all the way back to 16th giving a number of drivers a free pass including Blake Brooks (remember first run since moving up from juniors) into 10th, Brock Lannoy (another junior first run) into 11th then Kyle Zink 12th, Jacob Bright 13th, James Litzow back to 14th and Kris Usher up one to 15th, lap 3 and James Wilkins moved to 4th, Troy Morrissey now 5th, Nicholas Dalton running in 6th with Luke Baldry now 7th, Chris Burley up into 8th with Blake Brooks continuing his forward motion now 9th, Trent Mercer dropping to the last spot in the top ten, Ed Wilkins up one spot to 16th with Tom Davidson now 17th, lap 4 and James Litzow makes up one spot, Jacob Bright now 14th, lap 5 gap Payne to Mercer now 1.269 seconds with a further .320 of a second back to Mitch Maddren (another junior into the senior ranks) lap 6 and Trent Mercer drops to 17th, Bock Lannoy now 10th, Kyle Zink 11th, James Litzow 12th, Jacob Bright 13th, Kris Usher 14th, Ed Wilkins 15th and Tom Davidson 16th, lap 7 Kris Usher into 13th, Ed Wilkins now 14th, Tom Davidson up one additional position as well, Trent Mercer D.N.F.’s along with Jacob Bright, gap Payne to Mercer now 1.877 seconds, lap 8 James Wilkins moves into 3rd Maddren back to 4th, Burley to 7th, Baldry 8th, no change elsewhere, lap 9 no change throughout gap Payne to Mercer 2.374 seconds, lap 10 Luke Baldry fights back into 7th, Chris Burley now 8th, gap Payne to Mercer remains constant, James Wilkins just .792 of a second back in third, lap 11 and Wilkins snatches back a tenth off Mercer, at the completion of the 12th lap Regan Payne takes the win by 1.937 seconds over Adam Mercer in second and James Wilkins a further .342 of a second away in third, fastest lap by James Wilkins a time of 50.098 seconds on lap 5.
Above: Regan Payne followed by Nicholas Dolton in the final of TaG Light
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG 125 Light Final (15 laps)
The final got under way and no one was going to deny Regan Payne from a win on the last day of racing at Ipswich for 2014, he led from start to finish with a massive gap of 8.102 seconds over the field at the end of the 15 laps, not so easy for the minor placing’s with Mitch Maddren, Nicholas Dolton and Adam Mercer fighting tooth and nail over these positions throughout, Maddren 4th on the first lap with Mercer second and Dalton 3rd, lap 2 Maddren to 3rd, Mercer 4th and Dalton 2nd,lap 4 and this trio remained as is for 2 laps before more changes took place, Mercer moved into second, but only for a lap Maddren fighting to take 2nd on the following lap, it wasn’t until lap 10 that we watched Dalton running 4th move into 2rd relegating Maddren back to 3rd with Mercer now 4th, meanwhile Baldry and Burley duelling over 5th and 6th, Baldry as high as 4th on lap 12 with Dalton back to 5th, before dropping back to finish in behind Chris Burley who finished 5th, Dalton being able to get the better of Baldry on the following lap to finish in 4th, Adam Mercer seeing the final out in 3rd with a gap of 1.152 seconds between himself and Mitch Maddren (one to watched in the future) finishing in 2nd, the fastest lap went to our winner Regan Payne with a time of 50.024 seconds recorded on the 12th lap.
TaG Restricted Light.
A field of 12 drivers presented themselves for the 6 minute qualifying session and at the completion the grid for the Heat was as follows; Pole Alex Ransom (#24) 51.683, P2 Dean Weigman (#76) 52.021; P3 Ryan Mussell (#46) 52.122; P4 Trent Cossor (#50) 52.128 and P5 Greg Gallagher (#92) with a time of 52.252 seconds, we were as usual in for some great viewing in this class.
TaG Restricted Light Heat (10 laps)
Weigman jumped well and led throughout the Heat from Ransom, who, faded back to 5th in the first 2 laps before passing Orders for 4th then Cossor for 2nd, Cossor staring well to hold 2nd for the first 5 laps before falling foul of Ransom on lap 5, the trio went on to record 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Heat, Dean Weiman with an advantage of 1.547 seconds at the completion of the 10 laps from Alex Ransom then Trent Cossor with Ryan Mussell in 4th and Chris Orders holding onto 5th, fastest lap went to Alex Ransom with a time of 52.084 seconds recorded on the 9th lap.
TaG Restricted Light Prefinal (12 laps)
Dean Weigman took advantage early and was not headed throughout the prefinal, Alex Ransom had to do some work to achieve 2nd, 4th for the first 3 laps before moving past Chris Orders for 3rd then with the demise of Trent Cossor on lap 8 moving up into 2nd, meanwhile Chris Orders after dropping back into 4th on lap 5 went past Ryan Mussell on the 9th lap to finish in 3rd, 4th going to Ryan Mussell and 5th Matt Weatherley, the fastest lap went to Dean Weigman with a time of 51.856 on the 10th lap, Greg Gallagher recording a D.N.F. on lap 2 with Tim Ovens not recording a time.
Above: TaG Restricted Light podium, Alex Ransom, Dean Weigman and Chris Orders
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG Restricted Light Final (15 laps)
Dean Weigman was to continue his winning day in the final and was untroubled to take the win by a margin of 7.192 seconds over the 15 laps, Alex Ransom finishing in 2nd (this young man is one to keep an eye on in the future) 3rd was eagerly fought for between Chris Orders and Ryan Mussell, who running 3rd for the first 13 laps finally gave in to the persistence of Chris Orders to finish 4th, Orders 3rd, with Trent Cossor finished 5th, the fastest time went to Dean Weigman with a 51.547 second 11th lap, all drivers finished the final.
Above: A fabulous night photograph of Dean Weigman
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG Restricted Heavy
This class never disappoints and a great field of 29 drivers rolled out for the 6 minute qualifying session and at the completion of the allocated time the grid for the Heat was as follows; Pole Stephen Wilkinson (#6) (continues to impress), 52.678; P2 Perry Evans (#51) 52,858; P3 Brett Minett (#2) 52.998; P4 Rick Franzolini (#9) 53.094; (great improvement over the past 12 months from this young man) P5 Andrew Gibson (#56) 53.140; P 6 Ben McCombie (#93) 53.169; P7 Chris Were (#47) 53.196; P8 Chris Meek (#77) 53.199; P9 Ben Rodgers (#11) 53.211 and P10 going to Damian Godley (#69) 53.224 seconds.
TaG Restricted Heavy Heat (10 laps)
The Heat got under way with Perry Evans leading the first lap followed by Steve Wilkinson and then Brett Minett, Wilkinson moved into the lead on the 2nd lap with Perry Evans in close company, Brett Minett following this pair, 4th Ben Rodgers and Rick Franzolini running in 5th,Wilkinson went on to win the Heat from Ben Rodgers 2nd and Andrew Gibson 3rd, Evans and Minett had a great battle which lasted for 7 laps before Evans dropped all the way back to 17th, Minett back to 7th, fighting back to gain one additional spot finishing up in 6th, Evans doing the same thing gaining one spot to finish 16th, a good drive from Ben McCombie to drive through from 9th to finish in 4th, Franzolini dropping two spots finishing 7th, fastest lap going to Brett Minett with a time of 53.183 in the 5th lap, Minett finishing in 6th.
Above: Ben Rodgers (#11) in close company with Chris Were (#47 - note crushed side pod)
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
TaG Restricted Heavy Prefinal (12 laps)
Some close racing was to be the order of the day for the prefinal, Ben Rodgers getting the best of it, from 4th on the 1st lap, Andrew Gibson led the 1st lap with Steve Wilkinson 2nd, (these two only making the completion of that lap) Brett Minett only lasting three laps before retiring, Damian Godley took advantage of this, moving into second from 8th on lap one then through to 3rd on the second lap and was to remain there for the remainder of the prefinal, Ben McCombie 5th on lap one and racing hard against Chris Were throughout with Paul Buchanan and Mark Keiler also in the mix, eventually McCombie after an ongoing battle throughout the prefinal got the better of both Chris Were and Mark Keiler to record a fine 3rd, Were, 4th with Keiler finishing in 5th, good drive from Paul Nunn 21st to finish 11th, 2st going to Ben Rodgers by 2.478 seconds over Damian Godley then a further 3.619 seconds back to Ben McCombie in third, fastest lap going to Mark Keiler with a time of 53.137 on lap 12, big D.N.F. list Mark Van Bilson, Craig Lynch, Brett Minett, Andrew Gibson, Steve Wilkinson, Shane Rixon and Ben Jenkinson not recording a time.
TaG Resrticted Heavy Final (15 laps)
The final to be run over 15 laps was to prove to be interesting to say the least, at the front not too much of a problem for Ben Rodgers to continue his winning way with a fine win, but, only just from Ben McCombie by the smallest of margins just .128 of a second with Damian Godley a further .370 of a second away in third, plenty of action mid field, on lap 6 Perry Evans coming to grief on the Howards Concrete corner and taking no further part, whilst fighting over position with Paul Buchanan, James Christensen taking no further part completing only 7 laps, Craig Minett ( father of Brett)out on lap 9, Nicole Brown not lasting much longer, out on lap 10 with Paul Buchanan getting to lap14 before calling it quits, worth a mention Andrew Gibson from 18th to finish 12th, also Paul Nunn from 21st to finish 11th, Shane Rixon also a good drive from 26th to finish 16th, best lap time by Brett Minett a 52.591 on lap 13.
Above: Restricted Heavy Podium - Ben McCombie, Ben Rodgers, Damian Godley
pic - Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
That brings the year’s racing at Ipswich for 2014 session to a close, hope you have enjoyed the reports throughout the year, I certainly have enjoyed writing them and look forward to another great session in 2015. Hope you all had a great Xmas and I’ll be back in 2015. Until then, drive safely and with care.
All photos supplied by:
Bill Bryant
Bill Bryant Action Sports Photography
Web: www.facebook.com/BBASP
Phone: 0402 848 116
And I would just like to thank Bill for his support throughout the year and look forward to working alongside him next year.
