Payne On Top Again
| press release | 9 June 2015 |
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MATTHEW PAYNE IS AGAIN TOP KIWI KARTER IN AUSTRALIA
Young Auckland karter Matthew Payne was again the top Kiwi finisher at the fourth round of this year's Australian Rotax Pro Tour in Queensland over the weekend, claiming his third round win in the Junior Max Trophy class.
Payne, 15, was one of seven Kiwi karters to contest the meeting at Warwick in inland Queensland and after qualifying third quickest and carding two thirds and a second through the heats finished third in the Pre-Final then beat pole sitter and heats 1 & 3 and Pre-Final winner Lucas Lichtenberger to the line to take the Final and round victory.
Above: Matthew Payne (#96) from Auckland chasing down Lucas Lichtenberger (#5)
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Fast Company/Coopers Photography
Six resident and one Australia-based Kiwi contested the weekend round with Palmertson North drivers Brendon Hart and Dylan Drysdale the next best finishers.
Hart qualified 13th and finished 10th in each 125cc Rotax Max Heavy heat before fighting back from a dnf in the Pre-Final to finish seventh in the Final.
Drysdale, meanwhile, qualified eighth in the oversubscribed Junior Max field and came back from a DQ in his first heat to finish fourth in his second, win his third, then fought back from a P18 finish in the Pre-Final to finish eighth in the Final.
Also finishing eighth in his Final was Auckland driver Aarron Cunningham. The DD2 Master class ace qualfied 10th and had an 8-9-11 run through the DD2 class heats before a dnf in the Pre-Final but strong comeback drive to cross the finish line eighth in the Final.
Expat Josh Drysdale, Dylan's older brother, qualified 13th in the DD2 class, and ended up with his best weekend finish -13th - in the Final after a 22-14-13 run through the heats and 15th place finish in the class Pre-Final.
Above: Reigning New Zealand Sprint champion, Lane Moore,won Rotax Max Heavy
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Fast Company/Coopers Photography
The Stewart sistsers, Ashleigh and Madeline, had what Ashleigh described as 'a weekend of highs and lows with some great racing in the heats but not a great finish.'
Ashleigh qualified 26th in 125cc Rotax Max Light and had a best finish of 23rd in the Pre-Final before 'being cleaned out at the end of the straight.'
Madeline, running in the Junior Max class, qualified 36th out of 57 and finished 15th in her first heat, 10th in her second and 16th in her third to start the Pre-Final 24th.
Unfortunately, like her sister she was hit from behind and ended up 29th, the position she started the Final….which she failed to finish thanks to a mechanical issue.
Recent New Zealand visitor Lane Moore, who won the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy title at the 2015 Sprint Nationals meeting in Palmerston North, also enjoyed success at Warwick, the Gold Coaster winning the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class from Chris Farkas.
2015 Australian Rotax Pro Tour
Calendar
Rnd 1: Todd Road Melb, Vic 23-25 Jan
Rnd 2: Dubbo NSW 20-22 March
Rnd 3: Wodonga, VIC 1-3 May
Rnd 4: Warwick QLD 5-7 June
Rnd 5: Eastern Creek NSW 17-19 July
Rnd 6: Puckapunyal VIC 21-23 August
Grand Final: Ipswich NSW 2-4 October
