JR Memorial / Pro Tour Preview
| press release | 14 july 2015 |
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“Pro Tour’s big return to Eastern Creek this weekend”
The return of the Rotax Pro Tour National Series to Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Kart Raceway will see some of Australia’s best Karters vying for multiple honours. First and foremost the Rotax rankings points towards the respective series titles, but also the NSW State Champions will be crowned along with the Jason Richards Cup to the round winner in DD2 in honour of the former V8 Supercar driver’s participation in the category.
- Read the official race program online HERE (or click the cover page image below). Includes IKD welcome, three day timetable, entry list for all classes, truck trade hours, award night information, and '20 Questions' with the Kiwi girls, Maddy and Ashleigh Stewart!
Micro Max – Proudly sponsored by The Kartworks
This weekend will spell just the second event in Australian Karting that the Micro Max category will compete, with the opening round in Queensland already displaying a high level of competitiveness amongst the series’ youngest drivers. Adrian Haak took out the first round and will be on home soil at Eastern Creek, while little separates Marcos Flack, Jack Westbury and Oscar Targett who all battled for regular positions within the top four last time out, with the field growing to eleven as new drivers come onboard.
Mini Max – Proudly sponsored by G-Force Karting
Since taking out his first round win in Dubbo, the first event in the NSW State Championship, Bayley Douglas has taken the Mini Max field by storm, streaming ahead in the points with the Queenslander now holding a lead of just over 2,000 points. The consistency for both Kai Allen and Jaiden Pope has seen the pair lock out second and third in the standings with just over 600 points between them. Another healthy field of over 20 Karts will take to the track as the class continues to strengthen in its first year in the series.
Junior Max Trophy – Proudly sponsored by Coopers Photography
New Zealand’s Matthew Payne returns to Australia for this weekend’s Jason Richards Memorial, leading the Junior Max Trophy Series Points ahead of Reece Cohen. Cohen showed strong form earlier in the season, which saw him clean up and take his first round victory in Dubbo. A hard charging Lucas Lichtenberger who delivered a standout performance in Warwick will be one to watch at Eastern Creek, with local knowledge sure to help his campaign. West Australian Aaron Love is the next closest challenger to both Cohen and Lichtenberger with a recent boost in form helping to elevate him into becoming another driver with the potential to come home on top of the leader board at the end of the weekend.
Junior Max – Proudly sponsored by Direct Management Group
Canberra’s Zane Morse has been unstoppable in the recent rounds of the Pro Tour, with the Junior Max class again delivering an oversubscribed field. In addition to the form of Morse, Victorian Reece Sidebottom has made significant inroads towards claiming round success, elevating himself to a comfortable second in the points standings. Following his break out round win in Melbourne in January, Joshua Car has displayed a high level of consistency throughout the year to hold third with a slender margin to New Zealand’s Dylan Drysdale. Just 700 points separates Drysdale and Timothy Colombrita who sits eighth, with Alec Morse, Joshua Fife and Aaron Cameron all benefiting from recent good form to be in the hunt for a big finish to the season.
Rotax 125 Light – Proudly sponsored by TF Race Engines
Pierce Lehane’s dominant performance at the last round of the series in Warwick helped to rise him to the top of the rankings points with a distinct lead of almost 2,000 points. Victorian duo Daniel Rochford and Brad Jenner sit second and third respectively in the rankings and have less than 200 points separating them with Nicholas Andrews a close fourth, however home track knowledge for Nathan Tigani and Cody Gillis who are currently placed fifth and sixth hold them in strong contention of stepping back onto the podium this weekend.
Rotax 125 Heavy – Proudly sponsored by Praga Australia
On the back of his convincing round win in Warwick, Queenslander Lane Moore looked set to be a strong challenger for more success in Rotax Heavy, however a late withdrawal due to injury propels points leader Chris Farkas back into the spotlight as one driver who is capable of taking home the silverware. Regan Payne and Clem O’Mara have both had their moments at the front of the field throughout the year so far and will look to battle Farkas for the front running position while Scott Simpson is chasing back to back round podiums after stepping into the overall top five for the first time in the Pro Tour this season at the last round.
DD2 – Proudly sponsored by KartSportNews.com
The closest of all points’ battles across the Pro Tour so far exists within the DD2 category with Troy Woolston and Jason Pringle separated by less than 500 points for the top two spots. The Victorian pair have had their share of success across the year and are again expected to feature as part of the top end of the field. Ryan Kennedy’s fast transition to the two speed gearbox category has seen him rise to third in the standings, while fourth place sitter Will Brown will miss the weekend due to commitments in car racing with the Toowoomba driver last weekend taking out the win in the first ever race for the Australian Formula 4 Championship in Townsville. The overall winner of the DD2 category for the weekend will also be awarded the Jason Richards Cup, Albury’s Jordan Boys took out that honour last year.
Above: Jason Pringle will be one of many drivers in the hunt for the Jason Richards Cup, awarded to the overall winner of DD2 this weekend
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Coopers Photography
DD2 Masters – Proudly sponsored by Chelgrave Contracting
Daniel Richert’s early season form in DD2 Masters has seen him soar to the top of the points table with the Victorian holding a 1,000 point lead over Warwick round winner Klinton Hancey. In the build up to this weekend’s event, Adam Hunter, who sits third in the standings, competed at Eastern Creek at the Pro Tour shakedown event, taking a clean sweep, preparing him well for this weekend’s races. 2014 Jason Richards Memorial Award winner Steven Ellery returns to the series this weekend for his first event of the year and will be looking to shake up the results, while very little separates Jason Hryniuk and Scott Howard as the battle for the remaining places in the top five in the series.
A fleet of New Zealand drivers will make the journey across the ditch for this weekend’s event, helping to honour their fellow countryman, Jason Richards. Aaron Cunningham returns as part of the DD2 Masters category, with Ashleigh Stewart in Rotax Light while a trio of Kiwi’s will form part of the Junior Max class with Madeline Stewart, Dylan Drysdale and Kaleb Ngatoa all set to take part this weekend.
The Rotax Pro Tour would also like to acknowledge the support of BirelART Australia for their sponsorship of the fastest qualifiers awards for all classes.
Round 5 of 2015 Rotax Pro Tour takes place at Eastern Creek, NSW from 17-19 July, incorporating the 2015 Jason Richards Memorial.
To follow the event online throughout the weekend, Like Rotax Pro Tour on Facebook, Follow Rotax Pro Tour on Twitter and tune into the live audio commentary via Ustream at www.rotax.com.au/streaming.html
