WA KZ Series - Round 5
| press release | 5 November 2016 |
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The Prestigious ‘Dash for Cash’ meeting in Kalgoorlie on October 29 was home for the 5th round of the FMA Motorsports WA KZ Series.
Daniel Currey had all but sealed up the Championship win before the event, but the battle for the minor placings meant it would still be a fiercely contested event. Of course the $3500 on offer also helped.
Above: Round 5 winner, Peter Newland (pic - Bayley Bell / Brad Mitchell)
Reigning Champion Jake Klarich had returned to the KZ field taking a break from his Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge campaign. It was business as usual for the champ, taking out Pole ahead of Simon Gwilliam. Both Klarich and Gwilliam traded heat wins during the day before Klarich took out the Pre Final. Local Kalgoorlie Driver Peter Newland had been working his way through the field during the day and managed to cross the line 2nd for the Pre Final, Gwilliam pushed back to 3rd .
Once the Sun had gone down and the newly resurfaced Kalgoorlie track was lit up, the finals got underway. Newland got the jump and drove the perfect race with no mistakes. He took a popular win in front of the home crowd. Klarich Struggled off the line and was pushed back along with Gwilliam. This allowed Currey to push up into the mix. Gwilliam showed the solid and consistent form he has carried through much of his five years in the WA KZ Series. Some great passing moves into the famous ‘Patrizi’s Elbow’ ensured he would go home in 2nd place. Klarich was unable to make up for the poor start and was pushed back to 4th by the new Champion Currey in 3rd.
WA KZ Series Committee and Drivers would like to thank the Eastern Goldfields Kart Club and the Volunteers for the efforts put in over the weekend. It’s always a memorable event, made that much sweeter with the massive money prizes on offer.
Above: Jake Klarich (pic - Bayley Bell / Brad Mitchell)
Simon Gwilliam
“I started the final from 3rd and was confident as I had a quick kart all day and had looked after my tyres. Against me was the fact I just jumped straight out of my 15 lap Tag final and I'm not the fittest bloke out there. Jake was on pole and I was worried he might get away but we both had a lot of wheel spin off the dirty side of the track, I slotted into 4th in the early laps. It was so even between the 4 of us at the front, I managed to make passes on Klarich and Currey at patrizi's elbow which were hard to pull off as the inside line is dusty. I caught Pete and looked for an opportunity to pass but then mid race I put a wheel off the track and Jake passed me back, I managed to quickly re pass him but Pete then had a good cushion. My kart was really fast and again I caught Pete but he was so fast off the corners I never had a good enough opportunity to make a move on him. He never made a mistake and he deserved to win.
"Just wantedto thank my awesome team FMA Motorsport and my mechanic Steve Gras for all their help this year plus all my fellow competitors and series sponsors for a blast.”
Above: Simon Gwilliam (pic - Bayley Bell / Brad Mitchell)
Peter Newland
“I was excited to be racing the Dash again and to be back on home turf after a reasonable season racing away for the WAKZ Championship series. I do most of my testing at Kalgoorlie and I was quietly confident that I could take it to the top guys if I got in a good qualifying session. I managed P3 from qualifying, however I dropped back to 4th in heat 1 in what was an uneventful race. After making some changes to the chassis for Heat 2, I got a great start and slotted straight in behind Klarich and we were able to pull a gap on Gumby and Currey and I finished in P2. Heat 3 was under lights and the conditions had cooled off quite a bit from earlier in the day, I managed another great start and when Gumby ran wide at turn one I slotted the kart underneath him at turn 2. I didn’t have the pace to go with Klarich, however, I was able to hold off Gumby to take P2 and start the final from the from row. I had a ripper of a start in the final and launched the kart off the line to lead into turn 1, from then on I put my head down and pushed hard whilst Klarich, Currey and Gumby jostled for position behind me, the kart felt great and although the racing was close I knew by half race distance that I could take the win. It was awesome to achieve my first KZ Final victory and to do it at the Dash with great prize money was even more special. thanks to my Sponsors – Newland Associates, Currey Enterprises, Westland Autos and Primepower Engineering."
- If you’re interested in being part of the WA KZ series next year please contact wakzseries@gmail.com
Above: WA KZ2 action, Jake Klarich (95), Daniel Currey (3), Peter Newland (8) and Joshua Merritt (23) (pic - Bayley Bell / Brad Mitchell)
