Ipswich Club Championship, Round 1
| by Geoff Salmon, Sportsvoice | 9 February 2017 |
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IPSWICH Kart Club
Round 1 – Club Championship 2017
4th February 2017
A beautiful day (it was hot) welcomed 160 drivers and their spanner men and women to the first race meeting for 2017. Families and children flocked into the Willowbank Motorsport Complex to watch classes starting from Cadet 9 through to all the Senior classes “go at it” over the day/night meeting.
With the new Executive already showing their willingness to “get things done”, we were all looking at a day of excitement and enjoyment for all concerned.
The format of racing after a decision by the Stewards of the Meeting to revert to last years’ format, qualifying followed by a heat of racing then prefinal and final only counts saw everyone in favour and the meeting got under way.
Cadet 9 Qualifying (6 minutes)
A total of 10 youngsters drove out to determine who would start from Pole and at the completion of the 6 minute session the grid saw Jordan Ensbey (#22) with a time of 56.059 seconds start from Pole with Maddison Feather (#55) 56.122 off P2, the second young lady in the field Alice Buckley(#50) 56.488 off P3, Joel Watson (#77) 56.531 starting P4, Beau Bromhead (#71) 56.571 from P5 and Lincoln Taylor (#78) with a time of 56.573 seconds off P6.
Cadet 9 Heat (8 laps)
Alice Buckley won the Heat, the margin over Jordan Ensbey in second 1.301 seconds, Beau Bromhead .784 of a second away in third, Lincoln Taylor 4th and Maddison Feather in 5th, the fastest lap recorded by Lincoln Taylor with a 56.605 on lap five.
Cadet 9 Prefinal (10 laps)
Alice Buckley again saw the winners’ flag first with Lincoln Taylor second, third to Maddison Feather and 4th Beau Bromhead the margin 1st to 2nd a touch under 1 second at .931 of a second, fastest lap going to Maddison Feather with a time of 56.463 seconds on her final lap.
Cadet 9 Final (13 laps)
Maddison Feather took control of the final leading the first seven laps before Beau Bromhead moved forward to go on and take the win, the margin first to second a very tight .087 of a second, third place Alice Buckley a further .240 away with Jordan Ensbey fourth, the fastest lap recorded by Beau Bromhead with a time of 56.442 seconds reported on his fourth lap.
Cadet 12 Qualifying.
A great field of 20 drivers rolled onto the racing surface to determine Pole and the results of the session saw Ethan Feather (#26) 54.971 seconds secure pole from Tristan Griffin (#83) 54.978, third fastest to Oscar Targett (#22) 55.086, then Marcus Watson (#7) 55.128 and Rusty Ross (#58) with a 55.278 second lap.
Cadet 12 Heat (8 laps)
Ethan Feather took the win after a great battle with the top five drivers produced some excellent racing, the margin back to Rusty Ross starting from P4 to finish second .617 of a second, third to Tristan Griffin, fourth Marcus Watson making up one spot throughout the 8 laps and Oscar Targett from second for the first five laps then fading to finish fifth, the fastest lap going to Oscar Targett with a time of 55.146 on his fifth lap.
Cadet 12 Prefinal (10 laps)
Ethan Feather was on a roll, but not before Rusty Ross showed his willingness to win leading for two laps midway through the Heat before Feather was able to rescue back to lead and go on to win, the margin a touch over half a second, third a good drive from Oscar Targett coming from sixth, fourth Tristan Griffin and fifth Marcus Watson, best lap a 55.162 by Rusty Ross on the eighth.
Cadet 12 Final (13 laps)
Ethan Feather was to go on and clean sweep the Cadet 9 field with an emphatic win in the final the margin over second placed Tristan Griffin a whopping 4.842 seconds, not so with third Oscar Targett battling with Griffin and Rusty Ross throughout to finish just .080 of a second after 13 laps, fourth on the day going to Rusty Ross who starting from second then faded back into fifth before a last lap effort to pass Marcus Watson and hold on by .063 of a second, another good drive from Watson to finish .078 of a second in front of Lachlan Platten to finish fifth, Platten sixth, fastest lap going to Oscar Targett with a time of 55.009 seconds on his sixth lap.
KA4 Junior Light and Heavy Qualifying.
With a field of 20 youngsters all looking to take the top spot on the podium at the end of the day we were guaranteed some fierce racing, Pole going to Jai Brown (#22) with a time of 51.425 seconds next came Kurtis Tennant (#57) 51.601, P3 to Thomas Cooper (#55) 51.608 seconds, P4 Luke Pink (#49) with a 51.693, P5 Conner Roberts (#19) best time 51.739 and Jack Grambauer (#72) with a 51.918. Georga Boegheim (#15P) the only Junior Heavy with a time of 55.089 seconds.
KA4 Junior Light and Heavy Heat (10 laps)
It was obvious to me that we were in for a battle royal between Jai Brown and Thomas Cooper, throw in Luke Pink after his good performance towards the end of 2016 as well as Kurtis Tennant and possibly Jack Grambauer, as well as Oscar Comley, this was evident right from the first lap, and so it was, Brown taking the win in the Heat from Cooper the margin .483 of a second, third going to Kurtis Tennant, who showed his intention of being in the mix at the end of the day, fourth Luke Pink and fifth Oscar Comley, fastest lap to Cooper with a time of 51.680 on the penultimate lap, our Junior Heavy young lady finishing in nineteenth with a best time of 55.059 seconds.
KA4 Junior Light and Heavy Prefinal (13 laps)
Jai Brown took the win in the prefinal with a margin of .320 of a second back to second placed Thomas Cooper with Kurtis Tennant a distant 3.167 seconds away in third, fourth Luke Pink and fifth Sean Toms, all appearing to be happy to remain in their positions in readiness for the Final only counts still to come, later on in the afternoon or early evening, the first four drivers remaining as they started throughout, fastest lap recorded by Thomas Cooper with a 51.524 seconds on his seventh lap, our Heavy driver Georga Boegheim finishing in 17th with a best time of 55.665 seconds recorded on her 11th lap of the journey.
KA4 Junior Light and Heavy Final (15 laps)
Jai Brown and Thomas Cooper drove away from the rest of the field, establishing a break of 1.287 seconds by the conclusion of lap two, these two continued their battle throughout the length of the final with Cooper taking charge for three laps toward the end before Brown took control again on the penultimate lap to go on and win by a margin of just .183 of a second after a very intense drive from these two youngsters, well back off the pace came Kurtis Tennant, 4.219 seconds away in third, whilst the leading two diced for the overall the race for third and fourth and fifth was indeed captivating Jack Grambauer a further 2.918 seconds away third from Sean Toms who made a great effort to pass Kai Walker, who was celebrating his birthday just a few days earlier, Luke Pink another driver who, was in contention for a podium position fading back to tenth and finally retiring on lap eleven, the only Junior Heavy driver Georga Boegheim falling short by just one lap of the required number, being lapped by the leader just two laps from the completion of a very entertaining final, fastest lap being registered by Jai Brown on lap 10 of the 14 required, his time a 51.332 seconds.
Junior Max and KA3 Junior Qualifying
When eight drivers (2 Junior Max and 6 KA3 Juniors) moved onto the track for qualifying we were not sure what the final result would be, interesting mix of these two classes and at the end of 6 minutes we were to see Jarad Costello (#47) (KA3 Junior) finish with a time of 50.897 seconds to secure Pole, P2 going to Zoe Walker (#59)(KA3 Junior) 50.938, P3 Thomas Cooper (#55) 50.985, P4 Liam Moyse (#97) with a time of 51.201 seconds, Bailey Sagaidak was disqualified from the Qualifying session.
Junior Max and KA3 Junior Heat (10 laps)
With Bailey Sagaidak starting from the rear of the field, Jarad Costello took full advantage of his Pole position start and went on to win the Heat with a margin of 1.599 seconds over second placed Thomas Cooper with Zoe Walker who has come out at the start of 2017 with a flourish showing her potential for better things still to come, Sagaidak moving through the field to finish fourth, Harrison Stock filling fifth with Dillon Rhonda sixth, the fastest lap recorded by Costello with a time of 50.993 seconds on his seventh lap.
Junior Max and KA3 Junior Prefinal (13 laps)
Jarad Costello continued on his winning way with just under a one second advantage over Bailey Sagaidak after 13 laps, from fourth now up to second, third Thomas Cooper these two dicing throughout the Prefinal with Sagaidak finally taking the second position after trailing Cooper for the first nine laps, Zoe Walker starting from seventh finishing strongly in fourth after following Harrison Stock for three laps before moving forward with just two laps remaining, Liam Moyse and Jarad Boys enjoying a heated duel throughout with Boys finally conceding to Moyse on lap 9, Dillon Rhonda starting well holding fourth for the first 7 laps before fading back to finish in eighth, the fastest lap going this time to Zoe Walker with a time of 50.924 seconds on her final lap ( this young lady definitely one to watch in the future).
Junior Max and KA3 Junior Final (15 laps)
Bailey Sagaidak not only took the win in the Final but also recorded the fastest time with a 50.691 on lap 12, Cooper running in second position for the first eleven laps before falling back to third behind Costello, Zoe Walker a promising performance finishing fourth in a field of youngsters who, if they continue in the sport will see many victories in the future, Harrison Stock dropping just one position to finish in fifth, Liam Moyse after a promising start to the day failing to finish the Final falling just one lap short of the required 15 laps whilst running sixth.
KA3 Senior Light and TaG 125 Restricted Light Qualifying.
A combined field of 25 drivers moved onto the racing surface to determine Pole position, after the 6 minute session was concluded Cory Ainge (#55) from Townsville and son of the State Secretary Robert was to record the fastest time in qualifying 51.214 seconds, P2 going to Dale Zimmerman (#88) 51.278, P3 Mak Holden (#146) 51.534, P4 Hamish Turner (#9) 51.640, P5 Daley Martin 51.725 and P6 Allan Mayes (#60) with a time of 51.808.
KA3 Senior Light and TaG 125 Restricted Light Heat (10 laps)
Corey Ainge was to prove a competent competitor taking the win by a margin of .723 of a second over second placed Mak Holden, Dale Zimmerman coming from fifth at the start and moving up two places to finish third, and fourth Daley Martin, (the first four all in KA3 Senior) the first TaG 125 Restricted home Allan Mayes, the fastest lap recorded by Dale Zimmerman with a time of 51.596 seconds on his eighth lap of the 10 lap journey.
KA3 Senior Light and TaG 125 Restricted Light Prefinal (13 laps)
Corey Ainge, Mak Holden and Dale Zimmerman again filling the top three positions, the margin, 1.179 and .935 respectively, all three in KA3 Senior, next home going to Allan Mayes (TaG 125 R Light), next came Robert Reid then Kevin Johnstone, fastest lap recorded by Dale Zimmerman with a time of 51.554 seconds on his ninth lap.
KA3 Senior Light and TaG 125 Restricted Light Final (15 laps)
Mak Holden took the win over Dale Zimmerman with Cory Ainge coming home in third place, the margins 1.220 and .367 respectively, fourth home going to Robert Reid and then Allen Mayes in fifth, fastest lap recorded by Dale Zimmerman again with a time of 51.134 seconds on his eleventh lap, the first three all recording their fastest laps on the eleventh lap of the Final.
Tag 125 Restricted Medium Qualifying
Good field of 16 drivers presented for qualifying ( in what you may find interesting, Medium Class, what was Heavy) and after the 6 minute session came to a conclusion Rhys Willemse(#26) down from the Cooloola Coast Kart Club was to start from Pole with a time of 52.668 seconds, P2 Jack Bermingham (#34P) 53.386, P3 Justin Jeffs (#99) 53.472, P4 Guy Wuoti (#59) 53.574, P5 Sam Willmott (#65) 53.609 and P6 Greg Hines (#68) with a time of 53.690.
Tag 125 Restricted Medium Heat (10 laps)
After a performance that I watched early in 2016 at IKC I was sure that Rhys Willemse was going to be the shortest priced favourite of the day and if his drive in the Heat was any indication I was going to drop the figures to odds on, Willemse drove superbly to take the win by a massive 7.473 seconds over second placed Jackson Bermingham with Guy Wuoti coming in third, fourth to Sam Willmott and fifth Ian Lewald, fastest time (you guessed it ) Rhys Willemse with a time of 52.641 seconds on his penultimate lap of 10. (I will be watching his young man to see when he moves into the open class of TaG), Justin Jeffs a good drive from 13th to finish seventh.
Tag 125 Restricted Medium Prefinal (13 laps)
Another fine drive from Rhys Willemse saw this young man take a comfortable win in the Prefinal over second placed Kel Farrell ( Kel coming from seventh to finish second), third to Bermingham and fourth Guy Wuoti, fastest lap to Willemse with a time of 52.591 seconds on the penultimate lap of the required 10.
Tag 125 Restricted Medium Final (15 laps)
Rhys Willemse was not to be denied his day on the top of the podium with another fine display of driving to take the Final with a margin of 11.716 seconds over Kel Farrell with Jackson Bermingham finishing third, what a day for Rhys Willemse fastest qualifying with a 52.668, then even faster in the Heat 52.641, fastest still in the Prefinal 52.591, and fastest in the Final, again faster than the previous with a time of 52.524 seconds on his final lap of the 15 required, ( want to sponsor a driver who is definitely heading for the top, now is the time).
Tag 125 Restricted Masters Qualifying.
Ten drivers moved onto the racing surface to determine who would start from Pole and after the 6 minute session was completed Cameron Harch (#75) took the position with a time of 53.265 seconds, P2 Peter Virgulti (#9) 53.531, P3 Peter Greenwood (#64) 53.767, P4 Gary Payne (#45) 53.849 seconds.
Tag 125 Restricted Masters Heat (10 laps)
Cameron Harch drove well to secure the Heat win from Peter Virgulti with Peter Greenwood in third, fourth place going to Gary Payne, fastest lap recorded by Cameron Harch with a time of 53.497 seconds on his ninth lap.
Tag 125 Restricted Masters Prefinal (13 laps)
Cameron Harch again took the win in the Prefinal from second placed Peter Greenwood ( who was disqualified for an infringement) second place going to Peter Virgulti with Gary Payne moved up into third, fourth place Tim McDonald, fastest time to Peter Virgulti with a time of 53.521 seconds on his tenth lap.
Tag 125 Restricted Masters Final (15 laps)
Cameron Harch was not to be denied his win overall on the day with a performance that saw him finish 1.948 of a second ahead of Gary Payne with Kevin Castles filling the last of the podium positions, again Cameron Harch with the fastest time a 53.769 on his ninth lap, Peter Virgulti failing to finish having a problem arrive just prior to the green lights and having to sit the final out on the exit of Chain Break Corner, after showing strongly earlier in the day.
Tag 125 Light Qualifing
We were in for something special in this the unofficial premier class of ever meeting here at Ipswich, a field of 24 top notch drivers came out to play for the qualifying session and to determine who would start from Pole AND who could possibly better the lap track record set by Brendan Nelson in 2016 a time of 48.958 seconds, we had the cream of the TaG Light class present for the first of the 2017 session. After the session was completed we had a front row of National Champions, Pole Scott Sorensen (#12) with a 48.636 from P2 Brendan Nelson (#1) 48.640, P3 Joel Jamieson (#21) 48.859, P4 James Litzow (#58) 48.889, P5 Damon Ash (#5) 48.952, P6 Jordan Kidas (#7) 48.958, P7 Sebastian Blindell (#36) first time in the open class 48.976 and P8 Tyler Greenbury (#13) left his V8 cap at home with a 49.011, so we see the first five qualifiers break the lap track record and P6 equal it, WOW were we in for a day of action and entertainment in Tag Light.
Tag 125 Light Heat (10 laps)
Scott Sorensen was to show all he had the class to bamboozle the field in the Heat and took the win from National Champ Brendan Nelson, third home in a very fast flowing encounter came James Litzow with Jordan Kidas and Joel Jamieson next home behind them came Tyler Greenbury with Shawn McNamara then Damon Ash, Rhys Astley (from fifteenth to finish ninth) then Daniel Plant tenth, with work still to do, Adam Mercer (12th) and Sebastian Blindell (15th) Dallas Oksanen and Mitch Wooller failing to finish, fastest lap going to Scott Sorensen with a time of 49.060 seconds on his sixth lap.
Tag 125 Light Prefinal (13 laps)
Scott Sorensen lead by example to take the win in the Prefinal with a margin over second placed Joel Jamieson of a healthy 1.154 seconds third to Brendan Nelson, Tyler Greenbury making up two positions to finish in fourth, Blindell improving to finish eighth, James Litzow falling back from third to finish seventh, McNamara also improving two places to finish fifth, Adam Mercer failing to finish (2 laps) along with Ben Rankin (2 laps) Damon Ash (5 laps) and Daniel Plant (6 laps), fastest lap recorded by Joel Jamison with a time of 48.930 (still under the old lap record) on his eighth lap, we were looking forward to a cracker of a Final still to come later in the afternoon or early evening.
Tag 125 Light Final (15 laps)
Scott Sorensen held onto the lead for the first four laps before a hiccup on the exit of Chain Break Corner saw Brendan Nelson take control of the final eleven laps to finish with a margin of just .270 of a second over Sorensen, Scott fighting his way back from third (laps 5 &6) up into second, Tyler Greenbury finishing two places better than his starting position to come in third, Shawn McNamara fighting throughout the final with Greenbury to get up into second (laps 5&6) before falling back to finish fourth, Rhys Astley a good drive into fifth, Joel Jamieson dropping from second back to finish in sixth, I would think Sebastian Blindell would be pleased with his performance to finish seventh in an excellent field on his first outing in the class, the fastest lap recorded by Scott Sorensen with a time of 48.631 still under the old lap track record, Adam Mercer into the top ten with a ninth place finish, I am sure James Litzow will be back finishing just outside the top ten in eleventh, large number of D.N.F for the first of the year ( very fast track delivers very fast times) excellent racing by all concerned bring on TaG Light for the remainder of the year.
Tag 125 Heavy Qualifying.
Eleven drivers out for the last of the day/night meeting and all up to scratch for the competition to follow, six minutes later and we see Ashley Lester (#76) off Pole with a time of 50.029 seconds, P2 Martin Swindells (#13) 50.165, P3 Paul Bryan (#42) 50.309 and P4 Ryan O’Sullivan (#31) with a time of 50.393 seconds.
Tag 125 Heavy Heat (10 laps)
It was follow the driver in front of you for the Heat and after the ten laps were completed we saw Ashley Lester take the win with a margin of 1.502 seconds over Paul Bryan with Martin Swindells coming home in third, fastest lap going to Martin with a time of 52.171 seconds recorded on his second lap.(Sorry cannot confirm these times due to a Computer malfunction during the race)
Tag 125 Heavy Prefinal (13 laps)
Ashley Lester again home in front of the field with Martin Swindells up into second and Paul Bryan back to third, fastest lap recorded by Ashley Lester with a time of 50.358 seconds on his eleventh lap.
Tag 125 Heavy Final (15 laps)
Ashley Lester was again first home in the Final with a margin of .644 of a second over Martin Swindells and third home going to Paul Bryan, fastest lap again to Ashley Lester with a time of 50.068 seconds.
My congratulation to all for a very exciting days’ racing and I am sure we all are looking forward to the 2nd round of the Ipswich Kart Club Championship.
Well that’s my report for the first round of racing at Ipswich Kart Club for 2017, hope you all enjoy the read, until next time drive responsibly and with due care to all.
Geoff Salmon - Sportsvoice