Pro Tour - Heats & Qualifying Report
| oress release | 26 October 2013 |
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“Clean sweep wins set up close finals at Pro Tour Albury”
A group of clean sweep victories for a number of drivers have highlighted the opening day of racing at the first round of the 2013/2014 Rotax Pro Tour at a sun drenched Albury circuit, building up to a plethora of enthralling long distance finals.
Local track knowledge helped Danny Wright secure pole position in DD2 Masters as the times changed on multiple occasions throughout the session. World Finals entrant Adam Hunter looked on pace and took second behind Wright with Lee Adams, Jose Ruiz and Klinton Hancey sharing the remainder of the top five. Wright capitalised on his qualifying performance to secure two heat wins from three races and subsequently pole position for tomorrow’s 25 lap pre-final. Hunter recorded a trip of top three results with a win, a second and a third to secure a front row start for the longer race alongside Wright. Stephen Hampson has capitalised from a consistent performance across the heats to start third from John Bailey and Tony Bregonje.
Above: DD2 Masters fastest qualifier - Danny Wright
pic - IKD
Times were close throughout qualifying for Rotax Heavy with Victorian CRG pilot Rick Pringle taking pole position for the heat races. Paul Rodgers secured a quick time late in the session to start on the front row alongside Pringle with late entrant William Yarwood in third from Scott Howard and Dylan Collett. A string of comfortable victories for Pringle across the heat races will see him start the pre-final from pole position.
Fellow Victorian Paul Rodgers took advantage of a pair of second place finishes in the final two heats to start alongside Pringle after his fifth in the opening heat. Scott Howard recorded two third place finishes alongside a fifth in the final heat which will see him comprise the second row alongside William Yarwood while current National title holder Michael Saller will start from fifth.
Above: Rotax Heavy fastest qualifier Rick Pringle
pic - IKD
Chris Bregonje completed 15 laps in qualifying and took pole position by just over one tenth of a second in the Sodi Junior Max Trophy Class alongside fellow returning driver Liam Ford. Newcomer Marc Tulloch secured third place with Alec Morse starting alongside Tulloch on the second row with Hudson Heath completing the top five. A stunning display of consistent driving by Bregonje throughout the heat races saw him take a trio of victories setting him up for a pole position start in the pre-final.
After starting second in the heat races, Liam Ford will retain that position into the pre-final after recording a pair of second places in the heats. In his first event in the category, Hudson Heath took three top finishes to see him start from third alongside Alex Morse with Jye Hopkins set to start out of fifth.
Above: Trophy class fastest qualifier Chris Bregonje
pic - IKD
Sydney’s Pierce Lehane took pole position in Rotax Light by just one tenth as he continues his final preparations before the World Finals. Victorian Matthew Smith secured second to start alongside the former National Champion with Albury’s Jordan Boys in third from New Zealand’s Daniel Kinsman and Liam McLellan in fifth who lead the string of junior drivers making their step up to senior racing.
An unstoppable drive from Pierce Lehane across the three heat races and a win in each will see the World Finals entrant start from pole alongside local Jordan Boys. In his first event in the senior category, Liam McLellan will start the final from third joining Brad Jenner on the second row with New Zealand’s Daniel Kinsman starting out of fifth.
Above: Pierce Lehane's kart, now back to number 11
pic - IKD
A quick time on the final lap of the session by Queensland’s Callum Walker saw him take provisional pole position in the first half of qualifying for the oversubscribed Junior Max field. Nicholas Andrews remained in the top position for much of the session but settled for second from Jayden Ojeda, Darwin’s Bryce Fullwood and Cody Gillis. Just the second driver to secure a similar lap time to overall polesitter Callum Walker was Reece Sidebottom who took second outright and first in the second group of Junior Max.
Toowoomba’s William Brown took second in the group from fellow Queenslander Zane Goddard and West Australian pairing Jake Kostecki and Nikola Mitic setting up a blistering heat race battle.
Consistency has rewarded Gold Coast’s Zane Goddard after a pair of heat victories which will see him start from pole position in the pre-final. G-Force Karting teammate and fellow Queenslander William Brown will share the front row with Goddard for the longer race with Reece Sidebottom and Jake Kostecki making up the second row. In a new chassis for the series, Bryce Fullwood will start from fifth with an unlucky DNF in heat two hampering Callum Walker’s run towards the finals despite his two heat wins, he will start from 12th.
Albury’s Jordan Boys was able to secure pole position in DD2 in first event in the category whilst performing double duties across the weekend. Boys took pole ahead of Troy Bretherton by just 0.01 seconds with Travis Millar in third. Adam Lindstrom took fourth on return to the series with Troy Woolston who is also on double duties as with the polesitter took fifth.
Consistency has benefited Mark Flood to secure pole position in the DD2 pre-final after finishing as high as second in the third heat. A victory in the opening heat has helped progress Travis Millar to start second alongside Flood with Troy Woolston and Jaie Robson to complete the second row with Thomas MacDonald set to start out of fifth.
Above: A very excited Matthew Smith from Rotax Light calls his father to tell him he has qualified on the front row
pic - IKD
To follow either 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.ustream.tv/user/internationalkarting.
Above: Number 22 was a lucky number for the Praga DD2 karts with both Jordan Boys in his first DD2 race and Danny Wright qualifying
pic - IKD
