Jenner Headlines Birel Kartsport Australia's Pro Tour Effort


press release 28 May 2014
 

Birel Kartsport Australia’s Brad Jenner has taken a clean sweep of wins and extended his lead in the rankings for Rotax Light in a successful weekend for the Victorian, with DD2’s James Macken showing strong pace and the team’s fleet of Junior Max drivers experiencing a mixed weekend for the annual Jason Richards Memorial event.

Brad Jenner qualified second for Saturday’s two heat races, just 0.04 behind the pole position time, giving him a front row start for the 14 lap events. Jenner took advantage of this strong starting position to take victory in both heat races, which delivered him pole position for the 20 lap Saturday final. With the results of the race producing the rankings points for that of a normal final, a strong result was critical. Following on from his heat race successes, Brad took the win in the final and backed up his performance with pole position for Sunday’s heat races in a session run following the final. Continuing his success from Saturday, Brad eclipsed the field, taking the win in both of Sunday’s heat races aswell as the 22 lap final, comfortably securing the round victory and extending his lead in the Rotax rankings.


Above: RK Kart driver Brad Jenner extended his rankings lead after taking a clean sweep in Geelong

“I had a great weekend in the RK Kart, to get six wins from six races across the event was excellent. We had our setup perfect from the start and it just flowed throughout the weekend. It was very competitive racing all the time, so I had to push hard but I felt confident in knowing my Kart was capable to stand up to any challenges I faced during the racing. I can’t thank the Birel Kartsport team enough for their support,” Jenner said.

DD2 driver James Macken qualified ninth in Saturday’s eighth minute session, with just 0.2 seconds separating the top ten. In an unfortunate turn of events, James struggled throughout Saturday’s races, finishing 21st in the opening heat before recording a DNF in the second heat and Saturday final. With the conditions changing for the second qualifying session of the day, Macken improved dramatically to take pole position with a 32.463.

Despite a DNF in the opening heat on Sunday due to a minor mechanical issue, James returned to take victory in heat two, capitalising on his pole position start. The first heat result hampered his grid position for the Sunday final, placing him in 12th for the weekend’s longest race. A strong start to the race saw Macken moving through the field comfortably, with a healthy finishing position in sight before a flat tyre ended the Gold Coast driver’s race early.

The team’s junior drivers experienced a mixed weekend of results with Mitchell Maddren qualifying eighth for Saturday’s races, just over 0.1 seconds behind the pole position time. Hunter McElrea was less than a tenth of a second behind Maddren taking 13th with Joshua Car securing 22nd, being just a further tenth behind McElrea. In the Junior Max Trophy Class, team driver Jye Hopkins would start from the third row for Saturday’s events.

A consistent pair of heat races for Maddren saw him take eighth and ninth, with McElrea taking 12th and 25th. The fiercely competitive Junior Max races saw Joshua Car bring home a pair of 15th place finishes with the crucial 20 lap final providing the opportunity for the trio to improve their positions. Mitchell continued his consistent top ten performance taking eighth, with Car moving up to secure ninth while a DNF for McElrea brought an early end to the day for the Queenslander. Jye Hopkins recorded a consistent bank of results, taking seventh and sixth in the two races.

Another incredibly close qualifying session for Junior Max for Sunday’s races saw Hunter McElrea score the best result for the team, taking 12th with a 33.238, just 0.2 seconds away from pole. RK Kart driver Joshua Car was 13th, only 0.02 behind McElrea with Mitchell Maddren qualifying 25th despite being less than a tenth of a second behind his team mates. In the Junior Max Trophy Class, Jye Hopkins stepped up secure fifth placing him back on the third row for the weekend’s remaining races.

Of the Junior Max trio, Joshua Car provided the standout performance through the Sunday races as he took tenth and 14th in the two heats. With Mitchell Maddren securing 14th and 26th and Hunter McElrea recording a DNF in the first heat before finishing 24th in heat two, the Birel Kartsport Australia team set to work on identifying a setup that would see the pair rise up in the final. The three driver’s results would see Car start from 11th for the final, Maddren from 18th and McElrea from 32nd. Jye Hopkins continued his consistent form in the Junior Max Trophy Class, finishing seventh and sixth in the two races and moving himself into seventh for the start of the final.

Joshua Car continued his impressive Sunday results into the final, securing eighth in a hard fought 22 lap event highlighted by extensive passing and close racing. Hunter McElrea continued to improve from his first heat disappointment to progress to 17th by the completion of the race, though Mitchell Maddren suffered a DNF in the early stages of the race, ending his chance of moving up the order. Jye Hopkins capped off another successful weekend in the Junior Max Trophy Class, finishing sixth in the final.

The current Rotax rankings have Mitchell Maddren in sixth, Joshua Car in 13th and Hunter McElrea in 14th. Jye Hopkins is currently seventh in rankings for the Junior Max Trophy Class.

The next event for Birel Kartsport Australia will be round three of the 2014 CIK Stars of Karting Championship at the Puckapunyal Kart track, Victoria from June 14-16.

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