Close Finish At WA KZ Round 4
| from WAKZS | 3 July 2014 |
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The 4th round of the FMA Motorsport West Australian KZ Series was held at Bunbury last weekend. While the weather was cold, the action was hot!
Qualifying got underway early Saturday morning with the 27 karts sent out in one group. This meant clear qualifying space was going to be hard to get. An unlucky BD Soutar Dawson was collected by current series leader Blake Mills who had engine failure ending the session early for both. Both drivers were unable to get in a hot lap before the accident and would have to come through from the back.
Above: Jake Klarich under pressure from Simon Gwilliam, Daniel Currey (3) and Joshua Merritt (6)
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
It was last round winner Simon ‘Gumby’ Gwilliam (Formula K/TM) who managed to set the fastest time of 31.516s followed by Jake Klarich 31.747s and Darren Burke 31.796s. The first 10 karts covered by less than 3 tenths meant it was going to be tough racing.
The CRG of Klarich would dominate heat 1. Jake got in front early and was chased hard by Gwilliam who got close with a few laps to go but couldn’t manage a pass. Queenslander Jason Faint also got in the action passing Burke and gaining on the front runners most the race to get home 3rd. The tight confines of the Bunbury circuit made life difficult mid pack and Mills was unable to make his way through with a DNF.
Heat 2 saw the FMA Motorsport Duo of Gwilliam and Burke strike back. Getting the jump at the start and maintaining a healthy margin from Klarich and the field. The action though was further down the field Millsy managing to make it to 4th spot showing he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Faint ran into mechanical problems after a bad start had him back in the pack and fighting to get back to the front. Rookie Deepal Kandola made his best finish for the year in 5th.
Above: Blake Mills recovered from a DNF in both qualifying and heat 1
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
The Battle between the two FMA Motorsport drivers and Kalrich wasn’t over yet! The pre final started much like the rest of the day had gone with the 3 drivers battling away to get the early lead. It was Klarich this time who got away early and held a solid lead. This left the FMA drivers to nut out who was going to start 2nd and it was Burke who made an early pass on Gwilliam and finished 2nd. Another Rookie to have his best finish of the season was Joshua Merritt coming home in 4th. Soutar Dawson finally made his way forward from the bad qualifying result to 5th and Mills into 6th set up an interesting Final.
A good start was going to be half the battle to winning the final race. Burke nailed his outside line start to take the early lead and control the race. Klarich wasn’t as lucky and dropped back to 5th and got to work trying to make up the ground he lost. Meanwhile Mills had also gotten a fantastic start out of 6th and was in 2nd by lap 1. Burke had established a comfortable gap and looked like all the extra work Blake had to do on the MG Yellow tyres had taken its toll. Wasn’t to be though as Burke slipped back into the clutches of the pack and it wasn’t long before both Mills, Gwilliam and Klarich had taken Burke to put him back to 4th. Klarich then looked to get by Gwilliam as his kart seemed to come on. Millsy by now had gotten away and with a 5 kart gap between him and the pack. With 10 laps to go Klarich made his way past Gwilliam and set his sight on the rear bumper on Mills.
Klarich was lapping some 2 tenths quicker than Mills and with 3 to go he was within striking distance. A failed passing attempt let Blake know he had to cover his lines as Klarich put his nose in a few times to look for an opening. The pair made slight contact on the last corner as Klarich tried a desperate switch back on Mills who was blocking. Klarich then had the run down the straight but couldn’t manage to pip Mills who won it by less than a tenth which is the closest race of the season. Gwilliam had succumbed to mechanical failure, teammate Burke with 3rd and Queenslander Jason Faint home in 4th. Deepal Kandola rounded out the top 5.
- Full results on CMS HERE
Series points after 4 of 5 rounds:
Driver Quotes:
Blake Mills (Energy/TM)
“We couldn't have started the meeting any worse than we did. We had an engine failure on my first flying lap of qualifying and didn't really post a time, so we had to start from 19th. We then had a DNF in the first race just to top it off. After replacing almost every part on the kart other than the driver, Adam Graham and myself still thought we had a chance of winning the final if things would go our way.
We then scored a 4th in race two and again from the back to 6th in the pre final. It was probably the most amount of fun I have had in a shifter kart for a long time.
For the Final I knew if I got a good start it was going to be on! Lucky enough we got a awesome start and once we chased down Burkey and got in the lead it was just a matter of holding on. The last few laps I had a good battle with Jake and was lucky enough to hold on for the win.
The weekend didn't do my championship any favours but we it's not over till the fat lady sings and we won't be giving up just yet.
I can't thank Adam Graham, Energy karts, Bd, Flatout Karts and the old man enough for all their hard work and help on the weekend. Also the Bunbury Kart Club for once again another great racing meeting.”
Above: Jason Faint (22) and Blake Mills
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Darren Burke (Formula K/TM)
“We qualified P3 which was a great result and just what we needed. Starting at the front at Bunbury is key as it's so hard to pass.
Heat one didn't go to plan. After a good start I was helped off the track and dropped to 15th. Fortunately the Formula K chassis was performing well enough that I could drive back up to 9th by the end of the race.
It was a close start off the line in the pre final between Simon, Jake and I. Simon is always so hard to pass, so I knew I had to get by early and I managed to slide past at turn two lap 1. I held P2 for the rest of the race which gave me a front row start on the clean side of the grid for the final - perfect!
I made the most of my grid position for the final and led into the first turn. For the first few laps I got my head down as I knew I needed to break the pack. I managed to pull a lead and started to conserve the tyres. Unfortunately I backed it off too much and was caught by Blake, Simon and Jake! After dropping to fourth I picked up the pace but couldn't match the pace of Blake and Jake. Crossing the line in P3 was great though - first podium for the year! Well done to Blake and Jake - mega drive by those guys! Can't wait to round off the year at Wundowie!"
Above: Darren Burke leads team-mate Simon Gwilliam
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Bayley Mickler (Energy/TM) – Auto1 Hard Charger Award
"In the pre final I had clutch slipping issues so this forced me to retire from the race early on the first lap. Starting 26th for the final I had a decent start but then my clutch slipping issues had come back and by the end of the first lap I was stone cold last 28th. Mid-way through lap two I started fiddling with the clutch leaver and gear stick and suddenly the slip issue was gone. By the end of the 2nd lap I was last by a good 10 kart lengths and I started my push forward. The Energy Kart had great pace and we were able to charge from 28th to 13th during the 22 laps."
Above: Bayley Mickler
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Dean Whittome chases Partick Martin
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Jason Faint ahead of Amrit Kandola and Partick Martin
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Thomas Howe
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Wave to the crowd! Simon Gwilliam (21), BD Soutar-Dawson and Blake Mills
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Ben Johnson
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Jason Bondi
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Adam Garnaut
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Hayden Partizi (29) with Jason LeCocq
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Tyler Peel runs the kerb ahead of Mick Day
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Amrit Kandola
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Thomas Howe under pressure from Hayden Patrizi
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Patrick Martin
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Peter Newland
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: BD Soutar-Dawson
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
Above: Mid-pack action, Adam Garnaut (12) and Matt Davis (26)
pic - Hayden O'Keefe
