Tik Tok sensation Mathew Basso made another visit to the Go Kart Club of Victoria in season 2022. Basso was taking on the 36th running of the Panduit City of Melbourne Kart Titles running under the Melbourne Kart Centre banner. Mathew was in a competitive field of KA4 Junior Light with multiple state champions and SP Tools Australian Kart Championship round winners.
Basso went into the weekend aiming for a top 10 result and was keen to hit the track for Saturday morning qualifying. Basso hit the track for qualifying in dry conditions along with a near 25 driver field. Mathew quickly made his way into the 20 and then into the top 15 as the session went on. Basso was putting everything he had to offer on the track and was pushing the back of the top 10 drivers on times. Mathew stopped the clock in position 11 in the 6-minute session and was starting on the inside of the track for the opening heats.
The start was going to be crucial in heat 1 and Mathew was looking at making his way through the opening corner and staying out of trouble. Basso got an excellent start moving up 3 positions on the opening lap and was now in the top 10 battle. Mathew was battling in position 8 and 9 for majority of the race and was able to come home in position 9 overall with a 2-place improvement.
Mathew was once again out of position 11 for the start of heat 2 and was looking to move forward on the opening lap of the race. Basso was again able to move into the top 10 on the opening lap and was looking to improve his pace and position. Mathew chopped and changed positions and the edge of the top 10 and again crossed the line in position 9 overall. This had Basso out of position 8 for the final heat on Sunday morning.
The outside of row 4 was now the starting spot for Basso and he was looking to get away cleanly from the outside of the track. Mathew was able to settle into the top 10 and was battling hard as the race went on. Basso was in position 10 going into the dying stages of the race but was able to move up positions in the back end of the race. Mathew was able to come through for his best finish of the weekend and be classified in position 7 overall!
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Basso was on the inside of the fourth row for the start of the final but didn’t get the start he needed, dropping back to position 11 on the opening lap. Mathew worked hard and got his way back into the top 10 drivers and as the race went on he joined a large battle pack from position 5 to the edge of the top 10. Basso drove his heart out to come away with another top 10 finish in position 9, only 1 second behind 5th place!
Mathew spoke post weekend on how he battled illness all weekend to salvage a great result. “What a tough weekend it has been. I felt terrible on Friday and Saturday and didn’t even know if I was going to be well enough to race on the Sunday, but luckily things worked out and we finished in the top 10 which was a goal of ours was coming into this meeting”.
Mathew’s father Paul reinforced that Mathew was lucky to make it to the track on Sunday. “We had pretty much made the decision to call it quits on Saturday because he felt so bad but to his credit, he worked through the pain and made it to Sunday where he felt better and was able to finish in the top 10 which was our goal”.
Mathew would like to thank: Melbourne Kart Centre, Castrol Racing, UNIT Clothing, MEARTH Electric Scooters, Atlas Neck Braces, Oakley Australia, Platinum Potions, Mayhem Tools, Ethika, PREPD Hydration, SAKA Water, 808 Dude, Secure Max & Co, Bakers Delight, Spark Plugs Direct, Raceline Motorsports Racewear, New Balance, Spark Plugs Direct and MotiV8 Training.
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