City of Melbourne Titles

by Ayrton Creagh

A staple event of the karting calendar, the first weekend of August marked the 38^th running of the annual City of Melbourne titles, typically the largest stand-alone karting meet of the year. Australia’s very best converged in Port Melbourne as they vied for the glory of one of karting’s most prestigious trophies. With atypical Melbourne weather providing perfect racing conditions and clear skies, racers took to the track for what was yet another memorable event.

• full results are on speedhive HERE
• scroll to the bottom for more photos
• photos by Pace Images – Friday HERE, Saturday HERE, Sunday HERE
• photos by Tim Francis HERE
• photos by BPM Photography – Friday HERE, Saturday HERE, Sunday HERE
• photos by Trackdown Media – Friday HERE

Despite their youth and lesser experience compared to other classes, Cadet 9 continues to shine as one of the most entertaining categories in Australian karting currently, with another display of thrilling racing. In a purple patch of form after consecutive wins recently, Beau Chambers stormed to pole in an electric display of speed and skill, beating Jarvis Hindle to P1 by 0.262s: Lukas Loeskow, Luke Robinson and Marcus Culbi completing the fast five.

The heats were immense, the top of the field inseparable as Chambers took the opening heat, before Marcus Culbi snatched Heat 2. Heat 3 saw one of the best races of the weekend as both Hindle and Chambers broke away from the ensuing pack, Hindle pulling off one of the overtakes of the weekend in a last-lap gasp to narrowly beat Chambers; Loeskow, Culbi and Milan Sami followed behind.

It was set to be a sensational final, several drivers in contention as competitors found their speed in the business-end of proceedings – Chambers and Culbi off the front row with Hindle, Loeskow and Cooper Djemil behind. Lights out and throttles were pinned, Chambers slotting through T1 into the lead with Hindle glued to his tail, before making a pass for P1 before the end of the opening lap, Djemil in 3^rd. The laps wound down, Chambers replicating his strategy from earlier heats where he would work in tandem with Hindle to create a gap to the rest of the field, ensuring a two-kart race to the finish before looking for an overtake. The crowd were in for a final for the ages, before disaster struck, Chambers’ rear bumper dislodging and the mechanical ‘meatball’ flag coming out ruling him out of the race whilst in 2^nd! You couldn’t help but feel we were robbed of grandstand finish, Hindle belting out lap-after-lap as he ran away with the lead. One to go, Hindle with a gargantuan margin over the others before crossing the line winner of Cadet 9 – fastest lap to boot! Loeskow, Culbi, Robinson and Sami went at it for the last podium places before the front runners had a coming together, a nasty incident that saw Sami out of the kart and Loeskow plummet down the order. In the end it would be Culbi who would cross the line in P2, Robinson 3^rd as Ryder Xiong and Zac Ismaili completed the top five.

We hope Milan is on the mend after the scary incident and feeling better soon.

The largest of classes over the event, Cadet 12 ensured there would be fireworks as they took to the track! Parolin’s young phenom, Archie Bristow, simply smashed the opposition in qualifying as he claimed P1 with a remarkable 44.116 – just over 0.25s clear of 2^nd place Koda Singh as Casper Anderson, Beau Casagrande and Oscar Singh completed the top of the field.

Bristow put the field to the sword during the heats as they raced in the over-subscribed format with differing groups, taking out Heat 1 by just under 5s, before taking 2^nd place in Heat 2 – a race that had to be seen to be believed. Archie crashed out in the opening corner tumbling to last (20^th), before driving to 2^nd place and gaining more than 5s on the leaders in little over seven minutes of racing, fastest lap by an astounding 0.5s and faster than the leader by 0.7s! Bristow went on to claim Heat 3, as Casagrande, Koda Singh, Jensen Damaschino and Cooper Folley took out the other heats.

The stage was set for a blockbuster final, could anyone compete with the astonishing pace of the Ballarat bullet? As we took to the field for the shortened 9-minute finale, drama unfolded, Bristow coming to an abrupt stop on the roll arounds, an incident occurring that ruled him out of the race. Heartbreak for the young superstar, that would see Koda Singh inherit pole position alongside Casagrande out of P2. The lights went out and we were underway, BANG, a massive pile-up of karts stacked on top of each other in the sand trap of turn one that took out several front runners including the likes of Joseph Bianchini, Luca Portaro and our front runner, Beau Casagrande! After yellow flag conditions, Singh would be the one to lead the field over Folley in P2. The laps wound down, Singh relinquishing the lead to Chase Saxild on lap five as more racers entered the battle for the lead, EKS kart’s Jensen Damaschino cruising from starting 15^th and firmly in the top five. Three to go, Folley had now found himself in P1, leading Saxild behind and Baralos in 3^rd before contact saw Baralos out of contention for the win. It was getting rough, elbow’s out racing, Saxild returning to the lead as Folley had his feathers roughened by the leading group. Final lap, Damaschino had somehow sliced his way through the drama to find himself in P2 – arguably the best place to be on the final lap with everything to gain as he hunted down Saxild! Final corners upcoming, Damaschino unable to seize an earlier opportunity, opting to set himself up for a sprint to the line finish… Saxild wins it in a final for the ages! 0.041s the margin, nothing more than a cigarette paper separating the two! With post-race penalties applied, the order would seemingly be turned on its head; Folley would take 2^nd from Hudson Petta in 3^rd, Damaschino and Koda Singh completing the top five – nothing changing at the top though with Saxild remaining supreme in Cadet 12 – what a race!

KA3 Junior Light saw local front runner, Ayce Buckley, continue to strut his stuff in a dominant qualifying session, beating ProKarting teammate, Zach Tucker, to pole position: Mason Woods, Max Mangano and Lewis Kucina completing the fast five. Moving to the heats, Buckley wasn’t keen on letting anyone have their shot at the crown, going two from two in the opening races as he led home Tucker in 2^nd, Woods and Hudson Hughes the remaining top three. Buckley was looking unassailable out in front, but at the start of Heat 3 he would coming crashing back down the order, taken out in the opening lap scuffle where Max Mangano would hit the lead! Mangano, having been in juniors for only a handful of weeks, was now leading the biggest race of his life, Christion Sasso and Braxton Regan in pursuit. Mangano fought till the death, but it’d be Sasso who drew from his experience to come out on top over Regan, Mangano just behind!

We were in for a tantalising final; Buckley’s consistency would see him start out of pole position alongside Regan out of P2 – the two equal on points but Buckley off pole due to his earlier qualifying result. The flag dropped and we’re underway, Buckley getting the holeshot and maintaining the lead at the end of the opening lap, Regan on his heels with Sasso behind. Mangano was on the move, getting pushy at the front of the field as he was looking to assert himself as one of Australia’s best juniors, before a coming together on lap 3 saw him forced wide and beached on the embankment, out of the race! Still some 12-laps to go, Sasso now setting chase after Buckley as he would glide past Regan with ease, Woods following through to inherit 3^rd. The gap to Buckley now 0.8s, Sasso throwing everything at him but Buckley seemingly with an answer for everything. As the battle for the latter top five places erupted, Buckley was in cruise control out in front, putting his foot down to cross the line a cool 1.5s clear of Sasso at the end of it, Tucker in 3^rd completing the podium!

The titans of KA3 Junior Heavy came to play this weekend, as old rivals Sam March and Mat Basso locked horns on track once more. March, who won the Victorian State Championship earlier in the year at this very track, looked to be the favourite heading into qualifying, but it’d be Basso who would pull out a scintillating lap that would see him 0.129s ahead of Cayden Beacham in P2! March, Lachlan Tombleson and Aydan Warren completing the fast five. Basso continued his hot run of form, taking the opening heat win over March in 2^nd before March would cross the line 1^st in Heat 2 (a penalty would see him placed back in 3^rd), both Warren and Beacham claiming podium places.

Having reassessed overnight, March was looking to bounce back in Heat 3, but Basso slammed the door shut with any hopes that March had going with it as Basso took the win by a crushing 2.5s margin and fastest lap of the race.

The final was upon us, Basso brimming with confidence – could anyone mount an adequate challenge for the #18 superstar? Lights go out and we’re racing, Basso with an electric start that sees him take the lead, March following through. March bided his time, before making a lunge for the lead on lap 4, Basso gathering himself as he settled down in 2^nd for the meantime. The two went at it over the ensuing laps, dicing for the lead as they alternated positions – Basso hitting the lead before sprinting to almost a 1s gap to March behind. The field began to settle as Basso was looking like a clear winner, but March wasn’t done yet, digging deep to slowly but surely reduce the gap from 1s to 0.1s with one lap to go! It was gloves off action, March looking at a last lap upset whilst Basso was utilising all his defensive prowess to hold off the #15. March closes through the final corners, they sprint to the line… Basso takes the win! The gap as they cross the line a mere 0.222s to March, agonisingly close for the 2^nd place getter, Cayden Beacham rounding out the podium in 3^rd!

The spectacle of KA2 certainly didn’t disappoint as it produced one of the closest qualifying sessions of the event. Tom Williamson Motorsport’s Ayrton Dalmaso strutted his way to pole position 0.024s clear of Harry Bresnehan in 2^nd; Jensen Marold, Marco Manson and Sam March completing the fast five as they were separated by a mere 0.125s from 1^st to 5^th! Despite Ayrton’s pole position brilliance and the favoured inside line for racing, it was JND Racing’s Bresnehan that’d be king of the heats, taking a string of 1^st place finishes ahead of Dalmaso, Marold, Manson and March – alternating the top five places amongst themselves.

It was racing order reversal for the final, Bresnehan now with the luxury of pole position with Dalmaso alongside – Marold, March and Manson the remaining top five starting positions. Could anyone stop the mighty Bresnehan? The flag drops and we’re going, Bresnehan with the ideal start to take the lead as he forces Dalmaso wide, who gets freight-trained by the field that sees the young pilot take avoiding action as he swerves onto the grass, dropping to the back of the field. Bresnehan’s main challenger seemed out for the count, with Dalmaso focusing on a recovery drive to salvage something from the weekend. Bresnehan put his foot down to build a gap, as he had done in the heat’s prior, but this time Patrizicorse’s Marold wasn’t letting go, the margin getting no larger than 0.2s as Marold lumped the pressure on Bresnehan. The methodical Marold was waiting for his opportunity to strike, and strike he did as he found his way past Bresnehan at half-race distance, Bresnehan’s opportunity to return serve as he was now the chaser. The laps wound down, Bresnehan once again tapping into his laser-like consistency, but Marold’s sheer speed would prove too strong as the South Australian soared to victory by 0.7s over Bresnehan in 2^nd, continuing the remarkable weekend trend in KA2 that no one starting from pole position would go on to take victory. In a frenzied battle for 3^rd, ProKarting’s Miles Baker narrowly pipped Marco Manson at the post, with Sam March concluding the top five!

TAG 125 Restricted Light saw a return to the top of the charts for track local, Spiros Anagnostopoulos, who claimed pole position by a mere 0.170s over Mackenzie Rowley in 2^nd, with Ethan Warren, Isaac Scalise and Eric Van Den Hout the remaining lot of the fast five. Anagnostopoulos backed up his impressive form from qualifying to show a brutal display of speed, as he began to flex his muscles on the class he continues to rule with three wins in the heats. Whilst Anagnostopoulos was running away out in front, the battle for the remaining podium positions was well and truly alive – Scalise and Rowley just behind Anagnostopoulos in Heat 1 before Warren stepped up his game aboard the Velox kart to take two 2^nd places on the trot, narrowly ahead of Rowley.

Anagnostopoulos had been able to tap into an unmatched level of consistency during the heats off the back of incredible first lap speed on cold tyres that saw him often build a 1s gap before the end of lap 1. As the fastest laps had been scattered throughout the field in the heats, would anyone be able to stifle Anagnostopoulos’ awesome first laps? The flag dropped and we’re racing, Anagnostopoulos with yet another blinder of a start that saw him separate himself from the field with ease, Warren slotting into 2^nd but already some 1.1s off the lead by the end of the opening lap. It was head down tail up for Warren, who set off to reduce the deficit to Anagnostopoulos whilst managing the challenge of Josh Nicholls behind. It was all single file until Nicholls decided he was going for a silver model, slithering his way past Warren with five laps to go, Rowley closing in on Warren in the dying laps as he aimed for a maiden podium. There was little change from there, Rowley got close but was unable to reel in Warren, who took home 3^rd just under 1s behind Nicholls, with Anagnostopoulos obliterating the field to win by 3.2s as he crossed the line – Sublime Spiros!

Double duties are typically a tough order throughout a race weekend, but that certainly didn’t seem the case for TAG 125 Restricted Medium poleman Glenn Riddell who snatched pole position by 0.105s over Mikhali Triantafillidis; 3^rd of Mitch Davis a further 0.429s back with Aiden Nichols and Lachlan Waeland completing the fast five.

The heats commenced, Riddell on fire as he stormed to a 1.4s victory in the opening heat, 0.2s faster than Triantafillidis in 2^nd. Triantafillidis worked on the kart between the heats and was able to record almost an identical time to Riddell in Heat 2 as he crossed the line 2^nd, but Riddell was able to utilise the advantage of pole position to build the gap early and take another win, before putting his foot down and driving away in Heat 3. Western Australian racer, Aidan Nichols, enjoyed positive results as he collected a string of 3^rds.

Whilst on paper it looked like Riddell had it in the bag prior to the final, those who scratched the surface on the data knew that if Triantafillidis could get the start, he was well and truly in contention to bring home the win with his speed almost match that of Riddell’s. Who was it that would come out on top? Lights out and we’re underway, a terrific start for Riddell ensured he exited the opening corner in the lead, as Triantafillidis was shuffled down to 3^rd with Nichols moving into 2^nd. The race timer continued to tick down, Riddell building his margin as the crowd nervously waited for the local of Triantafillidis to pull the trigger and set chase of Riddell, Nichols standing between Triantafillidis and his tilt at the crown.  It wasn’t to be, Nichols seemingly finding greater kart speed between Heat 3 and the Final as he stretched out the gap to Triantafillidis behind. Little change in the end, Pulse Tuning’s Riddell crossed the line as cool, calm and collected as he started it with Nichols and Triantafillidis completing the podium!

Victorian Combined Masters saw karting legend Matt Wall claim an exhilarating pole position in a 20+ year kart to narrowly pip the 2024 Victorian State champion, Ian Branson, by 0.107s. TAG 125 Restricted Medium winner, Glenn Riddell, took 3^rd 0.027s further back from Mark Seddon and Steve Riddell to complete the fast five. Despite Wall’s speed in qualifying, this didn’t appear to translate in the heats, inheriting the win in Heat 1 due to a penalty to Mark Seddon who had crossed the line P1 before being relegated to 3^rd. Glenn Riddell went on to win the next two heats: Branson, Wall and Darren Formosa would also go on to feature on the podium.

Glenn Riddell’s two heat wins would see him starting from the coveted pole position for the final, Ringwood Kart Centre’s Branson rewarded for his string of 2^nd places with a P2 starting position: Wall, Nairn Miller and Mark Seddon the remaining top five places. Lights out and we’re underway, Riddell with the perfect start and emerging into the lead ahead of Wall in 2^nd, Branson holding 3^rd. The race heated up at the front of the field, Branson dropping from 3^rd to 5^th on lap 4 as he battled it out with the likes of Seddon and Formosa – the two on the charge as they began to tear up the top of the pecking order. It wasn’t long before Seddon rocked up to the back bumper of Wall, clearing the maestro to move into 2^nd on lap 7 with Seddon on the charge. Wall’s kart appeared to be running out of puff, Formosa looking at closing the gap. The field began to settle for a handful of laps before disaster for Seddon, a mechanical issue plaguing the driver who was limping his way down the back straightaway of the course, returning to the pits. As he cleared through the fast sweeper, disaster struck twice – Formosa and Seddon trying to take avoiding action before accidentally collecting each other on the way through, one of the scariest crashes in karting I’ve ever witnessed.

The race was appropriately red flagged, Seddon and competitors rushing to the aid of Formosa in what was a touching display of human nature. The race was declared, Riddell determined the winner of Victorian Combined Masters, doubling up with his victory from TAG 125 Restricted Medium with Wall and Branson completing the podium places.

Having spoken to Darren since the incident, we can confirm that he is on the mend. We look forward to seeing the legend that is Darren ‘Hollywood’ Formosa back at the track soon.

KA3 Senior Light saw both Jack Webster and Pip Casabene making their debut in KA3 Senior Light, having typically competed in the TAG categories. The two took to the field like a duck to water, Casabene notching yet another pole position as he recorded a 39.956, almost 0.2s clear of Alpha Motorsport’s Hunter Salvatore in P2 with Webster, Jett Adamson and Mika Lemasurier completing the fast five. Casabene kept his foot on the throttle during the heats, dominant on the Saturday with two heat victories over Webster just behind, Lemasurier and Will Thompson getting a 3^rd each. Sunday morning came and it was time for Heat 3 – Lemasurier and Thompson enjoying their time in the sun as they recorded a 1-2 finish with Casabene a nosecone behind, Max Walton and Salvatore 4^th and 5th respectively.

It was set to be a grandstand finish in the final, the whole paddock knowing this would come down to the very last lap to determine the winner. Casabene out of pole position, Patrizicorse’s Lemasurier off P2 – Casabene had been so dominant, but could Mika pull off an upset for the ages? The flag dropped and we were racing, Lemasurier with a blinder of a start that saw him hit the lead at the start of the race with Webster behind, Casabene beaten and bounced around in the congestion to finish the opening lap in P3. Webster recognised this as his opportunity and decided to pounce, passing Lemasurier on lap 4 to put daylight between him and Casabene. Casabene though just does not lie down, bullying his way to 2^nd on the same lap before cruising past Webster three laps later. It was nose-to-tail at the front of the field, whilst the remaining podium battle was alive with Walton, Thompson and Lemasurier duelling it our – Amos Orr closing in as well down in 6^th. Webster maintained his consistency, keeping onto the tail of Casabene through the 15-lap saga, but in the end, it’d be Casabene’s speed and determination that saw him maintain the win! Webster crossed the line half a kart length behind as Lemasurier narrowly beat Thompson and Walton to a podium place.

In yet another dazzling performance in qualifying, KA3 Senior Medium’s Taine Venables claimed pole position over Jackson Souslin-Harlow in 2^nd, 0.111s the gap between the front two as Zach Findlay, Ben Mouritz and Matthew Nietz completed the fast five.

It was mixed results in the heats, Findlay appearing to have the superior race pace of the field as he went on to beat Souslin-Harlow in a straight shootout in Heat 1, out-witting the JSH Racing front runner in a clever display that saw him take P1 with 2 laps to go. It got scrappy in Heat 2 however; Findlay signed, sealed and delivered as he was sent straight into the tyre barrier on lap 1, before Nietz and Venables came together to rule them both out of the race – three out of the top five competitors not finishing. Pulse Tuning’s Ben Mouritz turned on the afterburners to take the win ahead of Rio Campbell and Souslin-Harlow. Heat 3 would go down to the wire, a passionate battle amongst the front runners as more competitors joined the party, Pro Line’s Thomas Patching working his way into the lead aboard the Tony Kart with a handful of laps to go, Souslin-Harlow all over his tail as they entered the last lap. The two drag-raced to the line where Souslin-Harlow would claim victory by a remarkable 0.077s – just to receive a two-place penalty seeing Patching inherit the win! Mouritz in 2^nd.

The heats broke the field wide open, Patching seemingly coming from no where to have obtained pole position for the final alongside Souslin-Harlow – Mouritz, Findlay and Campbell the front starting five. The flag dropped and we’re underway, Patching maintaining his composure to be leading the way at the end of the opening lap over Souslin-Harlow. Souslin-Harlow appeared to be struggling, Mouritz cruising on by two laps later as Souslin-Harlow kept tuning his KA100 on the fly. It was all happening at the front of the field, but whilst the squabbling was happening, Findlay had been biding his time bringing the kart up to temperature. The #24 was ready to strike, lunging at Souslin-Harlow for 3^rd on lap 4, before stealing 2^nd from Mouritz a lap later. Findlay was almost shark-life as he sensed blood in the water for first place, hunting Patching down and hitting the lead on lap 7. The race got harder for Patching, Mouritz now striking whilst the iron was hot to take 2^nd place. Mouritz was in pursuit of Findlay, the laps counting down for what must’ve felt like an eternity for the leader. But it didn’t matter what Mouritz threw at him, Findlay had an answer, crossing the line winner of the event that had eluded him in KA3 Senior Medium for some time, the gap 0.7s. Further back, Souslin-Harlow had got it together and found a way past Patching, closing up to the tail of Mouritz but wouldn’t get the move done. The top three’s fastest times separated by 0.009s – incredible!

If Glenn Riddell’s double duties were tiring, TAG 125 Light pole sitter Max Walton must’ve been exhausted, having competed in three separate categories over the weekend! Walton is certainly no stranger to the top of the field, an ex-national champion, Walton stormed to pole position by just under 0.2s aboard the Rotax-powered Parolin, Mika Lemasurier securing 2^nd. GKCV fan favourite Dallas Greene secured 3^rd, ahead of Kiahn Burt and Josh Denton who completed the fast five.

Walton was on a warpath, destroying his opposition to clean sweep the heats ahead of Lemasurier who had a string of P2’s himself – Walton with two fastest laps.  Dallas Greene was consistent to bag two 3^rds, before Burt jumped on the podium in Heat 3.

Walton’s consistency and ruthlessness had ensured him pole position for the final, but Lemasurier was hungry for victory having finished agonisingly close to the tail of Walton through the heats. Could Lemasurier find a way past Parolin’s pilot?

Lights out and off we go, Lemasurier with a blinder of a start to take the lead, before Walton snatched it back the next corner into the chicane. End of Lap 1 and Walton had amassed a 0.4s lead over Lemasurier. Lemasurier’s kart appeared to take its time coming to life – Josh Denton working from 3^rd and up into P2 a lap later to relegate Lemasurier down a position. The podium positions undulated, as Lemasurier got Denton back a few laps later, just to lose two places after to both Denton and Greene. It was fierce battling at the front, but whilst that was happening, Walton just continued to extend his margin behind. The laps counting down and it was anyone’s podium from 2^nd to 5^th as Denton, Greene, Lemasurier and Cooper Johnstone scrapped it out, before disaster struck Greene – a rogue wheel deciding to socially distance itself from the rest of the kart as he was contesting for a podium. Knives were out at the top of the class, Denton trying to hang it around the outside of Johnstone through the fast sweeper and collecting the wall – tiptoeing back to the pits, whilst Jacob Dowson had cruised into the top five and sliced his way through with ease, sitting in 3^rd. In the end, Walton crushed the opposition to win by a massive 3.5s over Lemasurier, Dowson crossing in 3^rd ahead of Johnstone and Burt!

Whilst Jackson Souslin-Harlow was fighting it out in KA3 Senior Medium, the state champion made it look like an easier set of affairs in TAG 125 Heavy – waltzing his way to pole position by just over 0.1s ahead of Paul Rodgers, returning to a kart for the first time in nearly a year! Sebastian Perrone, Zack Thompson and Corey Minton completing the fast five. It was all happening behind Souslin-Harlow, who went onto clean sweep the heats in fashionable style ahead of the likes of Perrone, Rodgers, Thompson and Tom Sparkes – all netting podiums between them.

The question on everyone’s mind heading into the final was whether anyone could keep in touch with Souslin-Harlow, with the class supremo set to start out of pole position alongside Thompson, with Rodgers, Perrone and Sparkes just behind. Lights out and we’re racing, drama immediately as Rodgers receives encouragement from behind to enter the gravel trap – somehow dividing the field and taking no one else with him. Rodgers was out, one of the closer rivals to Souslin-Harlow throughout the weekend as Sparkes stepped up into P2, Thompson in 3^rd. A handful of laps later and Thompson found his way into 2^nd, moving Sparkes to 3^rd. There was little change from there, the front three remaining unchanged from lap 5 onwards with all the action happening behind as Matt Wall put together a drive for the ages from 10^th to 5^th. Souslin-Harlow enjoyed the sweet taste of victory ahead of Thompson some 4.5s behind, Sparkes completing the podium!

The final category of the weekend, X30 Light had a superstar calibre field as recent Formula 3 debutant and multiple national champion, James Wharton, returned to the country racing alongside some of karting and car racing’s finest. After his impressive performance in KA3 Senior Light, Pip Casabene backed it up with pole position ahead of TAG 125 Light front runner, Max Walton, in 2^nd – the two meeting together after dominating their respective classes. Brodie Whitmore, Jett Kocoski and Toby Spinks completing the fast five. Similarly to KA3 Senior Light, Casabene’s wasn’t budging an inch on Saturday, taking two heat victories ahead of Walton and Whitmore – Rush Performance’s Christian Estasy climbing onto the podium with a 3^rd to boot. A frosty Sunday had arrived, not that it had any impact on Casabene in Heat 3 as he went on to another heat victory over Max Walton in P2, WA’s Hugh McGuire notching a well-deserved 3^rd place finish.

Having spent recent time in Europe taking the fight to some of the world’s best, Casabene had implemented all that he’d learnt to secure pole position for the final, lining up alongside IKD’s Whitmore for the final with Spinks, Estasy and Hayden Millington the top five starters. What had to happen to upset the current dominance of Casabene?

Engines were revving, and throttles were pinned – we were racing! Casabene with an excellent start that saw him take the lead at the very start, Estasy in 2^nd ahead of Spinks with Whitmore relegated to 4^th. Whitmore was working his way back into the race, making a pass on Spinks for P3 on lap 4 before making another move for 2^nd on lap 7. The battle was fierce in the top five, Estasy continuing to battle with Spinks, Millington and others for a podium place, whilst ahead, Casabene was arguably having his best race of the weekend as he built his margin lap-after-lap over Whitmore who had nothing to respond with. In the end, Casabene produced a performance that immortalised his position as one of the best to partake in the City of Melbourne titles ever, dropping only one heat across two classes for the whole event, demolishing X30 by a resounding 3.5s over Whitmore, as Jacob Dowson charged from 17^th to 3^rd to net a podium finish for the MFK driver!

Commentator’s Driver of the Weekend:
What an incredible end to one of the best events on the calendar! The 38^th City of Melbourne titles touched every emotion that racing fans can feel, from jubilation to heartbreak, the sense of achievement to the sorrow of failure, as well as the presence of human spirit. The racing was phenomenal and there were some incredible achievements throughout: Casabene and Riddell’s double victories, Bristow’s drive from last to 2^nd and everything in-between! But there was one particular driver who stood out.

Zach Findlay has been in some excellent form recently; it feels like every track I commentate at he has been moving from strength to strength. After an impressive win last weekend at the Golden Power Series, Findlay would have been brimming with confidence coming to Port Melbourne. Having had several attempts at City of Melbourne glory previously, Findlay faced heartbreak once again when he was turned into the wall in Heat 2. Findlay dug deep, finding a gear that no one else seemingly had and a level I was yet to witness within him, letting it all out as he bashed the side of his side pod when crossing the line victorious – how I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall for the car ride home! Findlay’s win was epic, fitting of a champion and for Commentator’s Driver of the Weekend!