Qld Championships - Final Results

The 2008 AKA Queensland State Championships have been run and won. Provisional winners are:

Clubman Light: Jason Burns
Clubman Heavy: Jason Hryniuk
Rotax Light: Jordie Lindstrom
Rotax Heavy: William Yarwood
Leopard Light: John Grother
Leopard Heavy: Justin Schneider
Clubman Super Heavy: Ben McKinlay
Jnr National Heavy: Garry Jacobson
Jnr National Light: Matthew Brabham
Midgets: Jake Dixon
Rookies: Brock Plumb
Jnr Clubman: Max Johnstone
Snr National Light: Ryan Reynolds
Clubman Over 40s: Remo Luciani
Snr National Heavy: Norm Trost

AKA press releaes

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE LIFTS GROTHER TO VICTORY

Emerald driver John Grother has used his local knowledge to claim the victory in the Queensland State Karting Championships presented by the Smart City Vocational College at Rockhampton’s Fitzroy Park Raceway this weekend.

Grother, 26, started from pole position for the final of the highly competitive Leopard Light category but was jumped at the start by Gold Coast resident Ryan Sanderson.

Above: John Grother crosses the line to win Leopard Light
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

Sanderson led the way for the opening section of the race and appeared to have Grother’s measure. However, the local steerer had other ideas and bridged the gap between himself and the race leader by mid race distance was challenging for the race lead.

After pressuring Sanderson for a number of laps Grother found his way into the race lead aboard his European-made Gillard kart just after race distance. From there he showed superior pace to distance himself from the field and record his third state championship victory.

“I’ve done a fair few laps around the Rockhampton track and have been aiming to win this championship for a few years now, to finally do it is a fantastic feeling,” said Grother.

“Over the years I’ve raced against some of the best drivers from across the country but to take them on and beat them on one of my ‘home’ tracks is amazing.

“From the time I hit the circuit for first practice on Wednesday my Gillard kart was right on the pace so it was great to be able to transfer that speed into a victory.”

Third-generation driver Matthew Brabham, grandson of Sir Jack Brabham, was one of the other drivers to claim a victory over the weekend. Brabham claimed the third state championship of his career when he crossed the line first in the Junior National Light category.

Above: Matthew Brabham shows off his blue state championship plate
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

RACE NOTES:

MIDGETS

All weekend the Midgets class was all about two drivers – Jake Dixon and Lachlan McHugh, and in the end it was Dixon’s Arrow that edge out the Kosmic kart of McHugh to take the win.

The two put on a sensational race in the final, as McHugh shadowed Dixon’s every move as he waited to pounce. In the end McHugh was indeed able to gain the lead into Turn 1 but Dixon jumped straight back into P1 soon after and that’s the way it stayed.

Jordan Boys was smooth, fast and consistent all weekend and lead home the rest of the pack.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #89 Jake Dixon
2. #33 Lachlan McHugh
3. #8 Jordan Boys
4. #96 Liam McLellan
5. #20 Andrew Kahl

Above: Jake Dixon
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

ROOKIES

Many pundits of all ages after the race called this one the best final of the race. And they were right.

Adrian Lazzaro was the pre-race favourite, but did not win the Sunday morning Pre-Final in as convincing fashion as the two heats, giving hope that he could be toppled.

Liam Morey, Jonathan Venter, Jake Coleman and Brock Plumb obviously took this onboard, as the four ensured that the final was a battle royale.

Venter led the majority of the race but positions were literally swapped at each corner as the young guns charged into corners under brakes yet still allowed each other racing room.

Heading into the final lap Venter held P1, but some ultra-defensive lines allowed Plumb and Lazzaro to attempt to pass on either side of the #4 Top Kart. In the end, Plumb got the run when in counted and edged out Venter over the line, with Lazzaro third. Coleman was right there in fourth while Morey was run wide in the final turn and was edged out for P5 by Thomas Randle.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #15 Brock Plumb
2. #4 Jonathan Venter
3. #95 Adrian Lazzaro
4. #14 Jake Coleman
5. #24 Thomas Randle

JUNIOR NATIONAL LIGHT

Junior National Light was one of two oversubscribed classes in Rocky, so the prospect of seeing all the guns in one class was postponed until the final.

Unfortunately, we were denied the chance to see Matthew Brabham and Australian champ Tyler Greenbury racing head-to-head, as Greenbury was run wide at the final corner on lap one after an average start.

But what we did get to see was a masterful drive from the Toowoomba driver as he pushed his Tony Kart to the limit and cut through the pack to be second by mid-race distance.

By this time Brabham, who was the fastest driver the entire weekend in the class, was gone, but Greenbury did edge closer to Brabham’s Arrow with every lap. In the end Brabham took a deserved victory, while Greenbury was a gallant second.

Sean Butcher came back from a DNF in the heats to grab third, a great comeback after a sizeable crash at the Easter Nationals in Tasmania, while Joseph Mawson edged Cameron Waters for fifth.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #83 Matthew Brabham
2. #1 Tyler Greenbury
3. #30 Sean Butcher
4. #8 Joseph Mawson
5. #11 Cameron Waters

JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY

All weekend, and practically all year, Gary Jacobson and Nathan Morcom have been the class of Junior National Heavy. So it was no surprise when the two forged a gap on the field in the final.

The lead was exchanged almost every lap, but entering the final lap, Jacobson had the lead. Jacobson ran a defensive lap the entire lap, a tactic used by many drivers in finals that ultimately failed. But Jacobson was able to maintain enough momentum out of the tight hairpin to keep Morcom behind and claim the win.

Ben Stewart, Darsey Kondopirakis and Jayden Coop were engaged in a battle for third, but found themselves right on the lead duo by the end of the race due to the defensive tactics, but crossed the line third to fifth respectively.

As a side note, the battle for 10th in this race featured 11 karts and was as hectic a dice as seen as any major meeting all year.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #55 Gary Jacobson
2. #71 Nathan Morcom
3. #48 Ben Stewart
4. #2 Darsey Kondopirakis
5. #17 Jayden Coop

JUNIOR CLUBMAN

Max Johnstone led the field away from the pole and pulled a gap at lightening speed, using a Scott Simpson/Flatout Karts Air-Cooled KT100S Clubman engine to great effect.

In the first half of the race it looked as though Johnstone could walk home, but as the race wore on, Johnstone was slowly but surely reeled in by Vodafone-backed Tony Kart driver Chris Hays.

Hays was absolutely on the limit as he drew ever closer and on the final lap, Johnstone’s defensive driver allowed him right onto the rear bar of the Redspeed. Hays had a run on Johnstone into the final two corners and as Johnstone blocked the inside Hays drove wide to get the crossover move.

In the end Hays swung to the inside on the final corner and grabbed the lead, both karts making contact and taking to the dirt before crossing the line only 0.046 seconds apart in Hays’ favour. But a post-race Stewards hearing had Hays relegated to second and Johnstone installed as the victor.

Ben Jurczak won the battle for third ahead of Matthew Brabham and Matthew Hart.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #24 Max Johnstone
2. #97 Chris Hays
3. #76 Ben Jurczak
4. #83 Matthew Brabham
5. #62 Matthew Hart

SENIOR NATIONAL LIGHT

This race had it all, and we mean everything! But in the end, Ryan Reynolds led only one lap and it was the one that counted most, the final one.

A pack of 11 karts was fighting it out for the lead, but all hell broke loose when several karts came together mid-race in Turn 2, sending early leaders Shannon Price and James Whitley into the grass and out of the race.

This left Thomas Phillips and Billy-James Whitaker fighting for the lead but on the final lap the two came together at the tight hairpin and bogged down.

Aussie champ Matthew Waters came up on the two karts at just the wrong moment and was also caught up in the tangle, leaving Reynolds to drive around the outside of the trio to take the win.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #9 Ryan Reynolds
2. #92 Thomas Phillips
3. #4 Billy-James Whitaker
4. #1 Matthew Waters
5. #12 Scott Sorensen

SENIOR NATIONAL HEAVY

While SNL was a cracker, SNH was a domination – and we have Norm Trost to blame.

Trost took the lead into the first corner and simply drove away into the sunset, taking the win ahead of Dominic Lostitch. If not for Lostitch, Trost’s win would have come by almost half a lap.

The battle for third was close and frantic and Corey Lean was in the end successful in the bronze position, ahead of Nathan Sinclair and Brett Payne.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #47 Norm Trost
2. #44 Dominic Lostitch
3. #14 Corey Lean
4. #76 Nathan Sinclair
5. #60 Brett Payne

Above: Some of the crowd at the 2008 QLD State Karting Championships presented by Smart City Vocational College
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

CLUBMAN LIGHT

The second of the oversubscribed classes and the final race of the day, Clubman Light was a race of two parts.

David Sera took the lead at the start from Lydon Dodge, but Sera had his handful maintaining the lead due to carburettor troubles. When Dodge final edged his CRG past Sera the two touched and at the next corner Sera had a flat tyre and spun, taking an unlucky Nathan Garioch with him.

This incident slowed the leaders somewhat, giving Ryan Sanderson the lead, but more importantly, allowed the likes of Jason Burns, Joel Smith and Abbey Kellie, who were all very fast but started a little further back due to poor luck in the heats, the chance to catch the lead bunch.

For Burns that was all the luck he needed. He soon rounded up Sanderson and after shadowing Dodge for lap-after-lap, the Wollongong whiz made his move in the closing laps and took a strong win, deserved for the driver who was the fastest in the class all weekend but was taken out in his third heat.

Dodge was a classy second in the drive of his career to date, while Smith was a strong third not long into his career in senior competition.

Justin Garioch was on course to start the final from the front row until he DNF’d a heat due to a rear wheel flying off in his final heat (he later rescued it some 100 metres over the circuit fence). The Britek Motorsport Scholarship driver recovered to finish fourth, while Kellie did nothing but impress onlookers all weekend with her speed and racecraft, taking fifth place.

Kudos must go to Zeke Edwards, who suffered a hand injury in a clash with Kellie in his final heat but continued to race and grabbed a top 10 result in the final.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #31 Jason Burns
2. #97 Lydon Dodge
3. #14 Grant Smith
4. #23 Justin Garioch
5. #99 Abbey Kellie

Above: The final race of the day, the over-subscribed Clubman Light
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

CLUBMAN HEAVY

It was a CRG front row at the start and a CRG quinella in the end as long-time ‘Team Black’ driver Jason Hryniuk grabbed the win ahead of new team-mate Jason Pringle.

Hryniuk took the lead early ahead of Matthew Wall and Pringle, but Wall soon dropped out with carburettor problems.

The CRG duo led away but Troy Woolston had been fast all weekend and in the closing laps was right behind the pair. On the final lap he went to pass Pringle but clipped him and rotated out of conention, bending the throttle pedal of Pringle in the procces.

With Pringle only able to get three-quarter throttle and his nassua panel now bent up over his helmet, he struggled through the final three corners, holding off the advancing Tom Williamson while Hryniuk cruised to victory wondering what had become on the expected challenge for his lead.

Kel Treseder, in only his second meeting of the season, picked up a classy and consistent fourth place while James Greenwood was a strong fifth.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #45 Jason Hryniuk
2. #35 Jason Pringle
3. #5 Tom Williamson
4. 75 Kel Treseder
5. #12 James Greenwood

Above: Jason Hryniuk
pic - Ash Budd, www.photowagon.com.au

CLUBMAN SUPER HEAVY

Ben McKinlay did a Scott Simpson in beating Scott Simpson in Clubman Super Heavy.

We are so used to seeing Simpson drive into the sunset with a commanding win, it was something different to see McKinlay take the lead and drive away to take a clear win.

But Redspeed importer Jason Burns still had a smile on his face – as McKinlay’s domination delivered him a quinella just like this year’s Nationals, but with the order reversed.

Benjamin Dunley grabbed third, while Craig Minett and Thomas Janusz led home a pack of half a dozen karts pushing hard for the minor placings.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #74 Ben McKinlay
2. #1 Scott Simpson
3. #12 Benjamin Dunley
4. #8 Craig Minett
5. #9 Thomas Janusz

CLUBMAN OVER 40s

Remo Luciani is usually unbeatable in this class but in Rocky he was certainly beatable, because a bunch of drivers all turned in great performances in this final and Remo just got home for victory.

Come finals time Luciani always turns on the class and today was no different. But he had to draw on every ounce of his massive experience to defend the likes from the likes of Bevan Garioch and Andrew Scott.

In the end Scott emerged as Luciani’s greatest challenge, but the Monaco boss held on for a narrow win.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #20 Remo Luciani
2. #37 Andrew Scott
3. #32 Bevan Garioch
4. #62 Glen Plumb
5. #34 Nigel Ward

ROTAX LIGHT

Jordie Lindstrom had not raced Rotax Light since the Rotax Nationals in Geelong in 2006. Clearly, he needs to do it more often.

The Melburnian was steady during the heats but in his first Rotax race in a Tony Kart, he came to the front and simply drove away in what was a quality field.

In the early stages polesitter Bart Price was on fire and the Arrow guru looked to be set for a clear victory. But Lindstrom, wearing the helmet of his older brother after his was stolen from the Tony Kart Australia truck on its journey up to Rockhampton, turned on the speed and closed a massive gap to take the lead and the win.

Tom Williamson’s Azzuro was second ahead of young gun David Whitmore, who had fought with Price for heat wins on Friday and Saturday but on this occasion past the #13 Arrow for the final spot on the podium late in the final.

Special mention must go to Damian Ward, who did admirably all weekend and started the final second only to be shuffled wide at the first corner and dropped to the rear.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #49 Jordie Lindstrom
2. #5 Tom Williamson
3. #57 David Whitmore
4. #13 Bart Price
5. #33 Leigh Wallace

ROTAX HEAVY

William Yarwood always seems to win Rotax Heavy in his Arrow. It’s a domination of a single class that will go down as one of the strongest for a long time. But 2007 Australian Leopard Heavy champ Matt Greenbury showed this weekend that Big Willy will not have it all his won way in the near future.

Greenbury’s Tony Kart was able to stick with Yarwood for the entire 19-lap distance of the final, but just lacked the final bit of pace to be able to grab P1. Indeed, Greenbury was closest to Yarwood on the final lap, but fell just short.

Rick Pringle was made it a lead trio in the heats, but in the final engine problems dropped his CRG out of the race, denying him any chance to join the battle for the lead.

Matt Solman drove a sold albeit lonely race to grab third, while Craig Evans and Andrew Torville rounded out the top five.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #69 William Yarwood
2. #33 Matt Greenbury
3. #89 Matt Solman
4. #6 Craig Evans
5. #19 Andrew Torville

LEOPARD LIGHT

John Grother used local knowledge and scintillating kart speed to take the win in a very competitive Leopard Light field in Rocky, powering his Gillard to a clear win.

Ryan Sanderson started from second alongside Grother but the Gold Coast-based Victorian got the better of the start and led the first half of the race.

But as things settled Grother found his groove and powered on, catching, passing and then pulling away from Sanderson’s Arrow.

Matthew Wall was third and Hayden McBride fourth, the experienced pair coming on strong in the final, while Cian Fothergill brought his Phoenix home in fifth.

A Pre-Final DNF for David Sera meant that the Victorian started from the back. In a big field, ‘Deadly’ showed why he is one of our country’s best, passing karts at will to come home in eighth.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #42 John Grother
2. #82 Ryan Sanderson
3. #15 Matthew Wall
4. #44 Hayden McBride
5. #20 Cian Fothergill

LEOPARD HEAVY

The Leopard Heavy final was poised to be a corker, but unfortunately, as happens sometimes in racing, a clumsy first corner strung the field out and denied the assembled crowd the show they were awaiting.

Kel Treseder, in only his second event for the year, qualified second for the final alongside Australian Champion Justin Schneider.

But when Brad Belcher got caught on the back of Treseder’s kart as the field streamed into the Turn 1 hairpin, karts went everywhere, allowing Schneider to gain a race-winning lead, while Treseder dropped to near-last.

Schneider was far too fast to catch and took a clear, smooth win ahead of Nathan Burns and Belcher. Daniel Stein drove through the pack to finish fifth while Treseder turned it on to climb back up the order and claim fifth spot with three corners remaining in the final.

FINAL RESULTS:
1. #55 Justin Schneider
2. #2 Nathan Burns
3. #22 Brad Belcher
4. #88 Daniel Stein
5. #75 Kel Treseder

ALL RESULTS ARE PROVISIONAL

Above: Clubman Heavy action, Hryniuk leads Pringle and Wall

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