Hays Wins On Senior Debut at Vic Championships

AKA press release

Gold Coaster Chris Hays has made a serious impression during his senior karting debut at the Victorian Open Sprint Kart Championships at the Oakleigh circuit in Melbourne this weekend.

Hays, the reigning national champion in the Junior Clubman category, claimed a dominant victory in the hard fought 100cc Clubman Light category ahead of Melbourne karting identity James Sera.

Above: Hays on his way to victory on debut in the senior ranks
pic: photowagon.com.au

The 15 year-old shadowed early race leader Leigh Nicolaou, who emerged unscathed from an opening corner melee, during the early laps before showing superior speed aboard his Vodafone-backed Tony Kart to take over the front running.

From that point, Hays was never challenged for the remainder of the 21-lap encounter as he went on to claim a dominant victory – the sixth state championship of his career so far.

“It is an unbelievable start to my senior career,” said Hays. “To win a Clubman Light state championship in my first ever race as a senior is just amazing. I was able to steer clear of the opening turn incident and once I took over the lead I simply put my head down and tried to put in some consistent lap times.

“After qualifying on Friday I was happy to be up there near the front and would have been pleased to have finished inside the top five against such high quality of drivers, but to have won it is great.”

Sera, who started from the back of the pack after both of his rear wheels fell off during yesterday’s pre-final, put in a superb drive to climb his way up to second place at the chequered flag.

Fastest qualifier and polesitter Adam Hughes’ campaign for his second victory at the event, he won the 125cc Leopard Light category earlier in the day, was over on the opening lap after he came together with Jordan Ford.

“It is great to have won back-to-back Leopard Light championships but it is a bit disappointing to miss out on the Clubman Light championship for the second year running,” said Hughes.

Above: Hughes took out the Leopard Light championship at Oakleigh.
pic: Cooper's Photography

“In the early running of the Leopard Light final, I thought James had some good pace but once I got back in front I aimed to be consistent, measured the gap and was able to pull away for the win.

“My focus now turns towards the nationals where I’ll be shooting for the Clubman Light victory.”

Essendon’s Jason Pringle was the only driver to secure a pair of victories across the weekend. Pringle lined up alongside his younger brother Rick on the grid for the 21-lap final of Rotax Heavy category.

Jason Pringle got the jump off the start and cleared off into the distance for the win. Unfortunately for Rick his race came to a premature end mid-way through the journey due to a mechanical issue. Simon Meyer made it a CRG one-two ahead of fellow New South Wales driver Daniel Stein.

Above: Two titles from the weekend for Jason Pringle
pic: photowagon.com.au

Pringle’s win in Clubman Heavy came in a similar dominant fashion. He opened a handy buffer over the field as Daniel Baker and Jason Hryniuk battled for the minor positions in the opening laps.

As the second and third placed runners battled it out Pringle drove away with his second victory of the day. Hryniuk appeared to encounter a mechanical issue late in the race allowing Matthew Wall to snare third place.

In the Junior Clubman category it was New South Wales driver Joseph Mawson who showed the field a clean pair of heels on his way to victory. The Arrow driver finished well clear of local driver Anton De Pasquale and South Australian Todd Hazelwood.

The full results have posted to mylaps Click here to view

Short snippets of various information from the final day of action at the championships can be found in the karting.net.au notebook which can be viewed by clicking here

2010 VICTORIAN OPEN SPRINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oakleigh, Victoria

TOP FIVE RESULTS: Championship Final

Midgets
1. #5 Thomas Schou
2. #7 Alexander Peroni
3. #90 Reece Sidebottom
4. #86 Thomas Bennett
5. #56 Jake Kostecki

Race Notes: The 21-lap championship final for the Midgets category saw Reece Sidebottom looking certain to take back-to-back championships, but then he spun with five laps go. He recovered to finish third. Sidebottom’s demise allowed Western Australian Thomas Schou and Tasmanian Alexander Peroni to dice it out for the lead. When Peroni dropped a chain exiting the final turn it allowed Schou to snare the win. Behind the leading trio the racing was action-packed with a train of six drivers running nose to tail for much of the race.

Rookies
1. #89 Jake Dixon
2. #12 Brock Boley
3. #96 Liam McLellan
4. #5 James Abela
5. #8 Jordan Boys

Race Notes: DP Karts pilot Jake Dixon and CC Racing’s Liam McLellan swapped the front running on numerous occasions during the opening half of the 21-lap Rookies final. Their constant lead changes allowed the ensuing pack to close in and make it a six-way battle at the front of the field but when McLellan ran wide he dropped down the order. As the race continued Dixon opened a slender gap to take the win ahead of Brock Boley.

Junior National Light
1. #48 Liam Morey
2. #14 Todd Hazelwood
3. #31 James Golding
4. #66 Dale Simpson
5. #6 Jake Klein

Race Notes: The final of the Junior National Light category was simply a Liam Morey benefit. The Hydraulink Racing pilot showed the field a clean pair of heels to take a comprehensive victory. South Australian Todd Hazelwood and James Golding had an intense battle for the minor positions, Hazelwood crossed the line second after Golding ran wide on the final turn. Dale Simpson led home a four-kart freight train for fourth.

Bradley Jenner was due to start from position three for the final, however, an off track indiscretion earlier in the day saw him excluded from the event.

Junior National Heavy
1. #34 Jordan Nicolaou
2. #86 Anton De Pasquale
3. #14 Macauley Jones
4. #41 Simon Hodge
5. #5 James Hughes

Race Notes: Polesitter Jordan Nicolaou dominated the early running of the Junior National final and appeared as though he would go on to take an easy victory. However, Monaco pilot Anton De Pasquale bridged the gap over the final stages to be in a position to challenge for the lead with two laps remaining. After the pair exchanged the front running on a couple of occasions it was Nicolaou who crossed the line half a kart length clear of De Pasquale’s Monaco kart. Macauley Jones got the better of a race long battle with South Australian Simon Hodge to claim the final spot on the podium.

Junior Clubman
#96 Joseph Mawson
#86 Anton De Pasquale
#14 Todd Hazelwood
#16 Adrian Lazzaro
#10 Aidan Wright.

Race Notes: New South Wales Arrow driver Joseph Mawson led from start to finish to claim the victory in the Junior Clubman championship final. The battle behind Mawson was intense between Anton De Pasquale, Todd Hazelwood, Aidan Wright and Adrian Lazzaro.

pic - Cooper's Photography

Formula JMA
1. #74 Trent Grubel
2. #78 Andrew Petrou
3. #11 Pierce Lehane
4. #48 Liam Morey
5. #89 James Macken

Race Notes: An incident on an attempted start involving Andrew Petrou and Jaymee Frampton resulted in Frampton rolling her kart prior to the start of the Formula JMA category. As a result the red flag was displayed and the race was moved to the last one of the day. Frampton suffered an injured shoulder in the incident but was cleared to compete in the restart.

The opening lap was intense with a number of karts pointing in different directions. Out of it all New South Wales Kosmic driver Trent Grubel led the way ahead of Pierce Lehane and Andrew Petrou. Grubel went on to claim a dominant victory ahead of Petrou, who got the best of a three-way battle for the runner-up spot. After being penalized 10 spots for a starting infringement on the initial start James Macken moved up from 11th at the start to finish fifth.

Senior National Light
1. #9 Andrew Rae
2. #47 Tyler Cramer
3. #1 Blake Sciberras
4. #4 Nicholas Ellen
5. #13 Matthew Waters

Race Notes: Morning showers made life interesting for the first championship final of the day. Tyler Cramer led the early running while outside front row starter James May slid wide on the opening turn. The wet conditions appeared to have helped reigning Australian Champion Blake Scibberras, who made some good early moves to be running in second place. Geelong’s Andrew Rae showed some good pace late in the race to take over the race lead. The final two laps saw the lead change on a number of occasions between the leading trio and it was Rae who took the win over Cramer and Sciberras.

Senior National Heavy
1. #95 James May
2. #14 Corey Lean
3. #23 Richard Muscat
4. #44 Dominic Lostitch
5. #25 Andrew Budge

Race Notes: Arrow kart pilot James May was engaged in a three-way battle during the early running of the Senior National Heavy final with Corey Lean and Richard Muscat. As the race continued May pulled clear of the field to take a comprehensive victory.

Clubman Light
1. #97 Chris Hays
2. #94 James Sera
3. #14 Leigh Nicolaou
4. #95 Jack Wynack
5. #57 David Whitmore

Race Notes: Polesitter Adam Hughes’ campaign for the Clubman Light championship was over after he came together with Jordan Ford on the opening lap. Leigh Nicolaou emerged from the opening corner melee to lead the way from Chris Hays. After a handful of laps Hays moved his Vodafone-backed Tony Kart to the front of the field while national champion David Sera dropped back in the pack before eventually retiring with a mechanical issue. Azzurro driver James Sera showed true class to carve his way from 29th place at the start to be battling for a spot on the podium with three laps remaining alongside Nicolaou and DP Karts driver Jack Wynack. In the end it was Hays who took the win on debut in his senior ranks well clear of Sera and Nicoloau.

Clubman Heavy
1. #35 Jason Pringle
2. #77 Daniel Baker
3. #1 Matthew Wall
4. #45 Jason Hryniuk
5. #90 Lee Mitchener

Race Notes: Toowoomba’s Brendan Nelson was the unlucky victim during an opening corner fracas and upended his Doyles KartSport entry. Nelson emerged uninjured as CRG driver Jason Pringle led the field away. Pringle opened a handy buffer over the field as Daniel Baker and Jason Hryniuk battled for the minor positions. As the second and third placed runners battled it out Pringle drove away with his second victory of the day. Hryniuk appeared to encounter a mechanical issue late in the race allowing Matthew Wall to snare third place.

Clubman Super Heavy
1. #4 Ben McKinlay
2. #5 Jason Stania
3. #3 Josh Brooker
4. #15 Ian McPherson
5. #55 Chris Heraud

Race Notes: As has come to be expected in Clubman Super Heavy Ben McKinlay and Scott Simpson ran at the front of the field but when Simpson made an attempt to take over the race lead mid-race he slid wide on the slippery track and his campaign was over. Simpson’s demise allowed McKinlay a handy buffer over second placed Nathan Van Hulst, who later succumbed to a electrical failure. After dropping back early in the race Team Tanked CRG driver Jason Stania was the hard charger of the field to climb back up to second behind McKinlay. After starting from the back due to his DNF in the pre-final Kosmic pilot Josh Brooker finished third.

Clubman Over 40s
1. #66 Ian Branson
2. #4 Phil Smith
3. #32 Trevor Whitby
4. #31 Rodney Capuano
5. #70 Glen Stallbaum

Race Notes: With Remo Luciani out of today’s action due to injuring his shoulder during yesterday’s rollover in Clubman Heavy, his nemesis from Western Australian Greg Dicker appeared as though he would drive away with the Clubman Over 40’s victory. However, Azzurro driver Ian Branson had other ideas to take over the race lead with eight laps remaining. After shadowing the leader for several laps Peter Gooch made a pass on the penultimate lap to claim the win.

Gooch and Dicker were both later excluded due to a technical infringement altering the finishing positions and handing Branson the win.

Leopard Light
1. #64 Adam Hughes
2. #94 James Sera
3. #56 Dean Foster
4. #7 Reece Kawitski
5. #4 Grant Smith

Race Notes: The two former team-mates Adam Hughes and James Sera raced wheel to wheel for the lead early in the 21-lap Leopard Light final. After several lead changes it was Hughes in his Melbourne Kart Centre Kosmic kart who proved superior to run away with the victory. Sera finished second in his Azzurro chassis while Sarron Caddy emerged from an opening corner skirmish and drove on to finish third.

Caddy was later excluded from the results due to a technical infringement.

Leopard Heavy
1. #90 Lee Mitchener
2. #5 Matthew Wall
3. #70 Brendan Nelson
4. #1 Kel Treseder
5. #45 Jason Hryniuk

Race Notes: Finally, Lee Mitchener has broken through for a victory at a state or national championship event when he took the win in the Leopard Heavy final. After being pressured during the early laps by Michael Griffiths and Brendan Nelson, Mitchener cleared off to claim his maiden state championship. Griffiths ran wide on turn one with a handful of laps remaining ending his race. Matthew Wall had good pace late in the race to find a way past Nelson for the runner-up spot.

Rotax Light
1. #1 David Sera
2. #88 Josh DeMaio
3. #13 Bart Price
4. #24 Max Johnston
5. #39 Shane Price

Race Notes: Reigning National Champion David Sera raced to the lead off the start line in the Rotax Light final leaving his Arrow team-mate Bart Price, Josh DeMaio, Max Johnston and Shane Price to battle for the minors. Sera was never challenged on his way to victory while CC Racing’s DeMaio pulled clear of Bart Price late in the race to finished second.

pic - photowagon.com.au

Rotax Heavy
1. #35 Jason Pringle
2. #3 Simon Meyer
3. #88 Daniel Stein
4. #17 Luke Andaloro
5. #10 Paul Rodgers

Race Notes: The Rotax Heavy final was marked as a Pringle versus Pringle battle but Jason Pringle got the jump off the start and cleared off into the distance for the win. Unfortunately for Rick, the younger of the brothers, his race came to a premature end mid-way through the journey. Simon Meyer made it a CRG one-two ahead of Daniel Stein.

Home