42 Karts For Rockpress Australian Superkart Championship Finale
press release
Australia's largest grid for a national series, the Rockpress Australian Superkart series, heads to Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick on the Darling Downs in Queensland for its Championship finale on the August 14-15 weekend with over 40 Superkarts on its entry list.
The three Superkart classes are all well supported as the event takes place on Round 7 of the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships.
The bumper entry will be the largest grid for the weekend, and is also the largest grid for Superkarts in Queensland since the Australian Championships last visited the Sunshine State in 2000 at Queensland Raceway.
On that day in 2000, Gary Pegoraro won the second of his four Australian Championships in the now defunct 100cc non-gearbox Superkart category. Now driving the Dunlop Kartsport/BRC Engines Anderson-BRC for RMR Superkarts, Pegoraro leads the leading Superkart class, 250 International, after a hard fought victory at his home circuit, Phillip Island.
Pegoraro will face off against an entry filled with 19 twin-cylinder 250 International karts with his rivals headed by 2008 Australian Champion, Darren Hossack. Hossack brings an entirely new package to Morgan Park with a fresh from Europe Anderson Maverick chassis and the latest Australian developed Safe Evolutions engine. Hossack sits five points behind Pegoraro with 85 points on offer.
The big unknown will be the circuit. The Warwick District Sporting Car Club open the new 3.1 kilometre circuit for the Shannons Nationals event, creating a new challenge for everyone. One best suited to the challenge will be the second of Pegoraro's championship rivals, Warren McIlveen. Tamworth based McIlveen is the undisputed king of Morgan Park Raceway's 2.1 kilometre layout having never lost a meeting there, and owning the track's outright lap record. The longer track though should see Formula 3 take the new outright lap record, but to date they have fallen short on the older, more compact circuit.
In 250 Nationals, Luke May (Wizzer Race Engines / RMR Superkarts Stockman MR2 Yamaha) holds a bare two point lead over Martin Latta (Viper Racing UK Anderson Maverick Honda). David Yuill sits in third but is an unlikely starter. Frank Giglio (GR Industries Stockman) leads a pack of competitors in fourth, but is 33 points behind May.
125 Gearbox sees the classic youth vs experience battle. Victorian racer Darren Dunn (Broadbent Compressor Services Topkart-Honda) holds the largest lead of any class with a ten point lead. Dunn is a two-time 125cc Champion, last winning the title in 2002. Second in the title chase is the reigning champion, teenage racer Steven Tamasi (Domain Prestige Homes Stockman MR2 Honda). Veteran Sydney racers Jeff Reed (Cycle City Stockman MR2 Honda) and John Pellicano (Giova Racing Avoig Elise Honda) are 18 and 19 points behind Dunn. Of the four only Pellicano has raced Morgan Park before.
The final round of the Rockpress Australian Superkart Championship will feature four races over the course of the August 14/15 weekend, one on Saturday afternoon and three races on Sunday.
