Gympie 7 Hour Goes To #50 Team 5150R
press release
In what was their second appearance of the year at the Cooloola Kart Track, near Gympie in Queensland - the Powered by Honda ProKart Australia Queensland Endurance Kart Championship held its seventh and penultimate round over the weekend and it resulted in the # 50 Team 5051R walking away with the victory spoils.
Above: Chequered flag for Team 5150R
The ‘Gympie 7 Hour’ weekend kicked off with practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday morning. In the one lap qualifying shootout it was the # 27 Resi Sales Racing team that topped the time sheets with a 45.732 second lap around the 750 metre Cooloola Kart Track. Current Queensland Championship leaders # 661 PDS Grand Prix recorded the second fastest lap ahead of # 152 Phantom Racing, # 2 BF Racing and the # 50 Team 5051R in fifth place.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the ‘1 Hour’ sprint race, which decided the starting grid for Sunday’s race, saw pole sitters # 27 Resi Sales Racing score a commanding victory. The winning outfit completed a total of 77 laps and they were able to finish ahead of the # 661 PDS Grand Prix and the impressive # 24 KnK Karts in second and third place on the podium, while fourth and fifth place was filled by the # 51 Team 5150R and the # 50 Team 5150R. The latter team struggled with their tyre issues from earlier in the day but were able to charge their way forward from the back of the grid to finish in fifth spot.
Above: The grid
Sunday’s ‘Gympie 6 Hour’ got underway in wet conditions but within the first hour a dry line had developed. The early pace saw pole sitter # 27 Resi Sales Racing battle it out with # 661 PDS Grand Prix and # 152 Phantom Racing. By the 145th lap # 50 Team 5150R had worked their way to the front and for the remaining distance the lead was swapped multiple times between them and # 661 PDS Grand Prix and # 152 Phantom Racing in what was a see-sawing battle between the three of them.
In the end the # 50 Team 5150R were able to get the lucky breaks and build up a steady lead which saw them maintain that advantage all the way through to the fall of the chequered flag and complete a total of 429 laps. The # 661 PDS Grand Prix finished on the lead lap, some 36 seconds behind the winner, in second place and this once again consolidated their lead in the Queensland Championship point standings battle over the # 50 Team 5150R.
Above: KnK Scuderia sandwich
Without a doubt one of the most impressive drives of the weekend was the # 152 Phantom Racing team. Their performance resulted in them rounding out the podium in third place with 428 laps completed at the finish and they also recorded the fastest lap of the race with a best lap of 44.704 seconds. The Phantom Racing team were amongst the leaders all weekend and it shouldn’t be too long before they record their breakthrough ProKart Australia victory.
Some bad luck by the # 51 Team 5150R hampered their attempts to work their way onto the podium and they consequently finished in fourth place. They finished ahead of # 42 KnK Scuderia, # 2 BF Racing, # 22 Atlas Racing, # 72 JAD Racing, # 101 Frog Racing and in 10th place was the # 14 Racer Support team. The # 72 JAD Racing and # 101 Frog Racing recorded their strongest results this year and it is testament to their ongoing hard work to find the consistency that is going to move them towards the pointy end of the field.
Above: PDS Grand Prix
After showing great pace on Saturday by taking out qualifying and winning the ‘1 Hour’ sprint race, the # 27 Resi Sales Racing team were right amongst the leaders throughout the first half of the ‘Gympie 6 Hour’ only to have some mechanical woes hampered their chances. They ended up finishing back in a disappointing 12th place with a total of 384 laps completed. Another impressive runner on Saturday was the # 24 KnK Kart team after they finished the ‘1 Hour’ sprint on the podium in third place, but they too were robbed of a good result on Sunday due to mechanical woes and finished in 14th place on 359 completed laps.
The eighth and final round of the Powered by Honda ProKart Australia Queensland Championship is going to be fought out on Saturday, November 13 at Raleigh International Raceway, near Coffs Harbour in NSW. The ‘Raleigh 6 Hour’ is also going to be the final rounds for both the National and NSW Championships for 2010.
Full results from the ‘Gympie 7 Hour’ can be found HERE
