Preview: AKA Australian Speedway Kart Titles
press release
The New South Wales Speedway Kart Club are proud to be hosting the 2nd running of the AKA Australian Speedway Kart Titles being held this coming Saturday and Sunday at the Nepean Motorsport Complex located on Rickards Road Castlereagh.
The Executive Committee would like to acknowledge and thank local Hawkesbury district business WESCRANES as the naming rights sponsor of this event. Not only are they the primary sponsor for this event but are also supporters of the club throughout 2011.
The AKA Australian Speedway Titles have been building up to this weekend and all drivers entered are eager to get on the track so they can stake their claim in this event.
The meeting is being run over Saturday and Sunday, the 3rd and 4th September. Saturday will see drivers compete in 3 qualifying events which will give them all important points as they strive to be off pole in the feature event. Then on Sunday morning drivers will get one last chance to bag more points in their final qualifying heat before lining up for the big one the 2011 Australian Title.
In the fields this year are four defending Champions, In the Clubman Light class David Boyd will be out to retain the converted green plate which the Australian Champions get to display.
This year David has been racing in the KT Pro class, but when asked about why he is competing in the clubman class he stated “its an Australian Title and there was never any thought of not defending my title, however the class has been very competitive this year and Jason Woodward and Dan Morris will be hard to beat with both being in great form in club rounds”.
The Clubman Heavy class has Tim Baker defending his Title. This season Tim has really been the bench mark and holds a very healthy lead in his class championship. When asked about his thoughts Tim’s responded “Gary Slarke has found some speed lately and Joel Rhind is always fast, but I know I have a good kart and a good engine so providing I do what I have done all year so far I should be ok, I guess we will know come Sunday”.
In the KT Modified Light Class, second generation speedway driver and former East Coast Modified Champion David Hopping will be on hand to defend his Australian Title status. Competing also this year in the KT Pro class David hasn’t had the best of seasons but is hoping this meeting will turn his season around. Two of the front runners in this year’s KT Pro class in Michael Jordan and David Boyd will be also racing in the Light Class and David believes “both these guys will be fast but last race meeting Daniel Gow was very quick and slipping under the radar is Nathan Bailey who is always fast. It is going to be a great race and any one of 5 or 6 drivers could win this thing”.
In The KT Modified Heavy class the current NSW State Champion, Wayne Baines, is also the defending Australian Champion of this class. This year Wayne has been racing in the KT Pro class and believes that “racing in the Pro class this year has made me pick my game up, racing against lighter and younger guys. The racing has been first class and fast and having won 2 club rounds and winning the state title against most of the guys that have entered here this weekend I am confident that come Sunday afternoon we will be there striving to get that green plate. The field however is probably one of the most competitive and quality fields seen recently and the racing will be worth watching in this class”.
The other class to compete on the program will be the Junior National class and these guys and gals have had full fields all year and this race meeting is no different with 15 karts ready to race. The leaders of the pack this year have been Daniel Sayre and Jordyn Brazier, but young lady racer Katelyn Hickey has been hot on their heals and they better not drop their guard or Katelyn will be showing them all the way to the checkered flag. The field is very open with any number of the top 10 capable of wining on their day. This class will as always provide great speedway action over the weekend.
The Rookie Class is a transitional class where Midget Class racers make there way to Juniors and as such often have a year where there numbers are down. This is the case this year, however the rookies will be competing on the program and it will be the two Taylor’s ( Coghlan & Rietdyk) taking on John Gillespie , Andrew Sayre and Andrew Beattie in a real battle of the sexes. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out with all drivers taking places on the podium at club championship rounds.
Over the weekend the spectators on hand will be treated to some of the greatest speedway action you will see anywhere as drivers attempt to become the Australian Champion for 2011.
Once the racing has finished drivers will receive their trophies from one of speedway’s great’s, Brian Linigen who has accepted the position of grand Marshall for the weekend.
Club president Wayne Baines stated “We are extremely honored that Brian accepted our offer to be grand Marshall for this event. The committee wanted to acknowledge and thank Brian for all he has done in speedway and also for what he has done for our club over the years”.
Once presentations are over people are welcome to stay and enjoy the afternoon with members and families.
The racing at the Nepean Motorsport Complex on Rickards Road, Castlereagh is scheduled to start at 10am.
There is a full canteen facility for all your eating and drinking requirements throughout the day.
The NSWSKC would like to once again thank WESCRANES for their support of this event and for their continued support throughout 2011.