Records Fall At Manning Valley's MTA Tri-Series Round
Tweetpress release
Manning Valley Kart Club hosted round one of the Motor Traders’ Association (MTA) Tri-series over the weekend at their Wingham Complex. Over one hundred kart racers from all over NSW attended the event and an even larger attendance is expected at round two in late August.
The weather was ideal all weekend for racing and the Manning Valley club members assured that the circuit was well prepared for some serious action across both days. Racers were given a qualifying session and five races to show their speed, however, it was the finishing order of the final that determined the results of the event.
In the Cadets category, Zac Crichton of Newcastle went in as the event hot favourite and did not disappoint. Zac took a strong win in the sixteen lap final and managed to smash the lap record whilst pulling out a ten second margin over position two. Taylor Gill drove exceptionally well to finish second, just ahead of Manning Valley’s very own Jordan Poynting.
Manning Valley rising star Kody Garland, managed to add another first place trophy to his growing collection in the Rookies class. Although it was Zac Stocks who showed superior pace early on in the event aboard his brand new TopKart chassis. In the final though, it was Garland who took a narrow victory ahead of the #27 kart of Thomas Davis with Zac Stocks in third.
The Junior National Light class delivered fierce racing all weekend. Taree’s Todd Stocks took pole position and victories in each of the heat races but couldn’t emulate these strong performances in the sixteen lap final. Gus Flynn of Sydney bided his time and came up with the win when it was needed. Fellow Sydneysider and former NSW state title holder Jayden Ojeda took a strong second just ahead of Stocks.
The # 5 kart of Steven Adams was too good for the rest of the field in Junior National Heavy taking a comprehensive victory in the final. In second place was Macksville’s Brady Buchanan ahead of Arrow pilot Joel Robertson who took out third position.
Junior Performance made its debut at Wingham over the weekend in spectacular fashion. Gus Flynn of Sydney set a new lap record on his way to a second finals victory for the day. CRG team driver Drew Ridge had a stunning welcome to Manning Valley as he took a solid second on his first visit to our circuit. Third place in the class went to Junior Performance debutant Alexander Ramsay driving his fresh Arrow X1 kart.
Event favourite Royce Sutherland took victory in Senior National Pro by less than two one thousands of a second over Taree’s Bradley Drury. Sutherland had a hard road to the final, borrowing engines and making some serious changes to be able to compete with Drury. Third place went to the #15 kart of Hayden Buchanan who had been the early pacesetter in the class.
Clubman Light favourite Andrew Mitchell of Telegraph Point didn’t put a foot wrong in the class all weekend. Andrew managed to claim victory ahead of Glenn Rheinberger of Gloucester who continually shows superior speed at these events. Glenn recently became a proud father and the extra addition to the family has certainly not slowed him down. Wingham High School student Michael Sutherland took an impressive third place in his class debut. Special mention should be given to Jamie Quinn who finished just off the podium after traveling all the way from Queensland.
Taree ski boat racer, Ryan McIntosh, was unchallenged all weekend in the Clubman Heavy class. Ryan took the series victory last year and it could well be the same story this year. Taree’s Brayden McFawn had a stunning driver to second place ahead of novice karter Richard Farnant.
The TAG Restricted Light drivers put on an excellent show for the crowd during the two days of proceedings. This class kept Manning Valley Kart Club’s commentary team busy, as there was no shortage of action to report on. Ricki Bunt took a narrow victory ahead of Sydney’s Matthew Kenneth in the final. Bunt smashed the old lap record as did Kenneth, however Bunt eventually got the new record by one thousands of a second. During the presentation Matthew Kenneth won a Yamaha motor donated by Newcastle Japanese Engines which would be sure to ease his pain of narrowly missing victory. Third place in TAG Restricted Light went to Manning Valley favourite David Austin. Monaco kart driver Shane Murray was unlucky not to figure on the podium after setting a strong pace before being plagued with issues.
Michael Lawrence continues to perform in TAG Restricted Heavy, this time piloting a brand new Sodi Kart chassis. Lawrence was challenged in the final by Taree’s Aaron Wasley who was extremely competitive despite driving a 12 years old kart. The #45 kart of Peter Styles had a strong debut to the class, claiming third in the final.
TAG Restricted Super Heavy favourite Robert Garland started the meeting strongly and looked set for a win. However, events throughout the weekend saw Garland’s concentration diverted elsewhere which allowed Wingham’s Iain Sutherland to take the win ahead of Garland, with Energy kart driver James Murray in third.
Sportsman Light driver Royce Sutherland drove his brand new Arrow chassis for the first time on Saturday. It didn’t take long for Sutherland to adapt though, as he and Andrew Mitchell raced extremely close at the head of the field and were consistently lapping under Manning Valley’s outright lap record. In the final though, Mitchell lost his front wheel whilst battling with Sutherland for the win handing him victory. Newcastle’s Phil Richards was a creditable second in a strong field of multiple divisions.
There were 10 strong racers entered in the Sportsman Heavy class, with any driver capable of taking victory. During the final Newcastle’s Lindsay Bunt and Phil Curran had a slight coming together on the first lap. In an excellent display of sportsmanship, Bunt pulled over and waited for Curran to re-join the circuit so they could continue their race. Sam Taylor took victory in the class ahead of Cubby’s karts owner and operator Barry house with a fast finishing Matthew Cunningham in third.
Manning Valley Kart Club would like to thank all the sponsors and competitors that made round one of the 2012 MTA Tri-series such a great success. The talent of some of our local drivers is evident at these larger events and assists them in getting greater exposure. The next round of Manning Valley’s MTA Tri-series will be the 25th and 26th of August.