Double Aussie Title Defence For Baines Family
Tweetpress release
The Baines Family Motorsport Team of Jake and Wayne headed to Gosford showground on the 8th September as the reigning Speedway Kart Champions in their respective classes.
All eyes were on the Team to see if Jake, after an impressive start to the season, could make it a back-to-back success and, after Wayne’s terrible start to the season, whether he could make it an unprecedented three in a row Australian titles after he successfully won the event in 2009 and 2011(the Title was not run in 2010).
Jake was entered in the Junior National Light Class and faced a field of very talented young drivers all trying to take the green plate away from him.
Above: Jake Baines' pass on Luke Sayre to regain the lead in the junior final
Wayne once again entered the KT Modified Heavy Class, a class which has some of the hardest toughest drivers in speedway karting who also wanted to halt his winning run in this event.
The event was hosted by the Central Coast Speedway Kart Club and kicked off on Saturday morning under perfect conditions.
Heat 1 for Jake had him gridded in position 7 and after some very tight racing he made his way up into 2nd position following home one of the favourites for the weekend, Jordan Binskin.
Heat 1 for Wayne had him starting his campaign from position1. He was using an unfamiliar engine for the weekend, borrowed from The Aussie Forklift Repairs Team, which allowed Wayne to use a conservative set up and he was able to lead home the field.
Heat 2 rolled around and it was decided that Jake’s kart “was on rails” and the set up would be left alone for his P2 starting position . Jake went on to record a convincing victory and his title defence was well on track.
Heat 2 for Wayne saw him have a P6 starting grid. Following Heat 1 the Team decided to try a few changes and after a tough race in trying conditions were happy with the result coming home 3rd.
Above: Jake proudly displays his Australia 1 plate
The last qualifying heat on Saturday saw fortunes change for both drivers - Jake, starting from P7, had moved his way into 3rd with three laps to go and whilst attempting a pass for 2nd ran out of room and spun, putting him at the tail of the field after a caution on the speedway. From the restart and with only two laps to go, the best Jake could do was move into 8th place.
As it would turn out, Wayne’s 3rd Heat is one that would hurt his title defence as well. After starting in P10, Wayne had worked his way into 3rd only to have an exhaust stud come loose from the engine barrel and he was disqualified for noise recording a DNF for the heat and, more importantly, no points.
Overnight the Team took stock of the day and worked out that Jake was still hanging onto a slender points lead and Wayne was sitting 3rd on points, 15 points behind pole sitter, John Watton, and 4 points behind Grant Lahiff in 2nd
Sunday morning and Jake was first out on the track. He had to start from the rear being the high points man. The Team tactic was for him to find 2nd points man, Jordan Binskin, and just finish with him . That plan lasted until the drop of the green flag when Jake went straight to the high line and, in characteristic form, passed the entire field around the top to take a very impressive victory which was commented on by many people who witnessed it as one of the drives of the meeting. In taking victory Jake assured himself of pole position for the big race.
Heat 4 for Wayne had him starting P8, the plan being to go as hard as he could and try to gain enough points to get to the front row of the main race. After a race long battle with Greg Coghlan, Wayne was able to finish in 2nd with Grant Lahiff finishing back in the field. This result now had Wayne on the front row out of P2 beside a good mate of his, John Watton, on pole.
The Feature race time was here and with track conditions changing the Team had some big decisions to make regarding the set ups to utilise their front row start positions.
It was decided to give Jake's kart the gear that would allow him to run off into the distance once he got the lead. This was a big gamble as the start is everything. At the drop of the green, Jake was able to get a great start to take the lead going into turn 1. As predicted, he then started to open a gap on the field increasing slightly each lap. All was going well until lap 15 saw the caution come out after two competitors came together, the accident bringing out the red flag and the field to a stop whilst the drivers received attention.
At the break Wayne got to talk to Jake and they discussed how the restart should take place. Once the track was cleared, the field reformed and, as the green was taken, Luke Sayre caught Jake napping off the start and passed him going into turn 1. For the first time in the race Jake was now 2nd and most people thought that on a challenging track for passing, this would be the end result. However, Jake had other ideas and as the two drivers "drag raced" down the back straight he pulled off the perfect slide job to take back the lead.
He would go on to take victory - his 2nd and back- to-back Junior Light Australian Championship.
Now it was Wayne’s turn and the Team waited until the last minute to make a decision on set up and finalised it only when the field was on the dummy grid.
The decision was to leave the kart alone as it felt fine in Heat 4. Wayne also knew the importance of a good start - with the quality of the competitors in this field, passing was going to be very hard. Fortunately for Wayne he managed to get a fantastic start and lead the field into turn 1. The race went flag to flag and, apart from a small moment with a lapped kart, he never looked troubled going on to record a three peat taking his 3rd straight Australian Title victory.
Above: Father and Son - Jake and Wayne made it back-to-back Australian Championships
At the presentation Wayne spoke of the Team racing with a heavy heart as team owner Ian Baker had lost his father earlier in the week after a long battle with illness. Both Wayne and Jake believed that Pa Baker played a big hand in helping them in their back- to-back performances .
Wayne and Jake would like to acknowledge Hopping’s Mowers, Parramatta Kart Warehouse, Benson Racing Karts, Aussie Forklift Repairs, Stillshots, Krikke Motorsports, Rams Race Engines and DTO Raceware for their continued support and in particular Ian Baker, Sid and Marlene Hopping and Leon Jack.
