Tall Timbers Marathon A Warm Up For State Title
Tweet| 24 October 2012 |
by Johnathan Males
Drivers from all around the state attended the 2012 Tall Timbers Marathon meeting held by the Circular Head Kart Club to test both their equipment and themselves in preparation for the longer race distances they are to face at the upcoming 2012 Tasmanian State Titles.
A small but well run meeting ensured the changeable weather didn’t dampen too many spirits with most competitors on their way home at a reasonable time.
Senior National Light was taken out by Toby Archer who proved too good on the day. Second was Alastair Lee who was forced to use his dad’s kart after his own suffered a major failure in Saturday practice. Both Naomi Wrigley and Stuart Wells failed to make the finish line in the final after finishing first and second in the pre final.
Local driver Daniel Hinds signalled his intentions for the Senior Marathon early in Senior National Heavy by dominating the class and dicing with the light class all day. It was an ominous sign to his competitors considering most were some 15kg lighter. Second in class on the day was Howard Crispin and Brodey Lovett was third.
Peter Jessup recorded his first race meeting win for the year in Senior National Over 40’s Pro after proving too good for Wayne Fisher who finished second and Circular Head Motorcycles supported Michael Sheehan in third.
Junior National Light was always going to be a tight tussle with some of the states most talented Junior drivers all vying for the win. Race wins were shared by Gemma Wyllie and Brodie Evans with Evans getting the win in the final when it counted. Second was Gemma Wyllie and third all day was Xavier Todman with Johnah Slater debuting his new kart with a close fourth.
Scott Wrigley ensured he goes into next months state title battle as the red hot favourite after again dominating proceedings in the Senior National Over 40’s Super Heavy class. It’s hard to see anything getting between him and a blue plate the next time he races. John Lee tried everything he could on the day but in the end he had to settle for second ahead of Rick Davies in third.
Junior National Heavy saw the return of Keenan Slater who has been sidelined for several months with a wrist injury. Slater was able to keep the Junior National Light front runners in sight and demonstrated why he wears the red plate in this class. James Fitch made a return to the podium in second and local identity Joseph Armstrong rounded out the top three.
Mitchell Kerrison spent the day testing the setup of his new Arrow X2 in preparation for the upcoming Tasmanian State Titles and showed the Cadets field a clean pair of heels. Second on the day was Ethan Wyllie and third was William Reeve who scored his first race win in his new Tony Kart.
Zevie Eisentraut made the trip up from Hobart worthwhile by taking the win in Rookies. Up until the final he’d had a mixed day but got the job done when it mattered most. Second went to young Brock Evans in his Omega kart and third was Eisentraut’s teammate Samuel Gala who was making a return after a bit of a break. Andrew Lee was unlucky not to figure in the results after racing at the front all day, however the loss of a wheel put paid to his chances in the final.
It was Matthew Clark who took the win in TAG Restricted Heavy after getting a break early and holding out Jason Close, who had to charge through from the rear of the field after the “lost wheel” syndrome struck his kart in the pre final. Cory Brown was in the mix all day and rounded out the podium in third.
Local Grant McGlasson broke through for his first open meeting win when he won TAG Restricted Light. Second on the day went to Craig Phillips and third was one of the “Tassie’s Fastest Ladies”, Renee Chettle.
Tall Timbers have been great supporters of the Circular Head Kart Club for many years and it was great to seem them once more sponsor the running of the featured Marathon classes.
The Cadets marathon was a close affair early on with Ethan Wyllie heading the pack. However once Mitchell Kerrison made his way past he simply drove away to record a good win. Ethan Wyllie came home second and Declan Sherburd joined them on the podium in third.
Jackson Callow was looking for a change of luck after having a day to forget in the Rookies category. After drawing 8th place on the starting grid it looked like he was going to have to earn it. This he did by charging to fourth at the first corner and then moving to the lead a few laps later. He knuckled down and eventually took the win by some six seconds over the hard charging Justin Murphy and Andrew Lee.
The Junior Marathon proved to be a great battle with Gemma Wyllie and Xavier Todman getting a break on the field early in proceedings. Todman shadowed Wyllie for the majority of the race and these two had a small but handy lead over Brodie Evans and Johnah Slater. When lapping a backmarker Todman was forced off the track and into the clutches of the following pair. This gave Wyllie an unassailable lead and she went on to take the well deserved win. This left Evans, Todman and Slater to fight it out for the podium. A last corner incident saw Todman relegated to fourth with Slater avoiding the incident to take second and Evans came home in third.
When Daniel Hinds took the ballast off his kart to make the pro weight and his competitors added the 10kg to theirs he was in a class of his own in the Tall Timbers Senior Marathon and he took an untroubled victory some 18 seconds in front of his nearest rival. Alastair Lee was the best of the rest in second and CHKC President Stuart Wells joined them on the podium in third. Hinds’ speech at presentations was certainly a highlight.
TAG Restricted Heavy
1st Matthew Clark
2nd Jason Close
3rd Cory Brown
Over 40’s Super Heavy
1st Scott Wrigley
2nd John Lee
3rd Rick Davies
Senior National Light
1st Toby Archer
2nd Alastair Lee
Junior National Heavy
1st Keenan Slater
2nd James Fitch
3rd Joseph Armstrong
Junior National Light
1st Brodie Evans
2nd Gemma Wyllie
3rd Xavier Todman
Over 40’s Pro
1st Peter Jessup
2nd Wayne Fisher
3rd Michael Sheehan
TAG Restricted Light
1st Grant McGlasson
2nd Craig Phillips
3rd Renee Chettle
Senior National Heavy
1st Daniel Hinds
2nd Howard Crispin
3rd Brodey Lovett
Rookies
1st Zevie Eisentraut
2nd Brock Evans
3rd Samuel Gala
Cadets
1st Mitchell Kerrison
2nd Ethan Wyllie
3rd William Reeve
Tall Timbers Cadets Marathon
1st Mitchell Kerrison
2nd Ethan Wyllie
3rd Declan Sherburd
Tall Timbers Rookies Marathon
1st Jackson Callow
2nd Justin Murphy
3rd Andrew Lee
Tall Timbers Junior Marathon
1st Gemma Wyllie
2nd Johnah Slater
3rd Brodie Evans
Tall Timbers Senior Marathon
1st Daniel Hinds
2nd Alastair Lee
3rd Stuart Well
