Ipswich Round 9 Wrap + Other News
Tweet| 11 December 2012 |
from John Goddard
Well that’s it for another year folks, several of the most hotly contested classes with some of the biggest fields in Australian club kart racing have been fought out and finalised. If you have won the IKC Club Championship, you know you have earned the trophy.
Ipswich Kart Club would like to thank our fantastic IKC members and all the Karter’s and support staff from surrounding clubs who have embraced the club and helped make this year such a resounding success.
We would also like to thank Chris Robinson for his support and the incredible group of officials who have been there throughout the year. It was stinking hot on Saturday with the mercury in the mid to late 30’s but that did not deter them and they deserve our thanks as do all the volunteers who make the meetings possible.
As usual, the canteen staff had the hottest job but they did it with a smile so thanks to them and we look forward to seeing your happy faces again next year.
It was a mighty effort by them all.
A big thanks to Dale from Pacific Kartsport for bringing his team and shop to the track, great support also from Kaos who are there at every meeting and often at practice. When you get 120 to a practice day there is a need for a parts outlet. Greg from Champions Way is usually parked somewhere close by with his team and thanks to you.
The innovation of free nomination to current Blue and Green plate holders is working as the club had a number of them in attendance.
It was great to see Harrison Hoey sporting the new Blue plate and the big TAG Light field was happy to have National champion Brendan Nelson to set the pace for them throughout the day. Everyone lifted their standard and tried very hard to beat him. In the end, a mechanical failure ended Brendan’s night early.
Everyone was happy to see them go around; every time TAG Light was on, the crowd moved to the fence to watch.
Bodine Antrobus was steadily moving forward all day and eventually took the win, it was a very determined effort and it shows why he is the club champion again for 2012.
From all reports around the track and also on “In Your” FaceBook, the format with longer laps was well received, even though it was very hot so we will definitely do it again next year, maybe in the cooler months. From all reports, by the end of almost 50 kilometres of carby, qualifying and racing the competitors knew they had been to a go kart meeting.
The committee feels the longer races will help prepare and condition our members and visitors for the title meetings and it is also offers great value for your money.
It might be a good idea to run that format before a title meeting whenever possible, we will listen to our members on that one.
ASH AND RL
The club owes a big debt of gratitude to the outgoing Club President Dr Ashley Waardenberg and Treasurer Richard Losper, their leadership has been second to none.
Doc Waardenberg is a great listener who makes decisions only after carefully considering all the facts, no rash decisions in the heat of the moment, it is a great trait to have in a young man.
I can honestly say that this old dog has learnt some new tricks from him, mark my words, with the qualities he has, Ash will go a long way in his profession and in the corporate world.
Richard Losper has been a more than capable adviser to Ash and an excellent treasurer who leaves the club in a far stronger financial position than when he took over. They will continue to be a formidable team in their roles as AKA QLD President and Treasurer and will have the full support of the IKC committee. The club's loss is Queensland’s gain.
CONTRIBUTORS
I would also like to thank the people who contribute to this race report, they are a large part of the reason for the success of the club, in particular Troy Hoey and Les Antrobus who always do their bit and now Sean Butcher - for a young bloke he has some serious “mojo”, he is the kid who at 17 or 18, drove his van from Qld across the Nullabor Plain to the WA Nationals in Perth a few years ago, pitted for himself, competed, slept in the van and then drove himself home in a couple of days.
Thanks also to Craig Holmwood, Donnelle Waldon, Peter Mitchell, Rick Fabri and Scott Howard, I hope you can all continue to help out next year.
Anyone is welcome to contribute to our race report or to submit ideas which will improve the racing and the club in general, have a look at our website for more information.
I cannot believe it is that time again but from the Ipswich Kart Club committee, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.
Above: You've gotta love this sport!
RACE REPORT - Round 9 Race Meeting, December 1st
TAG HEAVY 125
The Tag Heavy guys again put on a great show and the heat was definitely a factor in the racing with a less than ideal track.
The surprise driver of the day had to go to Ash Lester in his Rotax powered Intrepid who came up to heavies from TaG light and took it to the front runners all day. Mention must also go to Brad Dawson who stayed on the tail of seasoned front runners Scott Howard and Ash Waardenberg for the heat and Pre Final.
Daniel Creed who looks to be taking the TaG Heavy Championship for 2012, started strong with a second in heat one then had a DNF in Pre final then raced back through the field in the final to take creditable 5th Place from near rear of field.
Driver of the day was Klinton Hancey in his Tony Kart X30, untouchable from beginning to end. A busy couple of weeks for Klinton taking out the Heavies in the Prostrate Cancer Enduro just one week ago when he teamed up with Brendan Nelson, he then backed it up with a win in the IKC final round, this guys on fire.
Many other battles took place throughout the heats and finals which lead to some exciting racing down through the field.
Scotty Howard the Pacific Kartsports backed driver struggled to get some consistent speed today however as usual was not far from the front and the frustration showed as normally he would be fighting for the lead.
In the Final it was of course a win for Mr nice guy Hancey with second place taken by a fast charging Ash Waardenberg who had a coming together with the new dude Ash Lester on the final lap. Ash Lester came in 3rd with Mr Concrete himself Scotty Howard coming home in fourth for the final only counts Final.
Some driver notes
- Andrew “Gibbo” Gibson showed some great speed at times and was often seen on the phone talking to the gods for some extra help and guidance but alas, the phone was engaged, he was later to find out Scotty Howard got in first.
- Steve “Mr V” Vidler spends 2 hours cutting different flex lengths and still gets it wrong but was under pressure to go faster than he did back in the restricted days and to his credit he did.
- Peter Virgulti "I should be going faster I have white racing boots now" with a bit of black of course. Great drive from an off in the final to get back to 8th.
- Brad Dawson stopped for a drink in the final on lap 10 then slipped back from 6th to 10th then finished up 9th behind Mr White Boots.
- Jeremy Murphy also stopped for refreshments on lap 9 from 5th place then resumed in 11th for 4 laps before calling it a day on laps 13, need to toughen up my friend.
- Gaven Whitmore had a consistent day considering his return from major hand surgery inflicted on him by a brake disc.
- Brian Peaker broke an engine mount and spent most of the afternoon looking for a guy who needed an exhaust which he was willing to offer him.
- Joshua Lawson called it quits in the final on lap 5 with a less than happy motor.
- Carl Kerswell got a pink slip, spat the dummy then went home.
18 Lap final, final only counts certainly showed that what works in 8 laps doesn’t in 18. Well done to all you guys for making 2012 a great year for the TaG Heavy Class and bring on 2013 - "the best is yet to come".
Peter Mitchell
TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT
TaG Restricted Light numbers for the year have been fantastic averaging 25 entrants each meeting and finished off the year in great fashion with 28 entrants including 7 P Platers ready to take on the challenge of longer laps and the 18 lap final.
Dominic Mesiti and Blake Worboys showed they had the pace in qualifying to take the front row for the first race of the day. After a good battle Blake took the win in the Heat with Dominic 2nd and Matthew Swile 3rd. The Pre-final saw Blake showing his talent taking the win with over a 4 second gap to Dominic 2nd and Matthew Swile 3rd. With 18 laps ahead of them drivers lined up for the final, unfortunately a turn 2 tangle up saw a few of the front runners end up at the back of the pack. Blake Worboys pushed ahead to take the win easily with a 15 second lead over Donnelle Waldon 2nd and Daniel Meek with his first podium finish in 3rd, a great drive from Christopher Orders from 15th to finish 4th and Rachel Dodd 5th.
This race meeting was not only the final for the year but also the championship deciding round with Robert Hackwood coming in to the meeting 3 points ahead of Donnelle Waldon. The Class Championship points after Round 9 saw Donnelle take the lead on 996, Robert Hackwood 2nd with 915 and Brian Calabria taking out 3rd with 891 points.
Donnelle Waldon
Above: TaG Restricted Light podium
Senior National 150kg
A quality field of Senior Nationals lined up to face the starter. Oliver Etter set the pace in qualifying, with Blake Worboys finding form to join him on the front row.
The heat race saw James Foster duke it out with Oliver Etter, with Etter gaining the upper hand. Worboys chased hard all the way to the finish.
The pre-final saw some great racing between Etter, Foster, Worboys and Ethan O’ Farrell. Mid-way through the race, Etter tried a move on Foster which saw the end to his race. Foster charged back through for the win, but Worboys, O’Farrell and Nicholas Dalton made him work for it.
In the final, the whole field was bunched. It went nose to tail for a while, until Worboys, Foster and Etter broke away. The three of them went at it all the way to the end, with Etter taking the win from Foster and Worboys.
Sean Butcher
JUNIOR MAX
It was a great turn out of Jmax drivers, thirteen in all competed at the last round of the IKC 2012 Club Championship with Jack Ah Quay joining the ranks for the first time in an RK Kart and Jake Downs traveling from North Queensland to participate.
The race format of qualifying and final only counts saw a close qualifying session with the top five being Nicholas Andrews 50.580, William Brown 50.763, Callum Walker 50.773, Michael Fabri 50.798 and Brock Lannoy 50.884.
Heat 1 saw William Brown getting the jump on Nicholas Andrews and leading the field through turn 1, an unfortunate lap 1 incident between Michael Fabri running in third place and Callum Walker at turn 10 before the back straight saw Fabri sidelined for the rest of the race. Nicholas Andrews got into the lead on lap 2 and was never challenged after that. Zane Goddard had a great race starting eighth and finishing second with another great drive from Brock Lannoy starting fifth and finishing in third place.
In the Pre final, Zane Goddard lead the field with Jake Downs having a great start coming from sixth place and taking second position followed by Nicholas Andrews. The mid field was closely packed together providing a nail biting race for the spectators. With two laps to go, Nicholas Andrews passed Zane Goddard for first place, finishing the race ahead of Goddard with Callum Walker in third place.
The Final again saw Zane Goddard getting the jump on Nicholas Andrews and taking the lead until lap 4 when Andrews made the pass on Goddard relegating him to second followed by Walker. Michael Fabri lost a position on the start and had to battle from ninth place on lap 1 to finish the race in fifth position behind Mitchell Maddren. First time Jmax driver, Jack Ah Quay did a great job in the Heat and Pre Final but unfortunately had a DNF in the Final together with Jake Downs.
The Final podium positions were made up of Nicholas Andrews in first, Zane Goddard second and Callum Walker in third. Fastest lap of the race went to Nicholas Andrews with a 50.009 followed by Michael Fabri with a 50.211.
All the Jmax drivers did an exceptional job providing the spectators with fast close racing in all three races. Great job boys! Looking forward to even bigger fields and some awesome racing in 2013.
A special thank you has to go to Geoff Salmon from Sports Voice for providing excellent commentary throughout the day and for his tremendous support for Jmax racing.
Rick Fabri
JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY
The Junior Heavy field was a close one with Nicholas Andrews, Jordan Kidas and Dean Wiegman qualifiying within a tenth of each other.
Nicholas Andrews and Dean wiegman fought hard in the first heat, until a racing incident ended Andrews race. Jordan Kidas took advantage of the situation and crossed the line first, closely followed by Nickolas Ross and Dean Wiegman.
Nicholas Andrews charged through in the pre final and crossed the line first, only to be given a 10 second penalty for a starting infringement. Matthew Kennedy and Nickolas Ross came together on the last lap which saw them both dnf. This time Trenton Dunstan took the victory with Kidas and Wiegman behind him.
The final had some shuffling early on, but it settled down and the top 5 spread themselves out. Nicholas Andrews crossed the line first, ahead of Dean Wiegman, Jordan Kidas and Nickolas Ross. However, Andrews was once again given a 10 second penaly, which pushed him back to 3rd. Handing the victory to Dean Wiegman, and 2nd to Jordan Kidas.
Sean Butcher
TAG RESTRICTED HEAVY
With 18 starters in TaGR Heavy, a new race format including qualifying and predicted temps in the mid 30’s we had all the ingredients for a great day of racing!
Qualifying saw ‘P’ plater John Cain claim fastest lap with David Douglas 2nd followed by championship leader Craig Holmwood taking 3rd. Great effort John!
Heat 1 of 10 laps had David Douglas on pole with John Cain unfortunately being on the ‘P’ plate moved to the rear but 1st in the ‘P’ plate group. After lap 2 Craig Holmwood snatched the lead from David Douglas to run away with a handy gap to take the win with David Douglas holding on to 2nd from a hard charging Mark Uzzell who had a hard battle with Justin Dunn and Chris Were swapping positions several time in the opening lap.
Pre-final of 12 laps had Craig Holmwood on pole with David Douglas beside him in P2 and the Ipswich temperatures rising on the track making conditions very testing. Green light and Craig Holmwood led into the first corner and maintained the lead for the 12 laps to finish with a 4.4 sec gap to Mark Uzzell (2nd) who passed David Douglas (3rd) on the opening lap.
The Final of 18 laps saw the temperatures drop and the wind pick up to cool those racers already fatigued from the days extreme heat. Craig Holmwood started on pole position with Mark Uzzell having his best run for the season on P2. Green light and Craig Holmwood led into the first corner with Mark Uzzell tucked in behind followed by the other 16 racers. Craig streaked away to have a handy 4.3 sec gap on 2nd until lap 9 when potential disaster struck when his ever reliable engine starting to cough from what was a fuel supply issue. The gap shrunk to .3 sec on lap 11 but luck was on his side and the issue cleared allowing him to put the head down and eventually finished in 1st with a 3.7sec gap on Mark Uzzell 2nd followed by Russell McDonald who did a last lap pass on David Douglas to clinch 3rd.
Well done to all the TaGR Heavy competitors for a great day of clean fun racing and a great way to finish the season.
Wishing everyone a safe Christmas and Happy New Year.
Craig Holmwood
TAG LIGHT 125
What a way to finish off a great year as a very strong and competitive field of 28 karters fronted the hot conditions in Tag 125 Light on the weekend.
All the regular Tag Light drivers who support the club every month where there and we thank these drivers for turning up month after month to make our competition as good as it is.
There were a few new faces to Ipswich Tag 125 light on the weekend, Brendan Nelson, Josh Crossingham, Sean Butcher, Adam Briggs, all welcome and hope you enjoyed the drive.
There were some good early performances from Troy Morrissey, Scott Sorensen and Mitchell Gee, all making their presence felt.
Brendan Nelson was the one who set the pace for qualifying then through to the final. But it was the eventual winner Bodine Antrobus who threw down the challenge after coming back from a disappointing qualifying and made the most inroads, he was extremely fast throughout the day, fighting his way back to the front of the grid for a final only counts Win.
In the final Nelson unfortunately suffered a breakdown and DNF. Antrobus went on to take the win from Scott Sorensen 2nd, Mitchell Gee 3rd, Thomas Pomroy 4th and Joshua Crossingham 5th.
As I write this article after each meeting it has been interesting to see the class grow and develop since the beginning just 2 years ago.
The changes the club has made especially this year with Qualifying has made a big difference to safety and much better racing conditions with heaps of great passing and safe learning for those who have just moved to the division, it is definitely not boring or predictable.
On behalf of IKC I would like to thank everyone who came to our meetings to support the class.
Some of these people travel long distances to be here regularly at IKC and we thank them for this. A special thank you to the Pro Tour guys that find time between their tour dates and who adapt and change to suit the Tag Regulations.
A big thanks to the Kaos, Pacific Motorsport and R K Teams who field competitors regularly. Once again thank you all, Merry Christmas and hope to see you all again next year.
Les Antrobus
Above: A big field of TaG 125 Light
RESULTS
| CLASS | FIRST |
SECOND |
THIRD |
TAG 125 HEAVY |
Klinton Hancey |
Ashley Waardenberg |
Ashley Lester |
CADETS |
Jai Brown |
Josh Radford |
Oliver Bayliss |
TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT |
Blake Worboys |
Donnelle Waldon |
Daniel Meek |
JUNIOR NATIONAL LIGHT |
Ben Wilcox |
William Brown |
Thomas Steele |
SENIOR NATIONAL 150KG |
Oliver Etter |
James Foster |
Blake Worboys |
ROOKIES |
Cameron Shields |
Ryan Shule |
Jace Matthews |
JUNIOR MAX |
Nicholas Andrews |
Zane Goddard |
Callum Walker |
TAG RESTRICTED HEAVY |
Craig Holmwood |
Mark Uzzell |
Russell McDonald |
TAG 125 LIGHT |
Bodine Antrobus |
Scott Sorensen |
Mitchell Gee |
JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY |
Dean Wiegman |
Jordan Kidas |
Nicholas Andrews |
CLUBMAN LIGHT |
Nicholas Dalton |
Edward Wilkins |
|
CLUBMAN HEAVY |
Brendan Nelson |
Paul Baxter |
Norm Trost |
