Tigani Tops DD2 as Gillis & Walton Go Back-To-Back


press release 29 february 2016

Cody Gillis and Kris Walton have made it two round wins from two starts in 2016, taking the overall victory in Rotax 125 Light and DD2 respectively at Warwick’s Sandy Creek Raceway. A string of maiden round wins across the other classes have set up an intriguing third round at Eastern Creek in six weeks.

  • full results from the round are on CMS HERE

Micro Max

The battle between Sebastian Ruiz and Ryan Tomsett continued into Sunday in Warwick in Micro Max with the pair remaining to be the two drivers to catch in the class. In the end it was Ruiz who took out the round win, his first since joining the series. Tomsett settled for second while Macka Hazard recorded his best result of the Pro Tour with third from round one winner Emerson Vincent and debutant Jordan Ensbey.

Micro Max Podium - 1st Sebastian Ruiz, 2nd Ryan Tomsett, 3rd Macka Hazard, 4th Emerson Vincent, 5th Jordan Ensbey
Above: Micro Max Podium - 1st Sebastian Ruiz, 2nd Ryan Tomsett, 3rd Macka Hazard, 4th Emerson Vincent, 5th Jordan Ensbey (absent)
pic - IKD Media

Mini Max

Finals day Sunday at Warwick proved to be the day for Luke Pink in Mini Max as he took the win in the remaining two heat races and the two finals, handing him the round victory. The Queenslander showed good consistency across both the sprint and longer races, with the final seeing him take the chequred flag by 1.8 seconds over heat one winner Jack Westbury. James Wharton finished a close third for the round while Victorian Hugh Barter and New Zealander Connor Davison made their first appearances on the podium since joining the series, with the class delivering a field of 33, its largest since becoming part of the series and Karting in Australia in 2015.

Mini Max Podium - 1st Luke Pink, 2nd Jack Westbury, 3rd James Wharton, 4th Hugh Barter, 5th Connor Davison
Above: Mini Max Podium - 1st Luke Pink, 2nd Jack Westbury, 3rd James Wharton, 4th Hugh Barter, 5th Connor Davison
pic - IKD Media

Junior Max Trophy

Debutant Travis Worton proved to amongst the drivers to chase in Junior Max Trophy, taking the win in heat two before claiming the outright success in both the pre-final and final, handing him a round win in his first appearance in the series. Heat race polesitter Brodie Whitmore scored the win in heat three before taking second in the pre-final, however the longest of the weekend’s races saw Jaiden Pope step up to take second behind Worton with Jac Preston, Callum Bishop and Samuel Wright rounding out the podium.

Junior Max Trophy Podium - 1st Travis Worton, 2nd Jaiden Pope (absent), 3rd Jac Preston, 4th Callum Bishop, 5th Samuel Wright (absent)
Above: Junior Max Trophy Podium - 1st Travis Worton, 2nd Jaiden Pope (absent), 3rd Jac Preston, 4th Callum Bishop, 5th Samuel Wright (absent)
pic - IKD Media

Junior Max

With a capacity field of 36 drivers in Junior Max for both the pre-final and final, it was sure to bring two races filled with battle packs full of action. Starting from the second row in the final, Canberra’s Alec Morse proved to be able to break through to the lead in the 22 lap event, with Lachlan Hughes and Harrison Hoey both following him closely during the race. Entering the weekend’s last race, Lucas Lichtenberger looked to be favourite, starting from pole position, however after slipping back down the order, it opened the door for Morse. Hoey would set the fastest time of the race on lap 18, however he would go on to finish third behind Morse with Hughes taking seond. Heat-race polesitter Nathan Herne managed to finish fourth while Benjamin Deissler recorded his first podium in the Pro Tour.

Junior Max Podium - 1st Alec Morse, 2nd Lachlan Hughes, 3rd Harrison Hoey, 4th Nathan Herne, 5th Benjamin Deissler
Above: Junior Max Podium - 1st Alec Morse, 2nd Lachlan Hughes, 3rd Harrison Hoey, 4th Nathan Herne, 5th Benjamin Deissler
pic - IKD Media

Rotax 125 Light

Cody Gillis remained to be the driver to chase in Rotax Light in the category’s 22 lap final, breaking away to an early lead and securing not only the race win, but a clean sweep and back to back round victories. Gillis is now the driver to watch in the season ahead, likewise his team mate, Canberra’s Joshua Fife who finished second, a mirror of the top two from round one at Todd Road. Liam McLellan made it two podiums in two rounds, taking third with Liam Ford finishing fourth after Wayne Bourke received a post-race penalty for a weight infringement which subsequently promoted Paul Rodgers to the final podium place.

Rotax 125 Light Podium - 1st Cody Gillis, 2nd Joshua Fife, 3rd Liam McLellan, 4th Liam Ford, 5th Paul Rodgers
Above: Rotax 125 Light Podium - 1st Cody Gillis, 2nd Joshua Fife, 3rd Liam McLellan, 4th Liam Ford, 5th Paul Rodgers
pic - IKD Media

Rotax 125 Heavy

Sydney’s Shay Mayes looked to be the dominant driver in the Rotax Heavy final after breaking away to an early lead on the back of his success on Saturday, however for Mayes, a mechanical black flag after 15 laps due to a loose rear crash bar brought about a premature end to the race and prevent two round wins in a row. Gaven Whitmore was running second for much of the race behind Mayes, taking the lead late in the race to then go on and take the wine over Benjamin Ritchie with Lane Moore picking up third ahead of Clem O’Mara and Corey Lean.

Rotax 125 Heavy Podium - 1st Gaven Whitmore, 2nd Benjamin Ritchie, 3rd Lane Moore, 4th Clem O'Mara, 5th Corey Lean
Above: Rotax 125 Heavy Podium - 1st Gaven Whitmore, 2nd Benjamin Ritchie, 3rd Lane Moore, 4th Clem O'Mara, 5th Corey Lean
pic - IKD Media

DD2

After having been the driver to beat in the early races of the weekend in DD2, Victorian Troy Woolston looked as though he would again be sprinting away to a round win, however a close battle within the top four throughout the 22 lap final saw Sydney driver Nathan Tigani move through to the race lead while Dutchman Marijn Kremers got his way to second, placing Woolston in third towards the end of the race. A narrow victory for Tigani by just 0.1 seconds made it his maiden round win in the class with Kremers finishing second, his best result on Australian soil in DD2. Woolston held on for third from Chris Bregonje with Brock Plumb completing the podium.

DD2 Podium - 1st Nathan Tigani, 2nd Marijn Kremers, 3rd Troy Woolston, 4th Chris Bregonje, 5th Brock Plumb
Above: DD2 Podium - 1st Nathan Tigani, 2nd Marijn Kremers, 3rd Troy Woolston, 4th Chris Bregonje, 5th Brock Plumb
pic - IKD Media

DD2 Masters

The two longer races of the weekend for DD2 Masters proved to be a battle of four in the most part with Kris Walton, Lee Mitchener, Klinton Hancey and Troy Bretherton all being realistic chances of taking the round victory. With Walton taking the win in the last of the heat races on Saturday afternoon, he entered the finals day full of confidence, taking the win in the pre-final by just 0.3 seconds ahead of Hancey with Mitchener a further 0.2 seconds back in third. Bretherton took fourth while his team mate Scott Howard finished a comfortable fifth. The results were all but mirrored in the final, despite a rotation for second and third as Walton drove to take back to back round wins to start the season.

DD2 Masters Podium - 1st Kris Walton, 2nd Lee Mitchener, 3rd Klinton Hancey, 4th Troy Bretherton, 5th Scott Howard
Above: DD2 Masters Podium - 1st Kris Walton, 2nd Lee Mitchener, 3rd Klinton Hancey, 4th Troy Bretherton, 5th Scott Howard
pic - IKD Media

Round three of the 2016 Rotax Pro Tour takes place at the Eastern Creek International Kart Raceway, Eastern Creek, NSW from April 15-17.

 

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