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Finals Day - Victorian Karting Championships


AKA media 10 March 2013
 

ECHUCA YOUNGSTER WINS AT VICTORIAN KARTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

West Aussie Nicholas Rowe and Melbourne’s David Sera take double victories

Echuca youngster Reece Sidebottom has added the 2013 Victorian State Karting Championship to his ever-growing resume with victory at the Hume International Karting Raceway in Puckapunyal today.

The Year 7 St Jobes College Student secured the win in the Junior National Light category ahead of Canberra teenager Zane Morse and Western Australian Champion Nikola Mitic.

The title is Sidebottom’s eighth State Crown of his career having won seven across the country in the Cadets and Rookies categories. This was his first in the highly-competitive Junior National Light category that saw 39 drivers line up on the grid across the weekend.

Reece Sidebottom leading the way in the Junior National Light final
Above: Reece Sidebottom leading the way in the Junior National Light final
pic - AF Images/Budd

“All weekend I was running fourth or fifth and realistically didn’t think that I had the speed to win but in the end I had some luck on my side and was able to make the right moves at the right time,” said Sidebottom.

“I’ve only been racing Junior National for two months, so to come away with the win here is just an amazing feeling. A huge thanks must go to my family for all of their support in my racing, along with Brett Arnett from A1 engines.”

New South Wales driver Jayden Ojeda got the jump at the green light of the Junior National Light final as Mitic shadowed his fellow Arrow pilot before taking over the front running on lap five.

The battle for the lead then became a four-way fight with Sidebottom and Nicholas Cardamone joining the leading duo. After a frantic final few laps, it was Sidebottom who snared the win ahead of Morse and Mitic.

Karratha’s Nicholas Rowe was one of two drivers to enjoy a pair of victories at the championships with victory in both the Junior Clubman and Junior National Heavy categories.

Rowe’s win in Junior Clubman was won by virtue of a last corner pass on William Hawkes while the pair also enjoyed a titanic battle in the Junior National Heavy category before Rowe came out on top.

“It has been an awesome weekend. I qualified on pole in the J (Junior National) and fourth in the Clubby, ran strongly all weekend and got lucky to win them both,” said Rowe.

“In the Junior Clubman race I knew Hawkesy was coming and that he had a lot of speed. When he got past me I knew that I had to go with him. He was blocking well on the last lap but then midway through the double left hander coming onto the straight he ran wide so I stuck it (the kart) in there and it paid off. “

Nicholas Rowe leading William Hawkes across the line in Junior Clubman
Above: Nicholas Rowe leading William Hawkes across the line in Junior Clubman
pic - AF Images/Budd

Victorian David Sera added another two State Championships to his illustrious list of achievements with victory in both the Rotax Light and Clubman Heavy categories.

Competing under the KTEQ Rentals banner for the first time, Sera was nothing short of dominant on his way to victory in the Rotax Light category while he was forced to fight hard for his win in Clubman Heavy.

Sera led home fellow Victorian Bradley Jenner and Matthew McLellan in Rotax Light while Leigh Nicolaou and Brendan Nelson filled the minor positions in the Clubman Heavy category.

The full results can be found by clicking here.

2013 VICTORIAN OPEN SPRINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eastern Lions Kart Club, Puckapunyal, Victoria

RESULTS: Top Five

Leopard Heavy
1. Scott King
2. Matt Davis
3. Jake Rice
4. Cain Mouat
5. Michael Griffiths

Race Notes: Kris Walton and Lee Mitchener exchanged the lead of the Leopard Heavy final twice on the opening lap. The top five of Walton, Mitchener, Michael Griffith, Scott King and Matt Davis ran nose to tail for several laps before Walton and Griffiths touched coming onto the straight allowing Mitchener to gain a handy buffer in the lead – until he encountered a puncture two laps later. Mitchener's demise allowed King to inherit the lead. He crossed the line well clear of Davis to claim the win.

Leopard Light
1. Dean Foster
2. James Sera
3. Jason Burns
4. Ashley Lear
5. Andrew Mercuri

Race Notes: Confusion reigned supreme on the opening lap of the Leopard Light Final at the Victorian Championships with many drivers believing the race hadn’t started and slowed down as a consequence. This resulted in numerous changes at the front. It didn’t take long for normal transmission to resume with James Sera and Dean Foster dicing it out for the lead. Foster opened a slender gap by lap five and Burns then pressured Sera for the second spot. Sera eventually got the better of the battle with Burns to claim the runner-up spot behind Foster.

Dean Foster, here ahead of Jason Burns and James Sera, won the Leopard Light category
Above: Dean Foster, here ahead of Jason Burns and James Sera, won the Leopard Light category
pic - AF Images/Budd

Clubman Super Heavy
1. Michael Brennan
2. Ben McKinlay
3. Scott Simpson
4. Bruce Otter
5. Joshua Herne

Race Notes: After the recent performances, it was expected that Ben McKinlay and Scott Simpson would dominate the Clubman Super Heavy final, but someone forgot to tell Pro Karting’s Michael Brennan about the plan. The local driver move to the front leading a four-kart freight train consisting of himself, McKinlay, Simpson and Otter. He then showed superior speed to pull away from the field.

Clubman Over 40s
1. Remo Luciani
2. Steven Riddell
3. Trevor Whitby
4. Philip Smith
5. Peter O’Neill

Race Notes: Early in the weekend Steven Riddell and Phil Smith had showed signs of putting an end to Remo Luciani’s dominance in the Clubman Over 40’s category. In the final though, it was Luciani’s time to shine with the veteran storming away with the victory. The battle for the minor placings was intense with Riddell eventually claiming the runner-up spot.

Junior National Light
1. Reece Sidebottom
2. Zane Morse
3. Nikola Mitic
4. Aaron Cameron
5. Jayden Ojeda

Race Notes: New South Wales driver Jayden Ojeda got the jump at the green light of the Junior National Light final. Western Australian Champion Nikola Mitic shadowed his fellow Arrow pilot before taking over the front running on lap five. The battle for the lead then became a four-way fight with Reece Sidebottom and Nicholas Cardamone joining the leading duo. After a frantic final few laps, it was Reece Sidebottom who snared the win ahead of Zane Morse and Mitic.

Rotax Light
1. David Sera
2. Bradley Jenner
3. Matthew McLellan
4. Matthew Smith
5. Jack Richardson

Race Notes: The final of the Rotax Light category was another David Sera domination with the KTEQ-backed driver crossing the line almost two-seconds clear of RK Kart driver Bradley Jenner.

David Sera leading the Rotax Light field, followed by Brad Jenner (94) and Brenton Mountjoy (50)
Above: David Sera leading the Rotax Light field, followed by Brad Jenner (94) and Brenton Mountjoy (50)
pic - AF Images/Budd

Rotax Heavy
1. Brendan Nelson
2. Matthew Wall
3. Michael Saller
4. Rick Pringle
5. Ben McKinlay

Race Notes: The top six runners in the Rotax Heavy final were never far apart with Arrow Kart drivers Matthew Wall and Brendan Nelson leading the way for the majority of the race. Michael Saller closed in on the leading duo over the closing laps to mount a challenge for the win. Despite some heavy pressure from Wall in the closing stages, Nelson held on for the wing.

Brendan Nelson leading Matthew Wall in Rotax Heavy
Above: Brendan Nelson leading Matthew Wall in Rotax Heavy
pic - AF Images/Budd

Junior Rotax
1. James Abela
2. Blaine Densley
3. Jordan Boys
4. Joseph Burton-Harris
5. Liam McLellan

Race Notes: Praga driver Jordan Boys took full advantage of his pole position to lead the field away in the final of Junior Rotax while James Abela charged his way from fifth to second on the opening lap. Abela then moved his way to the front and set about distancing himself from the charging pack. Blaine Densley had other ideas though with the Kosmic driver closing in on the rear of Abela by mid race. The pair ran within close proximity of each other before Abela emerged as the winner aboard his Exprit kart.

Cadets
1. Jack Harders
2. Sean Larkin
3. Damon Papasergio
4. Jordyn Sinni
5. George Gower

Race Notes: Jack Doohan took full advantage of his pole position on the initial start and had opened a four-kart length lead before the red lights were displayed for an incident further back in the pack. At the restart Doohan once again took the lead, but this time he was shadowed by Jordyn Sinni. It then became a five-way fight for the lead with Benito Montalbano, Sean Larkin and Jack Harders joining in the fun. The top four were nose to tail as they crossed the line to start the final lap and when the top three tried it go three wide on the back section of the circuit Montablano and Doohan were eliminated. Harders therefore took over the front-running and held on for the win by 0.038 seconds over Larkin.

Clubman Heavy
1. David Sera
2. Leigh Nicolaou
3. Brendan Nelson
4. Lee Mitchener
5. Matthew Wall

Race Notes: In what could be described as the ‘Arrow Cup’ with the top seven drivers in the Clubman Heavy final using the Australian-made product. David Sera led the early running ahead of Brendan Nelson before Leigh Nicolaou made it a three-way battle at the front of the field. When Mark Dorbolo rolled, the race was halted while he was attended to, and then transported to hospital with a suspected broken collarbone. In the seven lap dash to the finish Sera was challenged but never relented to claim the win.

Rookies
1. Jordan Caruso
2. Cooper Murray
3. Mathew Steel
4. Jai Sparey
5. Thomas Hughes

Race Notes: Front runners Cooper Murray, Jordan Caruso and Jai Sparey swapped the lead lap after lap during the Rookie final with the trio clearing out from the rest of the field. In the end it was a two way fight for the win between Murray and Caruso while Sparey battled with Mathew Steel for the third position. Despite some heavy pressure from Murray on the last lap Caruso held on for the win.

The field of Rookies race into turn one at the Hume International Karting Raceway, Jordan Caruso (12) on the inside of Cooper Murray (16) ahead of Thomas Hughes (48) and Cody Brewczynski (18)
Above: The field of Rookies race into turn one at the Hume International Karting Raceway, Jordan Caruso (12) on the inside of Cooper Murray (16) ahead of Thomas Hughes (48) and Cody Brewczynski (18)
pic - AF Images/Budd

Clubman Light
1. James Sera
2. Wayne Bourke
3. Jesse Elliott
4. Ben Stewart
5. Jake Coleman

Race Notes: An opening turn fracas eliminated Jordie Ford and Nicholas Dalton while James Sera and Justin Francis led the way in the Clubman Light final. CRG driver Jake Coleman bridged the gap to the leaders to make it a three-way battle. As they battled it allowed Wayne Bourke and Jesse Elliott into contention. James Sera used his experience to hold on for the win and lead home an FA Kart trifecta with Bourke and Elliott finishing in the minor placings.

James Sera leading Jake Coleman and Justin Francis in Clubman Light
Above: James Sera leading Jake Coleman and Justin Francis in Clubman Light
pic - AF Images/Budd

Junior Clubman
1. Nicholas Rowe
2. William Hawkes
3. Jordan Holowell
4. Jake Klein
5. Braydon North

Race Notes: There was nothing separating Jake Klein and Nicholas Rowe all throughout the Junior Clubman Final. The pair were followed by Jordan Holowell and William Hawkes, who then made it a four-way battle late in the race. Rowe made a last corner pass for the win to cross the line one kart-length clear of Hawkes. Holowell claimed third.

 

 

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