Podium Result for Stewart at Pro Tour Ipswich
| press release | 24 June 2013 |
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Canberra DD2 driver Michael Stewart has taken second in the latest round of the Rotax Pro Tour held in Ipswich, Queensland, though the entire weekend didn’t go his own way, Stewart fought through in a courageous performance under lights.
In saturating conditions, Michael qualified ninth in the field, with this result provoking a setup change in the lead up to the opening heat under lights on a wet Queensland evening. A hard charging Stewart fought his way into the top five in all three heat races, with the second and third of them being held in dry conditions on Saturday afternoon.
“The night race was an awesome experience, and the promoters and series made it an awesome event, it was incredible to be part of.
“After no dry practice, I thought we would be off the pace at the start but we found our feet and got up to speed quicker than I expected,” Stewart said.
Starting off the second row in the pre-final, the last race in day time conditions of the weekend, Stewart some of the speed and success he expected, though his sixth place result didn’t reflect his true performance, a second fastest time of the race with a 48.548 was a true inspiration leading into the 20 lap final.
A third row start for Michael for the final was the ingredient needed to complete the 17 year old’s determination to charge through the field with success in sights, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 48.375 in the cooler night time conditions, Stewart went through to second, gaining crucial rankings points with just two events remaining in the season.
“To finish second in Ipswich is really going to help my run into the last two events of the rankings season, I am still second in the rankings for DD2, and now trail by just 100 points with the Rotax Nationals not far away,” Stewart concluded.
Round seven of the Rotax Pro Tour will take place at the Cooloola Coast Kart Club, Gympie Queensland from July 12-14.
