South Australian State Championships

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3 November 2013
(updated 4 November)


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The 2013 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN KARTING CHAMPIONS

Cadets – Damon Papasergio (Banjip, WA)
Rookies – Zac Raddatz (Horsnby Heights, NSW)
Junior National Light – Reece Sidebottom (Echuca, Vic)
Junior National Heavy – Shaun Costello (Echuca, Vic)
Junior Clubman – William Hawkes (Lara, Vic)
Junior Rotax – Zane Morse (Canberra, ACT)
Clubman Light – James Sera (Clayton, Vic)
Clubman Heavy – Leigh Nicolaou (Taylors Lakes, Vic)
Clubman Super Heavy – Danny Errigo (Salisbury North, SA)
Clubman Over 40s – Remo Luciani (Horsham, Vic)
Leopard Light – James Sera (Clayton, Vic)
Leopard Heavy – Paul Pittam (One Tree Hill, SA)
Open Performance – Dominic Albanese (Point Cook, Vic)

Above: Paul Pittam leading Mason Barbera on his way to victory in Leopard Heavy at Bolivar on the weekend
pic - AF Images/Budd

Local driver (One Tree Hill, SA) Paul Pittam has successfully defended his South Australian Karting Championship at the Southern Go-Kart Club’s Bolivar Raceway.

Pittam, who has now amassed an impressive 12 state crowns, proved victorious in the Leopard Heavy category ahead of Bundaberg driver Mason Barbera.

Barbera led the early running of the 21-lap final and appeared to have the measure of his pursuers, however, Pittam had other ideas aboard his locally made Omega kart. Pittam moved into the lead with a handful of laps remaining as Western Australian Matt Davis was charging his way to the front. The leading trio raced nose to tail for the final few laps before Pittam crossed the line two-kart lengths clear of Barbera to successfully defend the title he won last year in Mount Gambier.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to defend the championship that I won last year in a kart that is made here in South Australia,” said Pittam.

“All weekend, the Omega kart was a rocket. It was great racing out there with Mason and Matt. Mason showed us how it was done early in the final and gave me a bit of a wake-up call, so the win was made even sweeter when I was able to chase him down and pass him.”

Pittam’s fellow South Australian Leigh Cocker (West Lakes, SA) set the pace in the early part of the weekend before crossing the line fourth in the final. He was later elevated to third when Davis weighed in under the minimum weight post race.

Also competing in the Clubman Heavy category, Pittam finished second to Victorian Leigh Nicolaou, who was the only other driver to successfully defend a title won at the corresponding event last year.

Pittam was joined in the winner’s circle by fellow local Danny Errigo (Salisbury North, SA) who proved too good in the Clubman Super Heavy category. Errigo, who resides less than a ten-minute drive from the Bolivar Raceway, out paced Queensland Champion Mason Barbera, Blake Mooney, Andrew Cash and Mount Gambier’s Paul Dankowski for the win.

Above: Salisbury North driver Danny Errigo was successful in the Clubman Super Heavy category
pic - AF Images/Budd

Arrow Karts Victorian driver William Hawkes edged out reigning National Champion Joshua Denton (Cockatoo Valley, SA) to snare the victory in the Junior Clubman category.

Denton leapt into the lead as the field raced into turn one and immediately opened a healthy lead. Hawkes then showed sensational speed to close the gap and moved into the top spot. Queenslander Jordi Marcon began to shadow the leading duo by mid race distance as Harry Hayek was on the charge into fifth spot after starting at the back of the field after failing to finish the pre-final. Despite Denton pressuring Hawkes in the final stages, Hawkes held on for the win.

Detailed below is the top five in each category, along with race notes for many categories. To view the full results, please click here.

Cadets
1. Damon Papasergio
2. Courtney Prince
3. Sean Larkin
4. Jordyn Sinni
5. Zak Lobko

Race Notes: Polesitter Mason Patience was a victim of the opening corner battle in the final of the Cadets category dropping him to 17th place at the completion of the opening lap. The top four, led by Jack Harders and Damon Papasergio, separated themselves from the charging pack. On lap five Jai Brown, Kai Allen and Patience were eliminated as they attempted to make their way back up the order. The top three of Harders, Papasergio and Courtney Prince raced nose-to-tail for the majority of the remainder of the distance before Harders took the win. Harders was later excluded following post race technical inspection, handing the win to Papasergio.

Junior Clubman
1. William Hawkes
2. Joshua Denton
3. Jordi Marcon
4. Harry Hayek
5. Thomas Maxwell

Race Notes: Reigning National Champion Joshua Denton leapt into the lead as the Junior Clubman field raced into turn one and immediately opened a healthy lead. Arrow Karts driver William Hawkes then showed sensational speed to close the gap and moved into the top spot. Queenslander Jordi Marcon began to shadow the leading duo by mid race distance as Harry Hayek was on the charge into fifth spot. Despite Denton pressuring Hawkes in the final stages, Hawkes held on for the win.

Clubman Heavy
1. Leigh Nicolaou
2. Paul Pittam
3. George Gutierrez
4. Remo Luciani
5. Peter Zacharia

Race Notes: David Sera got the jump at the start of the Clubman Heavy final with Jason Burns slotting into second place ahead of Remo Luciani. Disaster struck on lap two as the leaders entered turn one with Burns and Sera making contact which eliminated the pair and sent Luciani into the air as he attempted to avoid them. Leigh Nicolaou emerged from the chaos as the leader followed by Paul Pittam. Nicolaou and Pittam ran within close proximity as they exchanged the lead for the duration before Nicolaou claimed the win in a grandstand finish.

Open Performance
1. Dominic Albanese
2. Brett Fortainer
3. David Harradine
4. Brandon Stillwell
5. Giuseppe Caon

Race Notes: Dominic Albanese had dominated the weekend in the Open Performance category aboard his twin Maxter-powered Arrow kart, and the final appeared as though it was going to be no different. Behind him Ben Edwards was eliminated on lap one and Brett Fortainer was delayed in the same incident as Emma-Louise Lester emerged as a surprise second place runner. As the race continued, Albanese’s challengers dropped like flies and he cruised to victory.

Junior National Light
1. Reece Sidebottom
2. Shaun Costello
3. Aaron Cameron
4. Thomas Maxwell
5. Dylan Hollis

Race Notes: Two groups of two led the way in the Junior National Light final with Reece Sidebottom shadowed by Shaun Costello and Aaron Cameron shadowed by Thomas Maxwell. Behind them an eight-kart freight train battled for fifth position. Sidebottom took over the lead with 1 ½ laps remaining to cross the line half a kart length clear of Costello for the win. After spinning on the opening lap and being dropped behind the entire field, Dylan Hollis was impressive on his way to charging through to fifth.

Above: Victorian Reece Sidebottom won the Junior National Light category
pic - AF Images/Budd

Junior National Heavy
1. Shaun Costello
2. William Hawkes
3. Cameron Boys
4. Braydon North
5. Blaine Grills

Clubman Super Heavy
1. Danny Errigo
2. Mason Barbera
3. Blake Mooney
4. Andrew Cash
5. John Dankowski

Clubman Over 40s
1. Remo Luciani
2. Trevor Whitby
3. Phil Smith
4. Peter O’Neill
5. Stephen Blee

Clubman Light
1. James Sera
2. Daniel Rochford
3. Jordan Boys
4. Kyle Rethus
5. Andrew Gameau

Race Notes: Victorians Daniel Rochford, James Sera and Jordan Boys were the pacesetters in the Clubman Light final. The trio exchanged the front running for the duration of the race before Rochford made a last corner pass for the win. Rochford was later relegated one position by officials for his pass exiting the final turn, handing the win to Sera.

Above: Daniel Rochford leading James Sera and Jordan Boys in Clubman Light
pic - AF Images/Budd

Leopard Heavy
1. Paul Pittam
2. Mason Barbera
3. Leigh Cocker
4. Aaron Hindle
5. Russell Provan

Race Notes: CRG driver Mason Barbera led the early running of the Leopard Heavy final and appeared to have the measure of his pursuers, however, defending champion Paul Pittam had other ideas aboard his Omega kart. Pittam moved into the lead with a handful of laps remaining as Matt Davis was charging his way to the front. The leading trio raced nose to tail for the final few laps before Pittam crossed the line two kart lengths clear of Barbera. Davis crossed the line third but weighed in under the minimum weight and was subsequently excluded.

Rookies
1. Zac Raddatz
2. Jacob Dowson
3. Jai Sparey
4. Benito Montalbano
5. Jordan Caruso

Race Notes: Chaos reigned supreme through the opening turn of the Rookies final with front-runners Cody Brewcyznski and Thomas Buik eliminated and the likes of Jordan Caruso and Jack Doohan delayed. Emerging as the leader was Benito Montalbano. He was then relieved of the front running spot by Zac Raddatz aboard his Kosmic kart, who went on to claim the win without any further challenges. Jordan Caruso was impressive in a hard charging recovering drive to fifth spot.

Junior Rotax
1. Zane Morse
2. Jayden Sharrad
3. Cody Gillis
4. Brodie Cook
5. Jack Bell

Leopard Light
1. James Sera
2. Andrew Mercuri
3. Zac Soutar
4. Leigh Nicolaou
5. Josh Tynan

Race Notes: FA Kart driver James Sera left the field to battle for the minor positions in the Leopard Light final, and battle they did! The likes of Rocco Ventra, James Allen, Andrew Mercuri and Zac Soutar diced it out in the early laps allowing Sera to open a commanding lead by lap three, which he never relinquished.

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