Victory For Dicker On Pro Tour Debut
| press release | 14 April 2014 |
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“Debutant takes victory amidst close finishes in Lithgow finals”
- Full results on CMS HERE
West Australian Samuel Dicker has been rewarded from his impressive first Pro Tour round performance to secure the victory in the Sodi Junior Max Trophy Class, with wins across many of the classes being separated by less than a second in a string of enthralling finals in Lithgow.
Above: Samuel Dicker was congratulated by Mayor of Lithgow, Maree Statham who attended the finals day
pic - Coopers Photography
DD2 Masters
After securing a clean sweep of victories throughout Saturday’s heat races, Victorian Hamish Leighton showed a clean set of heels throughout the DD2 Masters pre-final, engaging in battles with both Adam Hunter and Danny Wright before taking victory in the 24 lap event. Steve Ellery returned through the pack after having dropped back early in the race to take fourth with Lee Adams’ consistent impressive lap speed securing him fifth. A post-race penalty of ten seconds applied to Leighton saw him relegated to eighth with the victory handed to Wright.
With the results of the pre-final determining the grid positions for the 30 lap pre-final, Hamish Leighton would start from the fourth row with a challenge to secure a podium position. Adam Hunter led from the outset in his LH Kart before a hard charging Leighton worked through the two speed gearbox field to eventually be on the tail of the Sydney driver. Hamish was then able to secure the victory by 1.4 seconds over Hunter with Lee Adams holding for third from Darren Foley and Trevor Whitby.
Above: DD2 Masters' Hamish Leighton came from eighth to take the win
pic - Coopers Photography
Junior Max Trophy Class
As with Hamish Leighton in DD2 Masters, Glen Ormerod was able to continue his trend of victories on the back of Saturday’s heat races to finish at the front of the Sodi Junior Max Trophy Class field. Ormerod encountered continuous challenges from debutant Samuel Dicker who would eventually finish second by just 0.3 seconds with a gap then to fellow West Australian Brooke Redden in third from Chris Bregonje and Melissa Whitmore.
In a mirror of the pre-final, a battle between the top three drivers of Glen Ormerod, Samuel Dicker and Brooke Redden returned in the 30 lap final with the trio engaging in a dice for the lead for much of the race. Contact between Ormerod and Redden in the last lap allowed Dicker a way through to the lead where he would hold on for victory in his debut meeting in the Pro Tour. The battle for fourth and fifth remained close for much of the race also with Chris Bregonje holding on over Liam Ford to round out the top five.
Above: Samuel Dicker secured the win on debut in the Sodi Junior Max Trophy Class
pic - Coopers Photography
Rotax Light
Albury’s Bret Mullavey made a strong start which propelled him into the lead from the outset in the pre-final for Rotax Light. Victorian Brad Jenner stuck with Mullavey for much of the race as he battled to hold down second, with continuous challenges to secure a top three finish. With drivers preferring the inside line for the race starts, Jack Richardson took third which placed him behind his fellow Albury driver Bret Mullavey for the start of the final. Zac Soutar and Ryan Kennedy fought to secure the remainder of the positions in the top five with pole sitter Dean O’Brien finishing sixth.
Bret Mullavey was able to replicate his ideal start in the longer final and soared to a three kart length race lead by turn two in the opening lap. Mullavey’s advantage didn't remain as comfortable as the race progressed with Brad Jenner on the hunt to secure another round win. Finishing within 0.5 seconds, Mullavey secured the win over Jenner with the challenge for the final place on the podium again providing an enthralling battle to the chequered flag. Jack Richardson recovered to finish fourth after dropping down in the top ten ahead of Stefan Stankovic and Dean O’Brien.
Above: Bret Mullavey (54) led home a closely contested Rotax Light final for the win
pic - Coopers Photography
Junior Max
Starting from pole position, Sydney’s Jayden Ojeda remained one of the favourites for victory in the pre-final for Junior Max. The challenge for the lead heightened as the race progressed with Darwin’s Bryce Fullwood moving into the position in the latter stages of the race. Fullwood was then able to hold on for victory over Queensland’s Nicholas Andrews and West Australian Jake Kostecki. Isaac Vaccarella took fourth in front of the pole sitter Ojeda with William Brown finishing sixth handing him a third row start for the final.
With luck on his side in the opening stages of the final, G-Force Karting's Nicholas Andrews was able to secure the lead, where the battle for the minor placing’s provided him the chance to open up his lead to two seconds by the completion of the race. Isaac Vaccarella was able to step up from his starting position in fourth to secure second with William Brown in third. Bryce Fullwood went on to finish fourth, just 0.5 seconds behind Brown with Ojeda holding on for fifth over Joshua Car in sixth.
Above: Nicholas Andrews led from the beginning of the Junior Max final to take the win, here ahead of Jake Kostecki
pic - Coopers Photography
DD2
Victorian Jason Pringle showed his experience throughout the DD2 pre-final as he stormed to a comfortable 2.4 second victory. Pringle’s efforts would reward him with pole position for the final as Sydney’s Mathew Erdmann worked his way through the top end of the field to secure second, making it a CRG lock out of the front row for the start of the final. Jordan Boys’ continued growth within the DD2 category was reflected with a third place finish ahead of Nathan Taylor in fourth, Mason Barbera in fifth and James Macken in sixth.
The beginning of the DD2 final appeared to a be a full gone conclusion for Jason Pringle with his front row partner Mathew Erdmann’s race being ended in a first lap incident. Pringle took a comfortable lead for much of the first half of the race before a charge from Gold Coast’s James Macken, who moved into second with Pringle’s lead at 2.5 seconds, worked to reel in the gap to just 0.1 seconds by the chequered flag. Macken’s second place was not the only podium for the Gold Coast driver’s, with Lane Moore taking third in his first season in the category, finishing ahead of Troy Woolston and Jaie Robson.
Above: Jason Pringle beat James Macken to the line by just one tenth of a second in DD2
pic - Coopers Photography
Next Event Round five of the 2014 Rotax Pro Tour takes place in Geelong, Victoria from May 24-26 with it being the Jason Richards Memorial event.
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Above: The round winners from Pro Tour Lithgow (left to right) Samuel Dicker – Junior Max Trophy Class, Bret Mullavey – Rotax Light, Jason Pringle – DD2, Hamish Leighton – DD2 Masters, Nicholas Andrews – Junior Max
pic - Coopers Photography
Above: Rotax Light Podium (L to R) Brad Jenner 2nd, Bret Mullavey 1st, Ryan Kennedy 3rd
pic - Coopers Photography