22nd April 2012

HILL AND HAYS TAKE MAIDEN STARS OF KARTING WINS

View some highlights from today’s racing and interviews with the winners below

Top Kart driver Cameron Hill (Canberra, ACT) and Energy Corse Australia’s Chris Hays (Gold Coast, QLD) claimed their maiden victories in the CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE at round two of the 2012 series in Newcastle today.

Hill has been somewhat of a revelation in the Pro Junior (KF3) ranks over the past 18 months and today was his time to shine.

Until today, the 15 year-old had only finished on the podium in the series on one occasion but with a pair of victories in the two 25-lap main events Hill confirmed his place as a serious contender for this year’s title chase.

“It’s unbelievable, it feels great to finally get this monkey off my back and finally win a round,” said Hill.

Hill crossed the line ahead of round one winner Jake Coleman (Glenmore Park, NSW) to move to within five points of the championship lead. For the second round in a row Kosmic Racing NSW driver Dimitri Agathos stood on the final step on the podium.

In his return round to the series, Dalton Ellery showed tremendous potential and as a result received the Smart Device Powerful Award and a Blackberry Playbook.

For Hays, today’s victory was a breakthrough one. Competing in his 11th round of the elite series, the Vodafone-backed driver had always shown tremendous speed but never walked away with a Pro Gearbox (KZ2) round victory.

After shadowing Kyle Ensbey (Sunshine Coast, QLD) for the majority of the weekend Hays found his way to the front when it mattered most – at the start of the final race of the weekend.

Hays got the jump off the start line and after opening a handy buffer in the early laps, was never challenged for the win.

“This has been a long time coming, I’ve been in a winning position a couple of rounds but have never been able to finish the job off for one reason or another. It’s really a huge relief,” said Hays.

“A huge thanks must go to Adam Graham and the Energy Kart team, along with my mechanic Jon Targett and my Dad for all of their hard work in making this win possible.

“Until this weekend I wasn’t a real fan of the Newcastle track but after today, I love it.”

2010 champion Matthew Wall (Sunbury, Vic) encountered a mechanical issue in the opening final, forcing him to the back for the second 25-lap main event. The BRM driver charged his way through the field to finish within several kart lengths of Hays.

Third place went to Ensbey, who now holds a 19-point buffer a top of the standings in the chase for the John Pizarro Trophy.

There was both heartache and joy in the Pro Light (KF1) ranks with race leader Cian Fothergill (Gladstone, QLD) coming to a halt with a mechanical issue two laps from the end of the race, handing the win the Joseph Mawson (Hinchenbrook, NSW).

The Fujitsu Cool driver was one of the pacesetters all throughout the weekend with he and Fothergill holding a commanding buffer over the remainder of the field for the majority of the final race.

Mawson inherited the lead before crossing the line four seconds clear of points leader Daniel Rochford (Narre Warren, Vic). JAM Racing driver Adam Hughes rounded out the podium after holding out Tyler Greenbury (Toowoomba, QLD) in the second half of the race.

“You could certainly say that I had luck on my side today,” said Mawson.

“I was able to stay with Cian but couldn’t quite out myself in a position to be able to challenge him, we were very close in lap times. When he stopped I knew that I had a bit of a gap on the field, so I was able to cruise to victory.”

Top Kart driver Damien Radosevic’s fifth placing ensured that he was presented with the Alpine Stars ‘Star of the Round’ Award.

In the Challenge categories, it was Pierce Lehane who was in a class of his own in the Australian Leopard Challenge. The CRG driver claimed a dominant 17-second victory ahead of Mitchell Hewitt and Jedd Stojakovic. In the Heavy category it was 1993 CIK Stars of Karting Series Junior Champion Mike Hazelton who claimed the win ahead of Travis Martin and Gaven Whitmore.

Monaco driver James Greenwood once again proved too good for his opposition in the Clubman ranks during the Yamaha Challenge. 2011 Series winner Aaron Borg finished second ahead of CRG driver Bryce Davidson.

Sydneysider Jayden Ojeda claimed the Junior National Light victory ahead of Shamick Racing’s Justin Ford and Will Hawkes – who put in the drive of the race coming from the back of the grid due to not starting the pre-final. James Duckworth proved too good in the Junior National Heavy race to take the win ahead of Anthony Gamouf and Mitchell Kennedy.

The next round of the five-round series will be contested at Ipswich in Queensland on June 16/17.

2012 CIK Stars of Karting Series
presented by Castrol EDGE

Round Two – Newcastle, NSW

RESULTS – Top Five

Pro Light (KF1)
1. Joseph Mawson (Top Kart/IAME) – Hinchenbrook, NSW
2. Daniel Rochford (Kosmic/IAME) – Narre Warren, Vic
3. Adam Hughes (Kosmic/IAME) – Mentone, Vic
4. Tyler Greenbury (Intrepid/IAME) – Toowoomba, QLD
5. Damien Radosevic (Top Kart/IAME) – Gwandalan, NSW

Pro Gearbox (KZ2)
1. Chris Hays (Energy/TM) – Gold Coast, QLD
2. Matthew Wall (BRM/TM) – Sunbury, Vic
3. Kyle Ensbey (Top Kart/TM) – Sunshine Coast, QLD
4. Jason Pringle (CRG/Maxter) – Essendon, Vic
5. Lee Mitchener (DR Kart/Maxter) – Greensborough, Vic

Pro Junior (KF3)
1. Cameron Hill (Top kart/Vortex) – Canberra, ACT
2. Jake Coleman (CRG/Vortex) – Glenmore Park, NSW
3. Dimitri Agathos (Kosmic/Vortex) – Greystanes, NSW
4. Brock Plumb (Arrow/Vortex) – Forrest Lake, QLD
5. Thomas Randle (FA Kart) – Narre Warren North, Vic

YAMAHA CHALLENGE
Clubman
1. James Greenwood
2. Aaron Borg
3. Bryce Davidson
4. Chris Farkas
5. Gordon Wilson

Junior National Light
1. Jayden Ojeda
2. Justin Ford
3. William Hawkes
4. Todd Stocks
5. Ryan Pike

Junior National Heavy
1. James Duckworth
2. Anthony Gamouf
3. Mitchell Kennedy
4. Damon Schofield
5. Stephanie Stones

AUSTRALIAN LEOPARD CHALLENGE
Leopard Light
1. Pierce Lehane
2. Mitchell Hewitt
3. Jedd Stojakovic
4. Ryan Rannard
5. Matthew Nipperess

Leopard Heavy
1. Michael Hazleton
2. Travis Martin
3. Gaven Whitmore
4. Matthew Boylan
5. Matthew Nicholson

The full results can be found by clicking here.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Top Ten After Round 2 of 5

PRO LIGHT (KF1)
1. Daniel Rochford 265
2. Adam Hughes 243
3. Cian Fothergill 236
4. Jake Spencer 226
5. Joseph Mawson 212
6. Tyler Greenbury 209
7. Jake Parsons 184
8. George Geranis 174
9. Brooke Topp 168
10. Jake Klarich 166

PRO GEARBOX (KZ2)
1. Kyle Ensbey 276
2. Chris Hays 257
3. Jason Pringle 249
4. Tyler Greenbury 226
5. Matthew Wall 193
6. Lee Mitchener 187
7. Daniel Currey 185
8. Anthony Martin 154
9. Troy Bretherton 153
10. Troy Woolston 147

PRO JUNIOR (KF3)
1. Jake Coleman 260
2. Cameron Hill 255
3. Brock Plumb 234
4. Joseph Burton-Harris 225
5. Thomas Randle 211
6. Lachlan McHugh 205
7. Joshua Smith 195
8. Dimitri Agathos 181
9. Lachlan Gibbons 179
10. Callum Walker 172

CLUBMAN
1. James Greenwood 170
2. Chris Farkas 130
3. Shay Mayes 115
4. Samantha Millar 110
5. Brenton Simonds 106
6. Daniel Nolan 103
7. Leon Mramor 102
8. Jordan Zammit 100
9. Aaron Borg 75
10. Bryce Davidson 71

LEOPARD LIGHT
1. Jedd Stojakovic 144
2. Adam Willison 110
3. Iain McDougall 109
4. John Reynolds 103
5. Ben Stewart 101
6. Daniel Edmonds 101
7. Adam Mercer 100
8. Pierce Lehane 85
=8. James Sera 85
10. Mitchell Hewitt 73

LEOPARD HEAVY
1. Michael Griffiths 140
=1. Gaven Whitmore 140
3. Travis Martin 131
4. Matthew Boylan 108
5. Steven Lintott 106
6. Scott Goldman 105
7. Michael Hazelton 85
8. Paul Pittam 70
9. Elle Brydon 62
10. Matthew Nicholson 61

JUNIOR NATIONAL LIGHT
1. Jayden Ojeda 85
2.. Justin Ford 75
3. Todd Stocks 69
4. Ryan Pike 65
5. Drew Ridge 60
6. Hudson Heath 58
7. Thomas Steele 56
8. William Hawkes 53
9. Joshua Fife 50

JUNIOR NATIONAL HEAVY
1. James Duckworth 80
2. Mitchell Kennedy 73
3. Anthony Gamouf 66
4. Reece Davidson 65
5. Stephanie Stones 63
6. Damon Scholfield 60
7. Thomas Chitty 58
8. Torey Blanch 55
9. Brodie Stein 52
10. Brodie Tilbrook 47