JOSH FIFE FASTEST DURING PRACTICE AT MONARTO

Live Streaming of Sunday’s action on www.karting.net.au

Josh Fife in action during practice at Round Three of the Australian Kart Championship (Pic: Coopers Photography)

Canberra teenager Joshua Fife set the pace during practice at Round Three of the Australian Kart Championship presented by Jayco and Castrol EDGE in Monarto, South Australia on Friday.

Fife topped three of the four practice sessions in the KZ2 class and finished the day 0.22 seconds clear of his Adelaide-based Tom Williamson Motorsport team-mate Jonathon Mangos.

Zanardi Corse Australia driver Ben Redjepi joined Mangos inside the top three to make it a pair of South Australians near the top of the timesheets.

Such is the competitiveness of the field, the top 15 drivers were separated by half a second.

Fife, who recorded his maiden podium in the KZ2 class at the previous round in Victoria, says today’s result gives him extra confidence entering the weekend.

“Finishing on the podium at the last round was a huge boost for me. It really gave me confidence that I can fight for the win in this highly competitive class,” said Fife.

“I’ve done a bit of testing here at Monarto, and finished fourth in the junior class last year. It’s a track that I really enjoy driving on and I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead.”

The scene is set for another scintillating weekend of action in the KA3 Senior class with the top three separated by three one-thousandths of a second with Matthew McLean setting the fastest lap time.

Local driver Alex Baker was fastest in the X30 class as was Luke van Herwaade and Scott Sorensen in the TaG 125 and KA1 classes respectively.

In the junior ranks it was Jack Doohan who continued his strong start to the year by setting the fastest time in the KA2 class. Doohan finished on top of the timesheet ahead of Victorian Jordyn Sinni and Western Australian driver Damon Papasergio.

Shamick Racing’s Kai Allen was fastest in all three Cadet 12 practice sessions while Cooper Webster set the pace in KA4 Junior, as did Harry Arnett in Cadet 9.

Qualifying will begin at 8:30am on Saturday morning ahead of the Finals on Sunday.

The Monarto Karting Complex is located just outside of Murray Bridge on the Old Princess Highway, Monarto. Admission is free for spectators.

For the full results please visit https://karting.net.au/cms/results/view/AUSTRALIA/KA/2016-05-13/