Joshua Denton (Pic: AF Images/Budd)
Cockatoo Valley teenager Joshua Denton rewrote the Australian karting record books with victory at the 51st Australian National Sprint Kart Championships at the Monarto Karting Complex on Sunday.
The 13-year-old joined his father and grandfather as winners at Australia’s most prestigious stand-alone karting event. He ensured the Denton family became the first to have three generations win a national title. His grandfather, Trevor, was victorious in the 1964 event while his father, Craig, won in 1992.
Denton won the Junior Clubman category ahead of Karratha’s Nicholas Rowe and Victorian Damon Strongman.
In doing so, he became the first South Australian driver to win the prestigious junior category since it became a national championship category in 1998.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Joshua, who was overcome by emotion at the post-race presentation.
“To win this is just a dream, I knew I had some good speed but when I went in very deep under brakes at the start I dropped back a few spots and had to work really hard to come back to the front.
“On the last lap I had a look behind me and saw that I had a kart length or two over Rowe. From then on, I just put my head down and pushed as hard as I could until the end. It is just an amazing feeling.”
The 2014 Australian National Sprint Kart Championships will be hosted by the Newcastle Kart Racing Club on April 18-20.
