6th December 2013

Kart club wraps up season - From the Whyalla News

(http://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/1950657/kart-club-wraps-up-season/?cs=1676)

Overcast conditions welcomed everyone to the Whyalla Kart track last Sunday for the final round of racing for the year.

What a day it was with a new class being run for the first time and drivers fighting for the best positions for the day to earn those much deserved overall positions for 2013.

The first class out for the day was the Sportsman SA.

It is a great beginner’s class for adult drivers with clean close racing.

Numbers were down due to work commitments and being a Sunday event.

However the racing was as close as ever, Karl Lawson took out the first race with a 300th of a second win over second placed Dennis Cumerlato, which set the tone for the day with close wheel to wheel racing.

This was more than evident in the 20 lap final.

Karl Lawson took the first corner with Dennis Cumerlato and Jeremy Head taking to his heels.

Dennis soon overtook Karl followed by Jeremy in the next lap.

This was the final positions for the end of the race, however the excitement continued with Robert Butt and Karl Lawson exchanging places in the fight for third.

Jeremy Head and Dennis Cumerlato fought for 18 laps with nothing between the two as the race finished.

The cadets A went out for its inaugural run as a class in its own right.

This class is a developmental class for first time drivers.

Brayden Stewart and Lilly Reid showed that the two are still learning to race but have the passion to go fast.

Brayden took his first race win and Lilly showed the boys will need to be watching their backs in the future.

The cadets B were next on track, three boys vying for points towards the end of year championship.

The boys were all geared up and focused on the business of the day.

For those that have watched Cooper Jones, Tyler Craig and Aaron Oliver over the last year you will have noticed how close the boys have gotten in ability.

This was demonstrated in the racing on the weekend.

The boys only changed position on the first lap or two and from there a rhythm set in and positions did not change.

Tyler led Aaron and Cooper respectively for the day.

Young Corey Datson was making up the numbers, being a solo driver in his class.

However he proved his ability is getting better and better as he started making his way through the cadets.

This was not something he was able to do earlier this year.

The junior national heavy class was again down to our two regular ladies.

This class is a cheap and great learning area for those wanting to get into motorsport.

It has also been shown that children that race karts or other forms of motorsport are more respectful towards the road rules etc. when having their licenses.

The stand out in this class this weekend was Isabella Cumerlato.

Her driving was smoother and at times was taking it to the quicker Bethany Simpson.

The girls finished with Bethany first and Isabella second.

Clubman/restricted 125 light and heavy combined hit the track to finish the day’s racing.

The lights led the field with some great racing seen.

The day was dominated by Chris Reid, who no matter where he was at the start of the race finished at the pointy end.

This was shown in his mid-pack start in the pre-final when he took off like the lightning that was starting to show itself around the track and completed a convincing first place.

The pre-final also had one of the more spectacular incidents in this class with Julian Blackwell fighting from the rear of the field to sixth place when he made contact with another kart causing the rear wheel to come off the kart.

Fortunately there was no serious damage and Julian made the final.

Final standings were first Chris Reid, second Aiden Sossa and third Dennis Cumerlato.

The 125/clubman heavy class was also incident filled.

This time in the final with the club groundsman being sent off the track and deciding to give the weeds a mow before coming back on.

The class also welcomed first time driver James Marsland who came out with a nicely presented Alonso Kart.

It ended up a little dusty after going into the gravel trap in the first race.

However James proved he is now slouch with a third place in the final.

Final three being Craig Marshall, Brian Sampson and Stephen Oliver.

Racing will start back in February 2014.