5th April 2015

OPENING ROUND WINNERS CROWNED IN MELBOURNE (includes video)

The Round One winners were crowned in the Australian Kart Championship presented by Jayco and Castrol EDGE in Melbourne today.

In the KZ2 Gearbox class, West Aussie Jake Klarich took the round win in a terrific final. Local Praga Kart driver, Troy Woolston led the first 17 laps of the race before Klarich made his move at turn one. Woolston made a rare mistake running wide opening it up for the youngster to charge through for the win from Jason Pringle and a resurgent Chris Hays.

It was a five kart freight train for much of the race which also involved fourth placed Matthew Wall. 2014 V8 Utes Champion Kris Walton crossed the line fourth, while Woolston recovered for 10th.

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport V8 Supercar driver, Nick Percat scored a sensational eighth placed finish after dropping back to 15th at one stage early in the race.

Liam McLellan has got his Championship chase underway in the perfect possible way for the Holden-supported JC Kart team by taking the $1,000 victory in today’s first round with team boss, James Courtney on hand.

McLellan dominated the weekend setting the pole time and then winning every single race on offer in the KF2 class.

He was followed to the line by Pepsi Max supported Arrow pilot, Scott Sorenson with Championship debutante Bradley Marsh-Stepney third.

In the top junior category, KF3, Victorian Oscar Piastri continued the great form of yesterday to take his FA Kart to victory in convincing fashion, 5.1 seconds the margin. Not so convincing was the battle for second which included four drivers and raged from the opening lap.

All four had stabs at second but in the end it went the way of Reece Sidebottom, who led the early stages over Canberra brothers, Zane Morse and debutante, Alec Morse with Joshua Denton having his best ever KF3 outing near the front of the field.

In the X30 class, Brad Jenner continued his good form to win over Bradley Stewart and Brendan Nelson after a spirited battle but all eyes were further back in the pack on Daniel Rochford.

After having to pull in with a bodywork issue in heat one and crashing out of heat three, Rochford started from 25th position on the grid for the final. He pushed his way forward to finish a stunning sixth place in a tightly packed field.

In the KA TaG class Formula K’s Adam Lindstrom’s run from yesterday continued winning by 2.7 seconds over Ricciardo Kart Victorian Dean Foster and Rick Pringle bringing his CRG home in third.

The KA Junior class – a new class to Australian karting using an IAME KA100 motor – produced some outstanding racing right throughout the weekend.

Cooper Murray emerged on top in his Arrow kart over Angelo Mouzouris and Cory Arnett. Benito Montalbano worked his way up to fourth after being deep in the field for much of the weekend whilst Jack Doohan dropped back to fifth after being at the point for much of the weekend.

In the KA12 category using the Vortex Mini-ROK engine a surprise winner emerged in Emerson Harvey. For drivers between 9 and 12 years of age, KA12 produced some of the most intense racing throughout the weekend. Harvey came out on top from Tex Starr-McCoy and Jay Hanson.

The KA1 class – also using the IAME Reedjet 100cc  – was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Victorian Matthew McLean emerged on top taking a narrow victory over James Sera. Sera, the Victorian karting legend, dropped down the order before charging back setting fastest lap after fastest lap.

He was able to get his way past Matt Wall and Leigh Nicolaou who had been battling in the front pack for most of the race.

Braydon North scored third placing in front of Justin Francis.

Overall, the Australian Kart Championships, presented by Jayco and Castrol EDGE produced some outstanding and tight racing.

The next round will take place in Monarto, South Australia over the weekend of May 22-24.

The preview show and on-demand coverage of today’s final heat and finals can be accessed at www.karting.net.au.

Full results are available here https://karting.net.au/cms/results/view/AUSTRALIA/KA/2015-04-03/.

2015 AUSTRALIAN KART CHAMPIONSHIP
Championship Points after Round 1 of 5

KA12
1. Jay HANSON 45
2. Emerson HARVEY 42
3. Cooper WEBSTER 40
4. George GOWER 24
5. Tex STARR-MCKOY 23
6. Blake PURDIE 20
7. Kobi WILLIAMS 18
8. Sean LARKIN 15
9. Tyler CRAIG 14
10. Kacey MANN 14
11. Hugh BARTER 13
12. Jai BROWN 12
13. William SEAL 12
14. Kai ALLEN 9
15. Corbin BAILEY 9
16. James WHARTON 4
17. Callum BISHOP 3
18. Braydon CALLAGHAN 2
19. Bayley DOUGLAS 1

KA Junior
1. Cory ARNETT 47
2. Cooper MURRAY 45
3. Angelo MOUZOURIS 42
4. Jack DOOHAN 40
5. Blake FARDELL 32
6. Damon PAPASERGIO 24
7. Benito MONTALBANO 16
8. Nicholas SCHEMBRI 14
9. Cameron MCLEAN 14
10. Harrison CARR 14
11. Travis WORTON 8
12. Domenic ROMEO 7
13. Declan FRASER 5
14. Cooper HAY 5
15. Samuel DOWNING 3
16. Jordan CARUSO 2
17. Jack HUTCHINS 1
18. Jacob DOWSON 1

KA1
1. Matthew MCLEAN 46
2. Braydon NORTH 43
3. James SERA 38
4. Leigh NICOLAOU 37
5. Matthew WALL 34
6. Justin FRANCIS 30
7. Jordan NICOLAOU 21
8. Shayne PIPER 14
9. Ben HARDERS 14
10. Toby POPE 11
11. Nicholas INGHAM 8
12. Bryce DAVIDSON 6
13. Glenn RIDDELL 6
14. Shay MAYES 3
15. Spencer ACKERMANN 3
16. Nicholas BECKER 2
17. Luke WRIGLEY 1
18. Mark DORBOLO 1

KA TaG
1. Adam LINDSTROM 63
2. Dean FOSTER 46
3. Rick PRINGLE 40
4. Troy MORRISSEY 28
5. Brendan NELSON 25
6. Aaron BORG 22
7. William HAWKES 20
8. Rohan KINENS 16
9. Daniel WALLIS 14
10. Jayden SHARRAD 14
11. Brooke REDDEN 8
12. James CORNFOOT 7
13. Paul GLOWACKI 4
14. Brett PORTER 4
15. Martin SWINDELLS 3
16. Wayne BOURKE 2
17. Jack WOODFALL 1
18. Russel PROVAN 1

X30
1. Bradley JENNER 57
2. Brendan NELSON 42
3. Bradley STEWART 32
4. James SERA 32
5. Leigh NICOLAOU 29
6. Daniel ROCHFORD 22
7. Jordan NICOLAOU 20
8. Zac SOUTAR 19
9. Aaron HINDLE 17
10. Reece DAVIDSON 15
11. Alex BAKER 11
12. Kip FOSTER 6
13. Adam LEVI 4
14. Adam MERCER 4
15. Matthew WATERS 3
16. Ben STEWART 3
17. Matthew HALL 1
18. Adam WILLISON 1

KF3
1. Oscar PIASTRI 63
2. Reece SIDEBOTTOM 40
3. Dylan HOLLIS 28
4. Joshua DENTON 28
5. Alec MORSE 28
6. Zane MORSE 27
7. Thomas HUGHES 18
8. Joshua ROGERS 17
9. Cooper MURRAY 15
10. Aaron CAMERON 15
11. Liam FORD 8
12. Harrison HOEY 8
13. Thomas STEELE 7
14. Joshua FIFE 6
15. Jack WINTER 4
16. Cameron SHIELDS 3
17. Morgan FEAST 2
18. Cody BREWCZYNSKI 1

KF2
1. Liam MCLELLAN 63
2. Scott SORENSEN 42
3. Bradley MARSH-STEPNEY 32
4. Zac SOUTAR 31
5. Joshua TYNAN 26
6. Blaine DENSLEY 24
7. Harrison KNIGHT 21
8. Steeley NODA-BARNES 21
9. Ben EDWARDS 19
10. Jaymi MACKAY 15
11. Kyle HENRY-SMITH 9

KZ2
1. Christopher HAYS 46
2. Matthew WALL 44
3. Jake KLARICH 42
4. Jason PRINGLE 37
5. Troy WOOLSTON 26
6. Kel TRESEDER 21
7. Kris WALTON 19
8. Jason FAINT 16
9. Troy BRETHERTON 16
10. Nick PERCAT 12
11. Jaie ROBSON 12
12. Kyle ENSBEY 7
13. Brock PLUMB 5
14. Jarryd EBZERY 4
15. Daniel PRICE 3
16. Jonathon MANGOS 3
17. Sam HOUSTON 2
18. Mathew ERDMANN 2
19. Matthew SMITH 1

KARTING AUSTRALIA MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
After Round 1 of 5
1. Arrow 270
2. FA Kart 223
3. CRG 152
4. Ricciardo Kart 139
5. PCR 81