PRE-FINALS ARE COMPLETE AT VICTORIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Kris Walton leading the way in the Leopard Heavy category (Pic: AF Images/Budd)

The pre-finals are underway at the 2013 Victorian Open Sprint Kart Championships in Puckapunyal, Victoria.

In the opening pre-final of the afternoon, Kris Walton fended off spirited challenges from Michael Griffiths, and later Lee Mitcher, to take the win while Dean Foster got the better of the field in Leopard Light.

Ben McKinlay upstaged his OTK team-mate Scott Simpson to secure pole position in Clubman Super Heavy while Remo Luciani had to work hard for his win in the Clubman Over 40’s pre-final.

The top three in Junior National Light crossed the line almost side by side with Jayden Ojeda coming out on top .

Junior National Light action (Pic: AF Images/Budd)

The Rotax Light pre-final was dominated by David Sera, it was a similar affair in Rotax Heavy with Michael Saller taking a comprehensive win.

James Abela crossed the line first in Junior Rotax after he made a late race pass on Jordan Murphy. A last lap pass by Jack Doohan earned him the Cadets victory while David Sera was never headed on his way to victory in Clubman Heavy.

Pro Karting driver Braydon North crossed the line 0.021 seconds clear of Nicholas Rowe for the win in the Junior National Heavy pre-final.

Jordan Caruso’s last lap pass earned him the win in the Rookies pre-final over Cooper Murray while James Sera proved too good in Clubman Light.

William Hawkes led a four-kart freight train at the chequered flag in the Junior Clubman pre-final.

The provisional top five and race notes will be updated throughout the afternoon.

2013 VICTORIAN OPEN SPRINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eastern Lions Kart Club
Puckapunyal, Victoria

RESULTS: Pre-Final

Leopard Heavy
1. Kris Walton
2. Lee Mitchener
3. Michael Griffith
4. Scott King
5. Jake King
Race Notes: OTK driver Kris Walton took advantage of his pole position to lead the opening lap before Michael Griffiths moved to the front shortly after. By mid race, Walton and Griffith opened a handy buffer over Formula K driver Lee Mitchener. With four laps remaining Mitchener showed good speed to bridge the gap and challenge for the lead.

Leopard Light
1. Dean Foster
2. Leigh Nicolaou
3. James Sera
4. Jason Burns
5. Andrew Mercuri
Race Notes: FA Karts driver James Sera led the early running before Master Karting’s Dean Foster took over the lead on lap four. Sera then came under fire from Leigh Nicolaou and later Andrew Mercuri along with Jason Burns. Foster took the win by more than a second over Nicolaou

Clubman Super Heavy
1. Ben McKinlay
2. Scott Simpson
3. Michael Brennan
4. Bruce Otter
5. Joshua Herne
Race Notes: Many expected Scott Simpson to drive off into the distance, however, local driver Michael Brennan and Ben McKinlay had other ideas. The trio traded positions on several occasions with Mason Barbera, Bruce Otter and Joshua Herne also having a close battle behind them. McKinlay won the race by just over half a second ahead of Simpson and Brennan.

Clubman Over 40s
1. Remo Luciani
2. Steven Riddell
3. Philip Smith
4. Trevor Whitby
5. Chris Sanderson
Race Notes: After qualifying fastest yesterday, Silhouette karts driver Steven Riddell continued his good form into today’s action to battle with Remo Luciani for the win in the pre-final. The pair swapped the front-running in the early laps before Luciani came out on top.

Junior National Light
1. Jayden Ojeda
2. Nicholas Cardamone
3. Nikola Mitic
4. Zane Morse
5. Dylan Hollis
Race Notes: With several mid-pack competitors eliminated in a turn one fracas, the top three of Nicholas Cardamone, Nikola Mitic and Jayden Ojeda left it all behind them to battle for the right to start on pole position in the Junior National Light category. Ojeda held on for a narrow victory ahead of Cardamone and Mitic. Zane Morse was fourth ahead of a hard charging Dylan Hollis.

Rotax Light
1. David Sera
2. Bradley Jenner
3. Brenton Mountjoy
4. Matthew McLellan
5. Matthew Smith
Race Notes: Four words describe the Rotax Light pre-final – David Sera Benefit Race. The KTEQ Rentals backed driver is continuing to prove why he is classed as one of the best ever drivers in Australian karting with a dominant performance in the Rotax Light pre-final. The Victorian was never challenged over the 10-lap journey as he claimed a two-second win ahead of Bradley Jenner.

Rotax Heavy
1. Michael Saller
2. Matthew Wall
3. Brendan Nelson
4. Ben McKinlay
5. Rick Pringle
Race Notes: New Karting World Tony Kart recruit Michael Saller jumped into the lead at the green light, followed by CRG’s Rick Pringle and Shamick Racing’s Matthew Wall. As Pringle, Wall, Brendan Nelson and Ben McKinlay battled for the minors it allowed Saller to open a handy buffer.

Junior Rotax
1. Jordan Boys
2. Liam McLellan
3. Jordan Murphy
4. Blaine Densley
5. James Abela
Race Notes: After the initial attempt was red flagged when Ben Redjepi was attended to following a turn one incident, South Australian Jordan Murphy led the field away at the restart – which was also minus Jake Klein who lost an exhaust on the initial start. Murphy held a handy buffer in his Birel kart for the majority of the race while Jordan Boys, Liam McLellan and James Abela attempted to chase him down while battling for the minor positions. When Abela made a move for the lead at the end of the main straight he and Murphy appeared to touch which led to Murphy losing several positions. Abela was later given a five place penalty for the late-race contact.

Cadets
1. Jack Doohan
2. Benito Montalbano
3. Jordyn Sinni
4. Nathan Herne
5. Damon Papasergio
Race Notes: A1 engines driver Jordyn Sinni got the jump from the outside of the front row at the start of the Cadets pre-final over pole sitter Benito Montalbano in his PCR. The pair then worked together to draw away from the field, Jack Doohan showed good speed to charge his way to third place and make it a three-way battle for the lead with five laps remaining. After several exchanged of the lead Doohan held on for a narrow victory over Montalbano.

Clubman Heavy
1. David Sera
2. Brendan Nelson
3. Leigh Nicolaou
4. Lee Mitchener
5. Kris Walton
Race Notes: David Sera held the lead early before fellow Arrow karts driver Brendan Nelson bridged the gap with a handful of laps remaining to challenge for the Clubman Heavy pre-final win. Leigh Nicolaou, Kris Walton, Mark Dorbolo and Lee Mitchener had an intense battle behind the leading duo. In the end, Sera’s pace prevailed and he took the win by almost a second.

Junior National Heavy
1. Braydon North
2. Nicholas Rowe
3. William Hawkes
4. Jordan Murphy
5. Zachary Phillips
Race Notes: The top four of Braydon North, Nicholas Rowe, William Hawkes and Jordan Boys raced in close proximity for the 10-lap duration of the Junior National Heavy pre-final. Unfortunately for Zac Soutar and James Abela their races ended on lap two when they came together. After numerous lead changes it was North who snared a narrow victory.

Clubman Light
1. James Sera
2. Ben Stewart
3. Justin Francis
4. Jake Coleman
5. Jordan Ford
Race Notes: In one of the races of the day, James Sera took the win in the Clubman Light pre-final ahead of Ben Stewart and Justin Francis. A number of front runners, including Aidan Wright, Jordan Nicolaou and Jordan Sanderson were caught up in a turn one incident and were forced to watch from the sidelines.

Rookies
1. Jordan Caruso
2. Cooper Murray
3. Jai Sparey
4. Thomas Hughes
5. Brayden Hanson
Race Notes: Following a red flag incident on the initial attempt of the Rookies pre-final, the restart saw Jordan Caruso and Cooper Murray dice it out at the front of the field. Behind the leading duo Jai Sparey held down third place, several kart lengths clear of Oscar Piastri. Such was the pace of the leading duo, they were consistently several tenths of a second faster than anyone else in the field. Caruso crossed the line first ahead of Murray with Sparey holding onto third place.

Junior Clubman
1. William Hawkes
2. Jake Klein
3. Damon Strongman
4. Nicholas Rowe
5. Jordan Holowell
Race Notes: FA Kart driver Damon Strongman and Arrow Karts’ Jake Klein led the field away in the Pre-final of Junior Clubman before Nicholas Rowe and William Hawkes made it a four-way battle at the front. Following numerous changes of position it was Hawkes who crossed the line first ahead of Klein by 0.050 seconds.

*All results are provisional.

The AKA’s Twitter Feed (twitter.com/karting_net_au) will be updated throughout the weekend, as will the Facebook Page (facebook.com/AustralianKartingAssociation).

Results are being updated as soon as possible after each race here (https://app.austkarting.com.au/aka/results/view/VIC/E/LIONS/2013-03-08/)

Race Order
1. Leopard Heavy
2. Leopard Light
3. Clubman Super Heavy
4. Clubman Over 40′s
5. Junior National Light
6. Rotax Light
7. Rotax Heavy
8. Junior Rotax
9. Cadets
10. Clubman Heavy
11. Junior National Heavy
12. Rookies
13. Clubman Light
14. Junior Clubman