3rd October 2010

THREE IN A ROW FOR HRYNIUK AT NSW CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jason Hryniuk won his third consecutive state title in the Clubman Heavy category at the New South Wales State Championships in Tamworth today.

The CRG pilot was engaged in a high-speed game of chess with career-long rival Jason Varley as they battled for the lead throughout the 25-lap championship final on a slightly damp circuit.

In the end it was Hryniuk who made the most of his opportunities in the final stages to find a way past Varley’s Arrow kart and claim the 22nd state championship of his career.

“The conditions were very tricky out there today, you really had to know where to and where not to push too hard,” said Hryniuk.

“JV and I have been racing against each other for nearly 15 years so we know how each other drive very well. In the end I was lucky enough to find a sweet spot late in the race to take the win.”

This weekend’s championship was the first time that Hyrniuk had raced at the Tamworth since the early years of his career in the mid 90s and he rates the track very highly.

“It’s quite a fast track and one that also provides you with quite a few passing opportunities which made for some great racing over the weekend,” said Hryniuk.

Behind Hryniuk and Varley came reigning Australian Champion Shayne Piper, Leigh Nicolaou and Adam Hunter.

Victoria’s Sera cousins, James and David, were the pacesetters in the Clubman Light category across the weekend – a trend that continued in today’s championship final.

The duo used their vast experience to simply follow each other rather than dice in the early laps of the 25-lap final to open a handy buffer over the chasing pack that was led by young guns Chris Hays and Jordan Ford.

In the end David Sera pulled clear away of James, who fell back into the clutches of Hays and the like over the closing stages. A last lap pass by Hays secured the Gold Coaster the runner-up spot and when James Sera ran wide late in the final stages of the lap it allowed Thomas Phillips to snare third.

“James was probably faster than me over the first part of the race so I just tried to use him to drag us away from the field. Then when I felt as though I was quick enough I made the move and was able to pull away,” said Sera.

Sera made it two wins in the same weekend when he took out the 125cc Rotax Light championship ahead of fellow Victorian Josh Demaio to win the 38th state title of his career.

“The track here at Tamworth has been one that I have really enjoyed, it’s got some character about it. It’s quite fast but there are also a number of tight sections which made for some great races over the weekend,” said Sera.

Todd Hazelwood may have been the only South Australian driver in attendance at the championships but he didn’t let this faze him as he went on to claim the victory in the Junior National Heavy category.

Hazelwood almost made it two wins for the day in the Junior Clubman category when he finished less than half a kart-length behind current National Champion Joseph Mawson.

To view the results please Click Here and select NSW followed by the Tamworth Kart Racing Club.

To view the notebook of some of the behind the scenes action please Click Here

2010 NSW State Karting Championships
sponsored by Tamworth Precision Earthmoving

Top Five Results

Clubman Heavy
1. #45 Jason Hryniuk (NSW)
2. #10 Jason Varley (NSW)
3. #1 Shayne Piper (NSW)
4. #14 Leigh Nicolaou (Vic)
5. #11 Adam Hunter (NSW)

Race Notes:
With the entire field choosing to use slick tyres on a slightly damp track it was the pair Jason Varley and Jason Hryniuk who gapped the field early.

However, as they diced late in the race it brought them back to the chasing pack led by Leigh Nicolaou and Shayne Piper. With two laps remaining the top four were nose to tail but in the end it was Hryniuk who got the nod in his CRG kart to win three straight titles in the Clubman Heavy category.

Rookies
1. #31 Jayden Ojeda (NSW)
2. #51 Gus Flynn (NSW)
3. #10 Stefan Stankovic (NSW)
4. #90 Reece Sidebottom (Vic)
5. #96 Liam McLellan (Vic)

Race Notes:
New South Wales youngster Jayden Ojeda simply made the final in the Rookies category his own. After starting from pole position he showed superior speed to open a commanding lead over the opening few laps and was never challenged on his way to the victory.

Gus Flynn was forced to fend of a number of challenges midway through the race to claim second spot ahead of Stefan Stankovic. Victorian Reece Sidebottom showed some good speed on his after recovering for a lap one incident to secure fourth spot.

Clubman Light
1. #96 David Sera (Vic)
2. #97 Chris Hays (Qld)
3. #94 Thomas Phillips (NSW)
4. #20 Jordan Ford (Vic)
5. #1 James Sera (Vic)

Race Notes:
The Sera pair of James and David got the jump off the front row and it appeared as though the final in the Clubman Light category would turn into a Sera benefit – and it almost was.

The duo used their vast experience to simply follow each other rather than dice in the early laps to open a handy buffer over the chasing pack which was led by young guns Chris Hays and Jordan Ford.

In the end David Sera pulled clear away of James, who fell back into the clutches of Hays and the like over the closing stages. A last lap pass by Hays secured him the runner-up spot and when James Sera ran wide late in the final stages of the lap it allowed Thomas Phillips to snare third spot.

Formula JMA
1. #96 Joseph Mawson (NSW)
2. #11 Pierce Lehane (NSW)
3. #14 Macauley Jones (Vic)
4. #51 Michael Stewart (NSW)
5. #34 Blake Waters (NSW)

Race Notes:
The final of the Formula JMA category was billed as a Joseph Mawson versus Pierce Lehane battle but unfortunately an opening lap scuffle left Lehane down the order and Mawson the opportunity to open a commanding lead.

From that point Mawson was never challenged on his way to victory as Lehane pushed hard aboard his CRG kart to close the gap but to no avail.

Behind the leading duo Canberra’s Michael Stewart and Macauley Jones raced in close proximity for the second half of the race before Jones claimed the final podium position. Queenslander Renee Gracie led home a five kart freight-train for fifth spot. Gracie was later excluded in a post race stewards hearing for contact of karts elevating Blake Waters to fifth.

Leopard Heavy
1. #90 Lee Mitchener (Vic)
2. #88 Daniel Stein (NSW)
3. #44 Elle Brydon (Qld)
4. #41 Paul Hull (NSW)

Race Notes:
The final of the Leopard Light category was a pretty processional affair with Victorian Lee Mitchener getting to the front on lap two and simply driving off into the distance. Behind the Tony Kart pilot Daniel Stein ran 25 faultless laps to claim second place well clear of Elle Brydon.

Senior National Light
1. #5 Darsey Kondopirakis (NSW)
2. #13 Matthew Waters (NSW)
3. #74 Luke Caputo (Qld)
4. #85 Andrew Mitchell (NSW)
5. #68 Blake Sciberras (NSW)

Race Notes:
The final of the Senior National Light category at the New South Wales State Championships saw three battle packs at the front of the field. The leading duo of Darsey Kondopirakis and Matthew Waters appeared to have the measure on the field during the early laps. The pair raced nose-to-tail for the majority of the race until light rain fell late in the race and it was Kondopirakis who adapted better to the conditions and claimed the victory as a consequence.

Queenslander Luke Caputo got the better of a race long battle with Andrew Mitchell for third spot.

Junior National Heavy
1. #14 Todd Hazelwood (SA)
2. #55 Brock Plumb (Qld)
3. #18 Ethan O’Farrell (Qld)
4. #71 Matthew McLellan (Vic)
5. #98 Dale Corbett (NSW)

Race Notes:
After some great battles throughout the qualifying races between Australian champion Leigh Nicolaou, Macauley Jones and Todd Hazelwood the scene was set for sensational Junior National Heavy.

Unfortunately for Nicolaou and Jones an opening lap incident ended both of their campaigns enabling Hazelwood to open a handy buffer over the rest of the field. Queenslander Brock Plumb maintained a strong second place to finish runner-up ahead of Ethan O’Farrell.

Rotax Heavy
1. #70 Brendan Neslon (Qld)
2. #35 Jason Pringle (Vic)
3. #74 Ben McKinlay (Qld)
4. #4 Lane Moore (Qld)
5. #1 Simon Meyer (NSW)

Race Notes:
Victorian CRG driver Jason Pringle got the jump off the start over Brendan Nelson with Queenslander Ben McKinlay following closely behind. The front-running duo swapped the lead on a number of occasions before Nelson showed superior speed late in the race to open a three-kart length lead that he held until the finish.

Rotax Light
1. #1 David Sera (Vic)
2. #8 Josh Demaio (Vic)
3. #97 Tyler Greenbury (Qld)
4. #89 James Macken (Qld)
5. #6 Troy Bretherton (Qld)

Race Notes:
The Rotax Light final was a relatively simple affair for the reigning national champion David Sera aboard his Australian-made Arrow kart. Sera left the likes of James Macken, Tyler Greenbury and Josh Demaio to battle for the minor positions.

A collision between Macken and Demaio on lap five forced Demaio off the circuit but he rejoined without losing a spot before leading the trio across the line to claim the runner-up spot. Troy Bretherton got the better of a late race battle with Pacific Kartsport team-mate Damian Ward for fifth.

Junior National Light
1. #74 Trent Grubel (NSW)
2. #23 Lachlan McHugh (Qld)
3. #9 Jacob Parson (NSW)
4. #14 Thomas Randle (Vic)
5. #5 James Abela (NSW)

Race Notes:
A full field of 32 drivers lined up for the final in the Junior National Light category at the New South Wales championships and at the end of 25 furious laps of racing it was Sydney’s Trent Grubel who crossed the line first.

Grubel who at one stage led an eight-kart freight train at the front of the field, showed superior pace and took advantage of his rivals engaging in some close battles throughout the final stage of the race to open a commanding lead.

Lachlan McHugh finished second ahead of a fast-finishing Jacob Pasons, Thomas Randle and James Abela. Two of the highly fancied competitors Brad Jenner and James Golding came together mid race ending their run to the podium.

Senior National Heavy
1. #5 Darsey Kondopirakis (NSW)
2. #4 Nicholas Ellen (Vic)
3. #85 Darren Harris (NSW)
4. #47 Norm Trost (Qld)
5. #16 Jarryd Ebzery (Qld)

Race Notes:
Sydneysider Darsey Kondopirakis made it two victories in the same day when he crossed the line first in the Senior National Heavy final ahead of Nicholas Ellen. Darren Harris drove a consistent race for third ahead of Norm Trost while Jarryd Ebzery got the better of a four-way battle for fifth spot.

Clubman Super Heavy
1. #4 Ben McKinlay (Qld)
2. #23 Scott Simpson (Qld)
3. #90 Nigel Stones (NSW)
4. #83 Ben Kirkbride (NSW)
5. #1 Josh Brooker (Vic)

Race Notes:
In another domination of the Clubman Super Heavy category by the ITK Racing outfit Ben McKinlay led home Scott Simpson. New South Welshman Nigel Stones finished a distant third ahead of Ben Krikbride. National Champion Josh Brooker finished fifth.

Leopard Light
1. #20 Cian Fothergill (Qld)
2. #94 James Sera (Vic)
3. #70 Scott Connole (NSW)
4. #29 Garnet Patterson (NSW)
5. #39 Matthew Ferraro (NSW)

Race Notes:
Gladstone kart racer was unstoppable all throughout the NSW State Championships in the Leopard Light category and this was once again the case in the 25-lap final. Fothergill took a dominant victory over James Sera and local driver Garnet Patterson and Gunnedah’s Scott Connole. A post race stewards hearing reversed the finishing order of Patterson and Connole due to contact of karts on the final lap.

Junior Clubman
1. #1 Joseph Mawson (NSW)
2. #14 Todd Hazelwood (SA)
3. #4 Cameron Hill (NSW)
4. #86 Anton DePasquale (Vic)
5. #15 Brock Plumb (Qld)

Race Notes:
When the rain started to fall prior to the start of the final of Junior Clubman there were some nervous moments on the grid with the field split between the choice of slick and wet weather tyres.

Both Joseph Mawson and Todd Hazelwood chose the slick tyre option and led the way early in the race. Despite the rain getting heavier throughout the race, they maintained their advantage over third place runner Cameron Hill until the final stages when Hill made it a three-way battle for the lead.

The lead changed twice on the final lap before Mawson crossed the line less than half a kart-length ahead of Hazelwood with Hill a close third.