29th May 2015

Top Four for Fife, Pole for Mangos under TWM banner

Canberra’s Joshua Fife has finished fourth in the final for KF3 at South Australia’s Monarto Karting Complex as part of round two of the 2015 Australian Kart Championship while local Jonathon Mangos stunned the ultra experienced KZ2 field by taking pole position in just his second outing aboard his BirelART Kart.

Josh Smith – KZ2
A very close qualifying session saw Townsville’s Josh Smith secure tenth with a 42.711, just 0.05 seconds from the quickest time. A DNF in heat one was improved upon by Smith by taking 17th in heat two, with a further climb up the order in heat three, taking seventh. The results subsequently placed Josh in 14th for the beginning of the final. A fierce battle within the 25-lap final displayed an array of close racing with Josh picking his way through to 12th by the completion of the race.
“All in all it was a pretty good weekend, I believe our pace was quite good however we just lacked track position all weekend. We had mixed results in the heats, improving in the final run before the final, though the pace seemed to drop off for us a bit in the final on the new tyres but overall I’m really happy with the team and the reliability of both the kart and engine and definitely have the speed to be running at the front so I’m really looking forward to the next round in Ipswich.”

Jonathan Mangos (Pic: Coopers Photography)

Jonathon Mangos – KZ2
The perfect beginning to Jonathon Mangos’ hometown KZ2 debut came with pole position in qualifying, recording a 42.664, placing his BirelART on the front row for the weekend’s three heat races. Despite a DNF in heat one, Mangos returned to secure second in heat two and fifth in heat three, placing himself in seventh for the start of the final. Mid-race pace for Mangos saw the South Australian record his quickest time on lap eleven of the final with a 42.892 before settling to take eighth to cap off a successful weekend.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into the lead up to the Monarto round, focussing in particular on my physical fitness to ensure it is where it needs to be. We worked really hard as a team and to achieve pole position was incredible for myself, Tom Williamson Motorsport and BirelART Australia. I can’t thank the whole team enough and I’m looking forward to the next round.”
Kris Walton – KZ2
Kris Walton’s fastest qualifying time of 42.765 was within 0.1 seconds of pole position, though an incredibly close session placed Walton in 12th for the start of the three heat races. A rapid progression in heat one saw Kris secure fourth, though a finish in 19th and 18th in heat two and three placed the Queenslander in 12th for the start of the final. After gaining four places in the opening two laps, Walton settled for 13th by the completion of the KZ2 final, though a post-race weight infringement forced him to be disqualified.
“We had an up and down weekend in the KZ2 Kart, qualifying mid-pack, I made some good in-roads in heat one but the remaining two heat races were a bit of a disappointing result. It certainly showed some good progress in the final, being as high as eighth and finishing 13th in a brutally tough race, however to come in underweight was a real disappointment. As a team, we have areas we can work on ahead of my home round which I’m looking forward to at Ipswich.”

Zane Morse – KF3
After qualifying with a 44.614, handing Zane Morse fifth for the heat races, the Canberra driver suffered a DNF in the opening race, before recovering in emphatic style, claiming the win in heat two, backing it up with third in heat three. The results would see Morse start from eighth in the final, where after slipping to last, he managed to set the second fastest time of the race on lap 17 of 25 with a 44.859, thus claiming seventh.
“It was a bit of an unfortunate weekend for us, being plagued with a few engine dramas that set us back throughout the heat races. We had good speed on a lot of occasions which certainly gave me plenty of confidence and to come from last through to seventh in the final reflected our ability to secure a good finishing position. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel soon during testing ahead of Ipswich.”

Alec Morse – KF3
A mid-pack qualifying result for the younger of the Morse brother pairing, Alec, placed him in 15th. A clear progression in heat one saw Morse rise to fifth in an impressive display amongst the competitive KF3 field, though two DNF race results in heat two and three due to a loss of the chain would see Alec start 17th in the final. Despite being caught up in a lap one incident and falling to the tail of the field, Alec worked his way back to 14th by the end of the final.
“We didn’t have the best of qualifying results and to drop two chains in the final two heat races severely impacted our progress ahead of the final. After getting caught up in a first lap incident in the final, I managed to work my way back to 14th which was a good achievement and gives us a good grounding to build upon in coming rounds.”

Joshua Fife – KF3
Joshua Fife showed good early weekend pace, qualifying in fourth with a 44.584 and being within 0.06 seconds of a front row start for the heat races. Two fourth place finishes in heat one and three in addition to third in heat two placed Fife back at the front end of the field for the start of the final, with the Tony Kart driver showing late race speed to secure fourth overall for the weekend.
“We had a solid weekend aboard the Tony Kart KF3. We were quick in all the heats and that certainly helped to set us up for a good chance for a strong result in the final. I was happy to come away with fourth overall and secure some critical Championship points and I feel as though we are getting a lot closer towards snaring a round win by the end of the year.”

Tom Quinlan – X30
An issue with a carburettor for Tom Quinlan saw him qualify 23rd in X30 for the heat races, though an improvement across the course of the minor races saw him rise to 17th, 15th and 11th respectively. The results placed Quinlan in 12th for the start of the final, with a consistent performance and mid-race pace helping to secure 12th by the fall of the chequered flag.
“It was a mixed weekend, we had some issues with our carburettor in qualifying which we managed to resolve prior to the heats starting. Our progress in the heat races was positive as we managed to gain positions in each event and to come away with 12th in the final considering where we started the weekend was a very solid result and gives us a good grounding for the coming rounds.”

Tom Williamson – Team Principal
“As a team, we had somewhat of a mixed weekend at Monarto. Some good results certainly came through, in particular with Jonathon Mangos’ pole position in KZ2. I’m looking forward to some upcoming testing to work on key areas that should see us move further up the field across the board. I have to extend a big ongoing thank you to Adam and Mark at Karting World and to Steve and the team from BirelART Australia for their continued support.”

The next major event for Tom Williamson Motorsport will be round four of the Rotax Pro Tour at Warwick, Queensland from 5-7 June.