Lindstrom Dominates DD2 as Morse Claims Third Straight Pro Tour Victory
| press release | 8 June 2015 |
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Victorian Adam Lindstrom dominated he DD2 final at Rotax Pro Tour Round 4 on Sunday, taking a clear victory on his return to the category for the first time in 2015. Zane Morse returned to his trademark form in Junior Max, securing his third round win in a row, while the final battle between Lane Moore and Chris Farkas in Rotax Heavy brought the crowd to the fence in an overall action packed finals day in Warwick.
Above: Adam Lindstrom drove away in a spectacular performance in the DD2 final
pic - Coopers Photography
Micro Max
A battle of four was the headline to heat two for Micro Max with Oscar Targett, Adrian Haak, Jack Westbury and Marcos Flack all vying for the opportunity to lead with multiple changes in position, setting up the day’s racing, with Targett claiming the win from Flack and Westbury with Haak in fourth and Ethan Feather in fifth. The third and final heat would see Oscar Targett step up and take two wins from two heat race starts on Sunday with the pairing of Adrian Haak and Jack Westbury vying for second and third. Haak would take second with Westbury, after sharing the race lead during the race ten lap event, settling for third with Ryan Tomsett and Ethan Feather taking fourth and fifth.
Adrian Haak showed a dominant performance in the pre-final for Micro Max, clearing away with the victory by 4.3 seconds over eventual second place sitter, Marcos Flack. Following a battle with Flack throughout the race, Jack Westbury took third over Oscar Targett who slipped back to fourth following a spin late in the race while Ethan Feather held on to claim fifth. It was another strong performance for Haak in the final, opening up a lead after moving to the front which is where he would remain through to the end of the race. The encounter for second, third and fourth continued through to the end with it being Marcos Flack who would finish as the first driver behind Haak, with Jack Westbury picking his way to third over Oscar Targett and Ryan Tomsett.
Above: Adrian Haak became the first driver in Australia to win a Micro Max round
pic - Coopers Photography
Mini Max
Bayley Douglas continued his dominant form in Mini Max in heat two, claiming another race victory with his closest challenger from heat one, Jaiden Pope again hot on his tail, finishing second. The battle for the following three places ensured the remaining places in the top five would remain undecided down to the line with Gabriel Gasperak eventually taking third over Baydon Phillips with Luke Pink in fifth. The pairing of Bayley Douglas and Jaiden Pope returned to their ongoing battle for first and second in the final heat with Douglas up until lap seven before a pass by Pope moved him into the lead for the first time of the weekend which is where he would remain through to the end, taking the win ahead of Douglas with Charlie Ploetz stepping up to take his best result of the weekend in third from Austin Wells with Jack Grambauer slipping into the top five for the first time.
The ongoing battle between Bayley Douglas and Jaiden Pope continued into the pre-final with the pair sharing the lead across the large majority of the race. A hard charge from Kai Allen saw him hot on the heels of the lead pair in the closing laps, though it was Pope who was able to hold on for the win and secure pole position for the final ahead of Douglas with Allen securing third over Charlie Ploetz and Luke Pink. The winner of the Mini Max final would go down to the wire, with multiple drivers sharing the lead over the 18 laps. With Bayley Douglas slipping back to fifth, it allowed polesitter Jaiden Pope to move into the front of the field in the early stages before a hard charging Kai Allen brought himself up to challenge Pope. Luke Pink sat in third throughout the race, delivering fastest lap times and despite Allen moving into the lead in stages, it was Pope who would take the win over Kai Allen with Pink in third from Charlie Ploetz in fourth with Douglas securing fifth.
Above: Jaiden Pope came away with is first round win in Mini Max
pic - Coopers Photography
Junior Trophy
After taking pole position and the win in heat one, Lucas Lichtenberger had to settle for second in heat two with Jace Matthews stepping up to take a confidence boosting victory in the one-make class. Kiwi Matthew Payne took a comfortable third place ahead of Brodie Whitmore and Aaron Love in fifth. With a red flag on turn two of the opening lap in heat three, a full restart took place with Lucas Lichtenberger opening up an early lead over Jace Matthews and Matthew Payne. Lichtenberger returned to the winners circle, taking the victory with Payne stepping up to claim third from Matthews while Ryan Tomsett made his first appearance inside the top five for the weekend, finishing from fourth from Ethan Feather in fifth.
A faultless drive from Lucas Lichtenberger in the pre-final saw the Sydney driver come through to take the win by 1.2 seconds from his nearest challenger, Jace Matthews who showed early speed before settling for second with Matthew Payne recording a comfortable third place over Aaron Love with Brodie Whitmore leading home a train of Karts in fifth. Starting from pole, Lucas Lichtenberger secured an early lead in the final, with a constant challenge for his position coming from Matthew Payne, Jace Matthews and Aaron Love. With less than five laps to go, Payne made a move on the penultimate corner to claim the lead, a position he would retain through to the end, taking the win from Lichtenberger and Matthews with Love in fourth while Reece Cohen fought his way back inside the top five for the first time in the weekend.
Above: New Zealand’s Matthew Payne took his third round win of the season in Junior Max Trophy
pic - Coopers Photography
Junior Max
Starting pole position in heat two for group A & C, Alec Morse slipped back outside the top five on lap one, allowing Reece Sidebottom to take the lead from the early stages which is where he would remain for the entire race. Joshua Fife and Aaron Cameron took second and third from Morse who moved up to secure fourth from Dylan Hollis in fifth. Another breakaway drive from Zane Morse for group B & D saw the Canberra driver move to take a comfortable victory over Rhys Astley with Timothy Colombrita in third. After slipping back early in the race, Kiwi Dylan Drysdale worked his way back to fourth with Kody Garland in fifth.
The race that was posted to be a true battle between Alec and Zane Morse, with the pair sharing the front row brought about a fierce battle for position in group A & B. Multiple changes in position eventually resulted in Zane taking the win with Alec in second with Liam Ford making good progress to take third over Reece Sidebottom and Aaron Cameron. In an effort to chase a strong result following his disqualification from heat one, New Zealand’s Dylan Drysdale worked through to take victory for group C & D in heat three. South Australian Joshua Denton had his share of time at the front of the field before taking second from Joshua Fife in third while Joshua Car recovered from a DNF in heat two to take fourth just ahead of Cody Brewczynski.
With the Junior Max field combined for the first time of the weekend in the pre-final with 36 karts taking to the track, Zane Morse stamped his authority on the field and replicated his performances of past rounds by taking a convincing victory ahead of a hard charging Reece Sidebottom with Aaron Cameron taking a comfortable third from Joshua Denton while Liam Ford completed the top five. It proved to be another strong start for Zane Morse in the final, opening up a lead during the first half of the race before Reece Sidebottom held the lead briefly though a determined Morse fired back to the front, remaining there to the fall of the chequered flag, ahead of Sidebottom with Joshua Fife claiming a solid third place finish from Aaron Cameron and Liam Ford.
Above: Zane Morse made it three round wins in a row in Junior Max
pic - Coopers Photography
Rotax Light
Another commanding performance from start to finish for Pierce Lehane saw the former Australian Rotax Light Champion take a clear victory, setting himself in pole position for the all-important final. Brad Jenner remained third for much of the race behind team mate Nicholas Andrews before the pair came across the line alongside each other with Jenner in second and Andrews in third while Mitchell Maddren and Dalton Ellery completed the top five.
A mixed start saw Brad Jenner go to the lead in the opening laps, relegating polesitter Pierce Lehane to third with Jenner’s team mate, Nicholas Andrews stepping up to second behind the Victorian. Setting consistent fast lap times, Lehane gradually wore down the lead of Jenner, making the pass to second initially before moving to the lead, eventually going on to claim the win over Andrews with Jenner finishing third. Mitchell Maddren took his best result in the Pro Tour in Rotax Light in fourth with a late race pass for Daniel Rochford moving himself onto the podium.
Above: Pierce Lehane #11 took the win in every Rotax Light race at Warwick
pic - Coopers Photography
Rotax Heavy
An early race lead for Regan Payne in the Rotax Heavy pre-final placed him in a strong position for a victory before polesitter Lane Moore gradually worked his way towards Payne lap by lap, eventually getting by his fellow Queensland driver. Moore subsequently opened a gap of nearly a second in the latter stages of the race, helping him to take the win with Payne just holding on for second over a late charging Chris Farkas with Brendan Nelson settling for fourth and Clem O’Mara fifth.
Lane Moore secured an early breakaway in the Rotax Heavy final, extending a gap over Regan Payne who started second. Contact between Brendan Nelson and Regan Payne on lap two forced Nelson out of the race after challenging for position inside the top four with the incident relegating Payne back to the tail of the field. The final placings would go down to the wire with Moore sharing fastest lap times with Chris Farkas, with Farkas gradually reeling in the lead, however Lane went on take the win over Chris with Scott Simpson recording a season best result taking third from Clem O’Mara and Ryan O’Sullivan.
Above: Lane Moore defended a late challenge before taking victory in Rotax Heavy
pic - Coopers Photography
DD2
After sharing the heat race wins throughout the opening two days, Victorian pair Adam Lindstrom and Troy Woolston re-engaged in a continued battle for the lead with both sharing time at the front of the field over the course of the 18-lap race. Lindstrom went on to take the win ahead of Woolston with Kris Walton recording his best result of the weekend in third over Chris Bregonje in fourth and William Brown in fifth.
Adam Lindstrom returned to a commanding position from the outset of the DD2 final, opening up a lead of over two seconds, helping him to move through to the win. The remaining podium positions would go down to the wire, Toowoomba’s William Brown worked hard to find his way to second in a fierce battle for the top positions. Kris Walton ran second for much of the race before the pass from Brown relegated Walton to third, while Troy Woolston recovered during the race to finish fourth over Kyle Angel who recorded his first DD2 podium result.
DD2 Masters
On the back of his clean sweep of heat race wins across Friday and Saturday, Queensland’s Klinton Hancey broke away to an early lead in the DD2 Masters pre-final, holding a strong gap to Adam Hunter right through to the completion of the race, taking the win from Hunter with Jason Hryniuk stepping up to take a clear third position. Daniel Richert worked his way to fourth following an late race retirement for Aaron Cunningham, promoting Joshua Willett into fifth.
It was another performance nothing short of dominant from Klinton Hancey in the final, after an early race lead by Adam Hunter, Hancey assumed the lead which is where he would remain for the entire race, taking a convincing win and total clean sweep of the weekend. Hunter firmed comfortably in second, returning to the podium after being absent in Albury while Jason Hryniuk slipped back early before recovering to take third. Daniel Richert gained critical series points in claiming fourth, after leading the series entering the round while Tony Bregonje fought his way onto the final step of the podium in fifth.
Above: Klinton Hancey was unbeatable across the weekend in DD2 Masters
pic - Coopers Photography
Round 5 of 2015 Rotax Pro Tour takes place at Eastern Creek, NSW from 17-19 July.
Above: Holden Racing Team V8 Supercar driver James Courtney was on hand giving advice to drivers competing aboard his personally branded ‘JC Kart’
pic - Coopers Photography
