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Top Tens at Todd Rd For Project X Racing

press release

23 February 2016

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“Learning weekend with top ten finishes for Project X Racing at Todd Road Pro Tour”

Project X Racing has laid a string of good foundations at the opening round of the 2016 Rotax Pro Tour National Series at Melbourne’s Todd Road circuit with new drivers having their first experience on the challenging one kilometre track, combined with top ten round results setting the big seven round year ahead.

The Todd Road event would mark the first time for Brieann Moyse to race at the Melbourne circuit on the back of testing in the lead up to the weekend, qualifying 14th, Brieann suffered a DNF in heat one before returning with 14th and 12th to cap off the minor races. On a greasy track in the pre-final, Moyse suffered a DNF on lap nine and starting from the rear of the field, worked her way through to 12th in the final.

“Pre-event practice at Todd Road for round one of the Rotax Pro Tour was awesome. Learning a new track was challenging yet fun at the same time. The track was so unique and different to any track I have been to. It was difficult to learn but so great to drive once you knew the track and how to drive it. Learning the kart set up and engine jetting made it more challenging but interesting at the same time.”

“The race weekend was very up and down but an amazing experience to learn from and build on. We gained a lot of experience this round as the ever changing conditions made it hard to decide what set up to go with. It was a great way to learn to drive with what you have and do the best with what you've got. Learning to drive in the wet was great but the best part was always smiling and laughing because of the amazing team at Project X Racing,” Moyse said.

Johann Bell’s eleventh place qualifying result with a time of a 52.879 meant that less than a second separated he and pole position, reflecting the closeness in the one-make category. A gradual improvement was seen throughout the weekend for Bell, finishing 14th and 15th in two of the three heat races, the Queenslander finished the pre-final in 16th before stepping up to take tenth in the final.

Whilst the first official session of the weekend didn’t go all the way of Steve Ellery with 19th in qualifying, it was from there that he would improve, picking up two ninth place finishes and an eighth in the heat races. Capitalising on his experience in wet and greasy conditions, Ellery picked his way through the top runners in the field in the first of the longer races, taking the win in the pre-final. Showing late race pace and with conditions drying out, Steve came home in tenth in the final, providing a solid beginning to the season.

“It was great to be in the kart again with a test weekend prior to the race meeting. After missing the majority of 2015 due to work commitments, my time in the kart has been limited, and the test was the best way to get back into the kart and start refreshing myself with a driving setup. I feel we achieved a lot over the three days, and given my time out of competitive driving was quite happy with the test”.

“It was exciting to arrive to the first round for 2016. Friday was wet all day, and we finished Friday in second which gave us confidence for the weekend. Three top ten results in the heats was a good way to start the year. I am extremely happy with the weekend, and coming away with a race win in the pre-final was a bonus. The conditions with a wet, then dry track were challenging and I enjoyed every bit of the challenge. Also the competition this year in Masters has stepped to another level. Bring on round two at Warwick,” Steve Ellery said.

The opening day of official competition brought mixed results for Tristan Ellery, qualifying 20th he then finished the first two heats in 28th and 18th respectively with a DNF in heat three. Contact with another Kart in the pre-final pushed Tristan down the order to finish 26th, while a flat tyre in the final hampered any hope of a charge up the order, again finishing 26th.

“The last two weeks have been a huge learning curb for my karting. Along with both the physical, and mental preparation leading into a massive event like the first round of the Rotax Pro Tour, and the first race of the season. Admittedly, things did not go our way, having a difficult qualifying session, causing me to be further back in the heat races. Though, we had developed over the weekend some reasonable pace, we were unfortunate to have had a DNF in the third heat, among some not so great results in the rest of the heats. In the pre final, we were carving through the field when I went for a passing move, which lead to contact with another kart.”

“Admittedly, the move was a bit impatient and resulted in us starting off the back of the grid for the final. A flat tyre then saw us struggling to finish in the final. Team Chelgrave, and myself are excited for the next round of the Pro Tour, as we will be in the new JC karts. A glorious opportunity to be involved with a handful of Australia's best Karters and karting enthusiasts. We look forward to capitalising on a strong result at Warwick,” Tristan Ellery said. Stepping up to DD2 from Rotax Light, Dalton Ellery qualified 15th for his first outing of the season, finishing 22nd in heat one he then worked his way to 13th in heat two and three. A mid-pack battle and finish in the pre-final saw Dalton finish 18th, then making a concerted charge up the order to finish inside the top ten in the final, showing good progression throughout the three days.

Jack Grambauer began his weekend in promising fashion, qualifying seventh with a 54.107, being within 0.02 seconds of the top five. The first two heat races then saw Grambauer make his way into the lead group, finishing fifth in heat one with fourth heat two before settling for seventh in the third and final ten lap sprint race. Unfortunately despite his strong start to the weekend, a pair of DNF results in the pre-final and final ended Jack’s weekend prematurely.

Joshua Davey experienced his best results since stepping up to Rotax Light in the Pro Tour, qualifying seventh at Todd Road before securing third in heat one. A seventh and ninth place finish in heat two and three respectively backed up the top three finish for Davey, placing him well within the top ten for the start of the pre-final. Early race pace helped to secure Joshua a comfortable eighth place result in the pre-final, however he was slightly unlucky in the final to come away with 16th.

Brandon Doolan was showing good pace throughout official practice on Friday, being regularly inside the top five, however a premature exit from qualifying early in the session forced him to be unable to replicate this form, setting the 14th quickest time. From this, Doolan then battled through the mid-pack of the competitive Rotax Light field aboard the Parry NQ machine, finishing heat one with a DNF, he was then disqualified from heat two. Brandon finished heat three in 28th, with 31st in the pre-final and a DNS result in the final.

The next major event for Project X Racing is round two of the 2016 Rotax Pro Tour takes place at the Sandy Creek Raceway, Warwick, QLD from 26-28 February.

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