Praga & OK1 Leading the Way At Pro Tour
| press release | 1 February 2013 |
| Tweet | |
IPKARTING, the new home of Praga and OK1 karts, debuted their 2013 Rotax Race Team at the Go Kart Club of Victoria’s Todd Road track for the Rotax Pro Tour.
The team at IPKARTING have been using the summer break to test and develop the products to ensure that the OK1 and PRAGA karts hit the track with a bang in 2013 and they certainly did just that taking out two classes and showing dominance with multiple drivers in top placings.
Above: Troy Woolston now winning with Praga
pic - Mark Wicks, KartSportNews
An impressive line up of drivers for 2013 includes:
Praga
Troy WOOLSTON – Praga – Rotax Heavy (VIC)
Daniel KINSMAN – Praga – Rotax Light (NZ)
Jordan BOYS – Praga – Formula JMAX (NSW)
Josh DRYSDALE – Praga – Rotax Light (NZ)
Trent MOORE – Praga – Rotax Heavy (QLD)
Danny WRIGHT – Praga – DD2 Masters (NSW)
Ricky CAPO – Praga – CIK KZ (VIC)
Lachlan HUGHES – Praga – Cadet (QLD)
Jett JOHNSON – Praga – Cadet (QLD)
OK1
Liam McLELLAN – OK1 - Formula JMAX (VIC)
Lane MOORE – OK1 – Rotax Heavy (QLD)
Matthew SMITH – OK1 – Rotax Light (VIC)
Bret MULLAVEY – OK1 – Rotax Light (NSW)
Lachlan McHUGH – OK1 – Formula JMAX (QLD)
Zane MORSE – OK1– Formula JMAX (VIC)
Josh CROSSINGHAM – OK1 – DD2 (QLD)
Steven WRIGLEY – OK1 – (TAS)
Joshua MERRITT – OK1 – Rotax Light (WA)
Nic MERRITT – OK1 – Formula JMAX (WA)
Rotax Pro Tour #2 – Go Kart Club of Victoria – Race News
Rotax Heavy maestro Troy Woolston has made the switch from orange chassis to blue for 2013 and was impressed and impressive in his 2013 Praga Dragon. Woolston backed up outstanding pre-season testing with dominant race results all weekend. The Rotax Heavy class yet again showcased a who’s-who field of veteran drivers that have won multiple National and State titles and they deliver edge of your seat racing.
Woolston put his new Praga Dragon through its paces and proved that the Praga product is well developed and suited for our conditions. In talking with Troy post-race he said that he couldn’t be happier with the result and the kart.
“The kart responds so well, you can really get it into the corner and the release from the corner is incredible, the Dragon maintains its pace all race and delivers consistent high performance. The advantages for us are huge, the kart doesn’t load up the engine and the tyre wear was amazingly minimal and very evenly worn.” A big shout out to the team at CC Racing, they have done an outstanding job getting kart and engine package ready for Troy for 2013.
Above: Lane Moore with his Pro Tour trophy
pic - Mark Wicks, KartSportNews
Lane Moore proved that he is here to shake things up in 2013 after some good results in Australia and New Zealand during 2012. Moore and the team at IPK have worked hard to get his new OK1 M2 package together to get the job done and Moore did just that. Some technical issues put him back to 12th for qualifying, with only a tenth separating the top 12 drivers this was going to be some intense racing.
Moore went on to stamp his authority on the heats with some very good starts and racing managed to earn himself a P5 start for the pre final. The pre final was hectic and a dicey start left him in P6 for the start of the Final. After some amazing racing Lane proved he was just too strong for the challenges of Pringle and Yarwood and claimed the 2nd step on the Podium.
Lane said “I have had some very good results over the years but this podium finish at Pro Tour has been the toughest of my career. The level of racing has just lifted so dramatically over the past two years that one small mistake means the difference between a podium and 10th place finish”
During 2013 IPKarting is working on an impressive Trans-Tasman campaign with a number of drivers criss-crossing to take part in both Australia’s and New Zealand’s top-level racing. This will enormously benefit the drivers and the karting fraternity in each country.
The next event is the Trans-Tasman Challenge combined with round 1 of the Rotax Max Challenge NZ at the Kartsport Manawatu track, New Zealand on 16th February. Heading to NZ will be the Moore brothers, Lane (OK1) and Trent (Praga), 2012 V8 Utes Champion Ryal Harris (OK1) and Lockie McHugh (OK1).
Above: Last years V8 Utes champion, Ryal Harris, will race an OK1 kart in the opening round of the NZ Rotax MAX Challenge
To kick the year off the IPK team was joined by two leading NZ Rotax Light drivers Daniel Kinsman and Josh Drysdale. Drysdale tackling his first Rotax Light race after stepping up from an outstanding JMAX track record. Daniel Kinsman, no stranger to racing in international fields, was frustrated early with engine issues during practice which led to being on the back foot for qualifying, the team managed to resolve these issues during the heat races and he had the tall task of working his way through the race pack by Finals.
Starting his Praga in P25 in the Final Kinsman raced through the 40-kart field to finish fast in P7. Kinsman has been chosen as a Global Praga race ambassador for Australia and New Zealand by Praga International and will be contesting Australian Pro Tour rounds and also the Australian Rotax Nationals, he will be one to watch as the year unfolds. In Australia he is supported by IPK and KAOS Karting.
Matthew Smith, also debuted in Rotax Light moving up from JMax, the CC Racing-backed OK1 driver was nothing short of impressive from the outset of the weekend constantly near the top of the time sheets from Friday afternoon.
Smith held his own during the heat races and showed he is a contender to mix it up with the big boys in seniors in the on track battles that the front-runners engage in. In the Final Smith drove an amazing race moving up to 4th place and level pegging with the leaders. The team at IPK and CC Racing (and of course his parents) are extremely proud of Matty in his first Senior meeting.
Also in the Rotax Light running was Bret Mullavey in his OK1 M2 supported by Albury NSW based Full-Tilt Karting.
The Fujitsu Cool Driver Liam McLellan has arrived and stamped his mark on JMax racing for 2013. The 39 young guns in JMax always provide fast and furious racing and Liam in his OK1 backed by CC Racing led the timesheets against tough opposition all weekend.
Above: Victory speach for Liam McLellan
pic - Mark Wicks, KartSportNews
IPK is again thrilled to support four amazing up and coming talents in the JMax class, Liam McLellan (OK1), Jordan Boys (Praga), Lachlan McHugh (OK1) and Zane Morse (OK1). The boys brought home three Top 10 finishes.
New Praga pilot Jordan Boys was within the Top 5 all weekend with a 3rd and a 4th place finish in the heats. By Finals he started out of P5 but a cracked exhaust left him down on power and holding on for a 7th place. The newly recruited Jordan Boys is thrilled to be part of the team and complimentary of the support provided by both Full-Tilt Karting and CC Racing.
Queensland-based KAOS Karting OK1 driver Josh Crossingham made the trek to Victoria to race the hotly contested DD2 class but had a weekend to forget as they were plagued with engine dramas the entire weekend. Josh, one of the youngest drivers in the field, had a very impressive 3rd placing at Warwick in his debut round in 2012.
Crossingham and team were extremely disappointed after dropping a bottom end in one motor and suffering gearbox trouble in the other. He still put the kart on the track every session in a show of good sportsmanship. “It was disappointing to come all this way and be hampered by engine trouble, but that's racing, we will regroup and be back to race another day" said Crossingham.
Above: Thumbs up from Jordan Boys
pic - Mark Wicks, KartSportNews
Full-Tilt Karting’s Danny Wright also debuted in DD2 Master's in a Praga making the switch from Rotax Heavy racing. Wright made a great start to the weekend showing very good pace in practice and qualified at P4. A DNF in the first Heat was followed by two solid 5th place finishes and he was again looking good. In the pre-final he was turned around and this resulted in starting the Final in P16 where he drove strongly through the 28-kart field to finish 7th.
Wrighty said, “I am really happy with the result considering it was my first DD2 race and I didn’t get a lot of time in the kart ahead of this meeting. The kart was amazing, to be able to rock up with very little testing and pop the kart on the track as fast as it was straight out of the box, I cant wait to see what it is really capable of with better preparation for the next round at Lithgow”.
IPKARTING has received its first shipment of the Praga and OK1 models and the entire first delivery was sold out prior to their arrival.
The versatile new models, the 2013 Praga Dragon and OK1 Cruiser M2 have been extensively tested and enjoyed great pre-season results already in Europe and America and IPKRTING is looking forward to working with our talented drivers to bring them Aussie and Kiwi success.
Pre-orders are being taken by dealers; CC Racing (Melbourne), KAOS Karting (Gold Coast), Full-Tilt Karting (Albury NSW) and Wrigley’s Karts and Parts (Tasmania) and our New Zealand partner, Lascom Motorsports.
All kart sale and dealer enquiries please contact Ken Bensley on 0414 760 965.
- Check out our Online Shop: http://www.ipkarting.com.au/
- Like our new facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/ipkarts
