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IPKarting Team Race Wrap


press release 2 March 2013
 
  • CIK Stars of Karting Round 1 – Ipswich
  • CIK Junior Winner secures Euro Drive

At Ipswich Kart Club’s round 1 of the CIK Stars of Karting series IPKARTING was represented across a number of classes including OK1 drivers Liam McLellan in Pro Junior and locals Ash Lester and Shawn McNamara in TaG Heavy and Chris Burley from Lismore in TaG Light.  In Pro Gearbox, newly recruited pilot Ricky Capo took to the track in Praga.

Battling hot and humid conditions the team brought home consistent top ten results whilst Liam McLellan contended with engine dramas forcing two DNF’s in his heat races.  The Victorian youngster then turned his troubles around to deliver the standout performance of the event by winning the Final.

McLellan will use his CIK Stars of Karting Pro Junior victory as a confidence springboard into a Euro-series drive with Praga Karts starting next month.

Liam McLellan victorious in Pro Junior
Above: Liam McLellan victorious in Pro Junior
pic - Ash Budd, AF Images

In one of his first CIK appearances, McLellan aboard his OK1 M2 chassis for CC Racing and with thanks to IPKarting and Shamick Racing, displayed his high level of technical skill that he hopes to continue to build upon with European racing opportunities.

McLellan, and his team of dad Mal and Clint Cathcart, had worked hard and believed they were good to go for the pre-final after two disastrous results with race mishaps causing engine dramas in heat 2 and 3.  Good to go they were, Liam started at P16 in the pre-final and finished in second, to start on the front row for the final opposite Damon Strongman in P1.

The final was going to be a hotly contested race with Australia’s leading young guns but after going back to fourth on the start, McLellan took back second and then the lead by lap five and maintained control of the race for the remaining twenty laps.

The win at CIK Stars of Karting is on the back of a strong start to 2013 for McLellan backing up with wins at the Rotax Pro Tour in Junior Max and hopefully carrying further momentum into his return to Pro Tour racing this weekend at Lithgow.

In an exciting development to his career, McLellan will travel to Genk, Belgium in late March to compete at the Rotax Euro Challenge with Josh Hart’s factory-backed Praga race team.

New Zealand’s top kart export Josh Hart is excited at the experience and opportunity that racing in Europe presents for drivers especially given Liam’s age and recent race form.

Also competing at the highest level is 16-year-old Ricky Capo in Pro Gearbox KZ2 aboard a Praga Tacho.

In a field of 27, Capo kept himself in the top ten all weekend with consistent 9th places and a 7th place finish throughout the heats.  With the closest of margins separating the top end of the field and some experienced veterans charging hard and fast, Capo finished his weekend with more 9th place finishes in the pre-final and again in the Final.

Post race Ricky reflected on his performance, “I’m confident we have a lot of room to improve during racing to match some outstanding practise times we achieved at tracks during the summer break.”

“The Stars of Karting series is exciting and you learn new racecraft at every meet, I can’t wait to tackle South Australia’s Bolivar race track at round 2 in April.”

Over Easter, a team of IPK drivers will represent Australia and contest the New Zealand Sprint Championships held at Kartsport Wellington.  Returning to New Zealand as a title contender and former New Zealand champ (2011 & 2nd place in 2012) is Lane Moore racing in two classes, Yamaha and Rotax Heavy for OK1 and Ricky Capo in KZ2 Gearbox aboard a Praga Tacho.

“We’ve started the year with a bang, we have some more great initiatives on the way and expect some fantastic results for our drivers in OK1 and Praga from club level racing through to the very top level, both here in Australia and overseas” said Ken Bensley from IPKarting Australia and New Zealand.

To join the team or race with our overseas teams contact us at:
ken@ipkarting.com.au - 0414 760 965

 

 

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