It's Hot - Vic Open Qualifying
| AKA media | 8 March 2013 |
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The action was hot during qualifying day at the 2013 Victorian Open Sprint kart Championships at the Hume International Raceway at Puckapunyal, Victoria today.
No less than 310 competitors have descended on the venue, home of the Eastern Lions Kart Club, for the prestigious event to battle for the 14 State Championships up for grabs.
Many of Australia’s top kart racers are in attendance for the event, including Mebourne’s Sera cousins – David and James – who between them qualified on the front row for all four categories they are contesting.
Above: James Sera will start his Alonso Kart on the front row in both the Clubman Light and Leopard Light
pic - AF Images/Budd
“The Puckapunyal track is one of my favourite tracks in the country, it is very tough track to win on,” said James Sera.
“The layout lends itself to some really close racing and it is very hard to make a break from your opposition. The heat races are going to be intense, so the main thing will be to come through those unscathed so I can start somewhere near the front for the pre-final and final, which are the ones that matter on Sunday.”
If today’s qualifying performances are anything to go by, it appears as though local track knowledge will play a big influence on the outcome of the weekend’s proceedings with nine Victorian drivers setting the fastest times in their respective categories.
One such driver was Erebus Motorsport Academy youngster Valentino Astuti who set the pace in the Cadets category. New South Wales driver Benito Montalbano was fastest in the second session, after failing to set a time in the opening session, but it wasn’t enough to topple Astuti from the top spot.
Above: Erebus Motorsport Academy driver Valentino Astuti
pic - AF Images/Budd
In the Junior National Light category Dylan Hollis edged out Western Australian Champion Nikola Mitic to snare pole position while Darwin teenager Bryce Fullwood was third fastest.
New South Wales drivers James Abela and Michael Saller upstaged their more fancied local drivers to set the fastest time in the Junior Rotax and Rotax Heavy categories respectively. Qualifying second behind Abela was Melbourne’s Liam McLellan while 12-time National Champion Matthew Wall qualified second fastest behind Saller.
“It’s good to start the weekend on a high, especially when there are a lot of good Victorian drivers in the field. Hopefully we can keep it going for the weekend ahead and take the title back over the border to Sydney,” said Abela.
Shamick Racing’s Leigh Nicolaou outpaced David Sera in the Clubman Heavy category while Queenslander Ben McKinlay secured pole position in Clubman Super Heavy ahead of his team-mate Scott Simpson.
The opening round of het races will be contested this afternoon ahead of round two and the pre-finals tomorrow. The championship finals will be held on Sunday.
The AKA's Twitter Feed (twitter.com/karting_net_au) will be updated throughout the weekend, as will the Facebook Page (facebook.com/AustralianKartingAssociation).
Results are being updated as soon as possible after each race here (https://app.austkarting.com.au/aka/results/view/VIC/E/LIONS/2013-03-08/)
Above: Pro Karting's Braydon North set the pace in the Junior National Heavy category
pic - AF Images/Budd
2013 VICTORIAN OPEN SPRINT KART CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eastern Lions Kart Club
Puckapunyal, Victoria
Leopard Heavy
1. Michael Griffiths 45.097
2. Kris Walton 45.224
3. Lee Mitchener 45.228
4. Scott King 45.439
5. Jake Rice 45.564
Leopard Light
1. James Sera 43.925
2. Glenn Riddell 44.071
3. Justin Francis 44.156
4. Dean Foster 44.161
5. Ben Stewart 44.168
Clubman Super Heavy
1. Ben McKinlay 48.679
2. Scott Simpson 48.681
3. Joshua Herne 48.694
4. Mason Barbera 48.826
5. Michael Brennan 48.878
Clubman Over 40's
1. Steven Riddell 47.683
2. Remo Luciani 47.892
3. Chris Sanderson 47.951
4. Trevor Whitby 48.055
5. Philip Smith 48.069
Junior National Light
1. Dylan Hollis 50.101
2. Nikola Mitic 50.115
3. Bryce Fullwood 50.194
4. Luis Leeds 50.242
5. Nicholas Cardamone 50.265
Above: Dylan Hollis qualified fastest in Junior National Light for CC Racing
pic - AF Images/Budd
Rotax Light
1. David Sera 45.283
2. Matthew Smith 45.557
3. Bradley Jenner 45.650
4. Daniel Edmonds 45.653
5. James Cornfoot 45.775
Rotax Heavy
1. Michael Saller 45.692
2. Matthew Wall 45.784
3. Rick Pringle 46.013
4. Brock Green 46.018
5. Brendan Nelson 46.025
Junior Rotax
1. James Abela 45.353
2. Liam McLellan 45.561
3. Joseph Burton-Harris 45.629
4. Blaine Densley 45.660
5. Jayden Ojeda 45.691
Cadets
1. Valentino Astuti 52.658
2. Zachary Heard 52.687
3. Benito Montalbano 52.693
4. Damon Papasergio 52.798
5. Jordyn Sinni 52.824
Clubman Heavy
1. Leigh Nicolaou 47.200
2. David Sera 47.245
3. Lee Mitchener 47.309
4. Mark Dorbolo 47.372
5. Brendan Nelson 47.389
Junior National Heavy
1. Braydon North 50.739
2. Robert Thitherington 50.840
3. William Hawkes 50.852
4. Nicholas Rowe 50.891
5. Jordan Boys 50.918
Rookies
1. Jordan Caruso 50.763
2. Cooper Murray 51.030
3. Zac Raddatz 51.286
4. Ryan Suhle 51.357
5. Jai Sparey 51.425
Clubman Light
1. Ben Stewart 46.522
2. James Sera 46.563
3. Jordan Ford 46.569
4. Jake Coleman 46.677
5. Samantha Millar 46.695
Junior Clubman
1. Nicholas Rowe 46.537
2. Jake Klein 46.541
3. Damon Strongman 46.561
4. William Hawkes 46.724
5. Spencer Ackerman 46.775
Race Order
1. Leopard Heavy
2. Leopard Light
3. Clubman Super Heavy
4. Clubman Over 40's
5. Junior National Light
6. Rotax Light
7. Rotax Heavy
8. Junior Rotax
9. Cadets
10. Clubman Heavy
11. Junior National Heavy
12. Rookies
13. Clubman Light
14. Junior Clubman
