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Brodie Evans Wins 2013 McDonalds Young Guns


by Johnathan Males 18 April 2013
 

Brodie Evans has joined a long list of some of the best Junior drivers in Tasmania by winning his first McDonalds Young Guns Title at the Launceston Kart Club.

The McDonalds Young Guns has been held continuously since 1998 and has been won by some of the states best drivers over that time. The format of a one off 20 lap race at a combined weight of 130kg and a randomly drawn grid normally ensures the front rows try and make a break away for the win whilst the front runners that draw rearward grid positions try and get through to the front as quickly as possible. This year was no exception with the title going right down to the wire.


Above: McDonalds Young Guns winner for 2013 - Brodie Evans

With the club opting to offer the majority of the senior classes at a pro weight it allowed drivers to race against some new faces and tackle some fresh challengers.

The entry list for the Clubman Pro class suggested that this would be a tough class to win and this proved to be the case. Troy Stone was very keen to do well and he got to the lead in the final and never looked back. Brody Appleby got the better of his battle with Michael Jones to take second and third respectively.

Andrew Sherriff is making the most of his return to racing and is putting in some good performances in the TAG Restricted Heavy class. On this occasion he was locked in a duel to win the class with regular front runners Andrew Wagner and Brodey Lovett. After leading early he had to settle for second in the final as Wagner had too much pace and he took the win. Lovett rounded out the podium in third place.

Jake Rice, Warren Smith, Jade Waddington and Matthew Distill all battled it out to take the win in TAG Light. After some close racing it was Rice who took another win from Distill and Smith. Waddington suffered a mechanical drama in the final which ruled him out of a podium finish.

Lachlan Dalton was the man to beat in the Cadets class having just won his first Statewide Series Title and he won the first two races comfortably. However young Ethan Wyllie turned up the wick in both the pre final and final and hounded Dalton all the way to the finish line. In the end though Dalton had just enough pace to keep him at bay and he took the win from Wyllie and William Reeve having another confidence boosting race meeting staying in touch with the race leaders in third place.

Junior National Light once again proved to be a battle between the regulars with any one of the top five in with a chance of taking the win. After a race long dice Brodie Evans came out on top from Zevie Eisentraut and Johnah Slater. The racing in this class proved to be just a taster of what was to come in the feature race.

After suffering a recent run of bad luck, and some small mechanical gremlins Jackson Callow put it all together to take a storming win in the Rookies class. Early on though, it looked like it was Callum Bishop who had the pace to win but from the pre final onward Callow had the faster kart and he drove away from what was a quality field to take a popular win. Bishop overtook recently crowned Statewide Series winner Brock Evans late in the final race to narrowly take second on the day from Evans.

The Senior National Over 40’s Super Heavy class proved to be a battle between Greg Wood and Darren Williams. Both drivers swapping the lead all day long, but in the final Wood came out on top and he recorded the win over Williams. Rick Davies kept a watching brief and he took third on the day. One driver to watch in this class is Shane Toon who showed great pace and should be challenging the leaders in the not too distant future.

Senior National Pro saw a youth versus experience battle develop between last years Young Guns winner Gemma Wyllie and seasoned campaigner Jamie Bricknell. Bricknell had her measure all day but Gemma found her way to the front in the final and led for the majority of the race. Experience shone out though and Bricknell was able to move into the lead with one lap to go and held on to take the win in a very close finish. Keenan Slater once again put in a solid weekend in third place.

Junior National Heavy saw James Fitch take the silverware at his home track. The S and A Mechanical Services BRM pilot mixing it with the light class drivers all day.

Fred Cocca picked up where he left off at the recent Statewide Series round and once again drove away from the field to record another clean sweep. He simply had too much pace for his competitors who were left to fight for the minor placings. Graham Hoar emerged from the pack to take second place ahead of Peter Rogers in third.

After a great day of racing it was time to determine who’d be the McDonalds Young Guns winner for 2013. After an aborted attempt to start which saw Xavier Todman sent into the woodchips, the entire field including the restarted Todman got underway. A handful of laps into the race Brodie Evans and Zevie Eisentraut found themselves out front with a handy buffer. These two put on a race long battle with the lead being exchanged nearly every lap. Meanwhile Todman was making his way to the front but it took him too long to clear Lachlan Newman who didn’t want to give up his third place. This meant it came down to the two out front to determine who the winner would be. In the end Evans’ experience showed and he narrowly took the win in his 3D Kartsport Omega. Eisentraut took second in what was another impressive drive and the fast finishing Todman in third place.

This meeting is all about the Junior classes and as such there were some handy prizes on offer from some of the Launceston Kart Club’s many supportive sponsors. All Junior drivers were in the draw to win, the lucky recipients were.

1 x Set of Dunlop Tyres - Brodie Evans
1 x Glenn Powles Design Sticker Kit - James Fitch
2 x $150 DPE Vouchers - Lachlan Newman & Jordan Smith
1 x $100 Maxima Oil Products - Brianna Hobden

Cadets
1st        Lachlan Dalton
2nd        Ethan Wyllie
3rd        William Reeve

Rookies
1st        Jackson Callow
2nd        Callum Bishop
3rd        Brock Evans

Junior National Light
1st        Brodie Evans
2nd        Zevie Eisentraut
3rd        Johnah Slater

Junior National Heavy
1st        James Fitch    

Senior National Pro
1st        Jamie Bricknell
2nd        Gemma Wyllie
3rd        Keenan Slater

Senior National Over 40’s Pro
1st        Fred Cocca
2nd        Graham Hoar
3rd        Peter Rogers

Senior National Over 40’s Super Heavy
1st        Greg Wood
2nd        Darren Williams
3rd        Rick Davies

Clubman Pro
1st        Troy Stone
2nd        Brody Appleby
3rd        Michael Jones

TAG Restricted Heavy
1st        Andrew Wagner
2nd          Andrew Sherriff
3rd        Brodey Lovett

TAG Light
1st        Jake Rice
2nd        Matthew Distill
3rd        Warren Smith

 

 

 

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