NSW Jnr Clubman Pro Series - Final Round
| by Paul Schofield | 13 November 2013 |
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Final Round Junior Clubman Pro Series – Orange 9/10th November 2013
The final round of the NSW Junior Clubman Pro series was hosted by the Orange Kart Club as part of their annual South Pacific Titles event. Despite every weather forecast predicting a wild weekend of storms and torrential rain, series organiser Dennis Sandrone assured us all that there would be no rain coming. The guru was right and the weather was perfect for karting all weekend. The track was in magnificent condition and for those who haven’t been to the Orange kart track before, it’s an awesome layout.
Entrants included Harry Hayek sporting his blue plate from the NSW State Titles and Jordi Marcon who dropped in on his way home to Bundaberg after securing 3rd at the SA State titles.
Going into the final round, the top 3 contenders for the series were Damon Schofield, Chris Sandrone and Nick Becker who were separated by a mere 3 pts. Unfortunately Chris didn’t make the trip opting to study for his school exams the following Monday. A commendable decision.opting to study for his 3 exams tomorrow. Whilst it was hard for me to attend the meeting without Chris I admire his determination and sacrifice.
Above: Fastest qualifier Jordi Marcon
pic - QuickPixels photography
Qualifying
In practice the benchmark was being set by Marcon and Hayek and thus it was no surprise when these 2 locked out the front row with Marcon securing pole from Hayek by just 3/100ths. The next 3 grid spots were filled in order by Schofield, Waters and Becker.
Heat 1
From the start Marcon got the jump and with a track that favours the inside runners, Schofield got into 2nd followed by Becker, Hayek and Waters. Marcon pushed the pace throughout and was never headed. Behind him Schofield was overhauled first by Becker and then by Hayek. Meanwhile Waters, Ormerod and Wiskich were involved in a tight battle in the early stages.
Hayek soon caught and passed Becker mid race. By this stage Waters was free from his battle with Ormerod and Wiskich and set about chasing Schofield down and after a short tussle got past to be in 4th position. Unfortunately, further back Shae Becker succumbed to a clutch problem that had been plagueing her all year.
Going into the last lap, the race order was Marcon, Hayek, Becker, Waters, Schofield, Ormerod, Wiskich and Attard. The white flag was waved which Hayek inexplicably interpreted as a symbol to surrender. Slowed down and while waving at his fellow competitors, couldn’t understand why they all had their heads down and were driving at full bore. Hayek was passed by Becker, Waters, Schofield and Ormerod on the run to line. Harry Hayek explained later that he had never seen a white flag displayed before to signal one lap to go. Lesson learnt.
Across the line, Heat 1
1st Marcon
2nd Becker
3rd Waters
4th Schofield
5th Ormerod
Heat 2
Some aggressive driving through the breathtakingly fast downhill section at Orange saw Schofield muscle his way to the front. This lead was short lived however as both Marcon and Hayek worked past him within the first lap. Waters in the meantime had the jump on Becker.
Like heat 1, Marcon relentlessly put in a series of super fast laps, breaking the 40s barrier to edge away for a win from the chasing Hayek. The battle for third was turning into a beauty. Becker got past Waters and then the pair of them set about rounding up Schofield with Ormerod in hot pursuit. Becker passed Schofield and looked to be getting away mid race before the charge from behind gathered pace. Schofield caught and repassed Becker in the last corner with Waters and Ormerod all in the mix with the dash to line.
Thankfully Shae Becker seemed to have had her mechanical issues sorted and was pleased just to be able to finish.
Across the line, Heat 2
1st Marcon
2nd Hayek
3rd Schofield
4th Becker
5th Waters
Above: Forming up for the start of Heat 3
pic - QuickPixels photography
Heat 3
Again the inside runners got the advantage through turn 1 and after the first lap it was Marcon leading again from Schofield, Becker, Waters and Hayek. Shae Becker again had problems causing her not to start and Attard failed to complete the first lap.
Becker soon got the better of Schofield. Hayek gradually made up places passing Waters, Schofield and then Becker. Waters was soon joined by Wiskich and Ormerod which resulted in an exciting race with the three swapping positions with every lap. Ormerod eventually getting the upper hand. In the meantime Marcon was romping away to another win.
Across the line, Heat 3
1st Marcon
2nd Hayek
3rd Becker
4th Schofield
5th Ormerod
Pre-final
Sunday racing started with the all important point scoring pre-final which saw Marcon gridded on Pole ahead of Becker, Hayek, Schofield, Waters and Ormerod. Despite all the predictions of rain, the weather turned out to be fine. Overnight all the teams had been scratching their heads working out how they could make changes to reel in Marcon who had looked unbeatable from the time he put a wheel on the Orange track.
As expected Marcon got away first at the start, but a daring move by Hayek at the bottom of the hill saw Hayek go on to lead the first lap. Waters also had a great start to see himself in front of Becker. In the meantime Schofield was obviously having problems with carburettor tune and dropped to the back of the field. The improving Wiskich was locked in a battle with Karting World team mate Ormerod. Sadly Attard failed to make the start line and Shae Beckers problems continued to see her only complete one lap before being forced to pull in with mechanical problems. This was real shame for a competitor that has supported the series all year and who loves her clubman racing.
With the racing continuing there was much interest to see if Marcon could overhaul Hayek. The times between the 2 were fluctuating but whatever changes the Hayek camp had made overnight appeared to be paying off. Further back Becker was working on Waters whilst Wiskich, Ormerod and Schofield were battling for 5th. Schofield sorted out his carburettor and set about chasing down Waters and Becker. Ormerod conversely obviously had problems of his own and started to drop back.
With 5 laps to go Becker got past Waters but these 2 had been joined by the improving Schofield. Schofield knew that to keep the series alive he had to keep Becker in his sights.
At the finish Hayek had managed to maintain a comfortable gap on Marcon but the interest from a series point of view was the race for third. Becker managed to hold on and a desperate move in the last corner by Schofield to pass Waters ensured that the series would be won and lost in the final race of the series. Wiskich was next across the line followed by Ormerod.
Across the line, Pre-final
1st Hayek
2nd Marcon
3rd Becker
4th Schofield
5th Waters
Final
Going into the final, Schofield still led the 2013 NSW Junior Clubman Pro Series albeit by 1 point from Nick Becker. Whoever beat the other to the finish line in the final would be the series outright winner. The other interest would be whether or not Marcon could turn the tables on Hayek.
Hayek on pole for the first time this weekend got the jump at the start followed by Becker courtesy of the inside running. Marcon slotted into 3rd. Again Schofield’s kart was sluggish early on allowing Ormerod to move into 4th. Waters was next followed by Wiskich. Marcon soon got past Becker and so the running order was Hayek, Marcon, Becker, Ormerod, Schofield, Waters and Wiskich. Unfortunately both Attard who was struggling with a rib injury and Shae Becker failed to make the start line.
The most remarkable thing about this final race of the series was the lack of fierce racing that has been the hallmark of the series to date. Every time Marcon looked to close in on Hayek, Hayek just increased the tempo showing the form that has already won him a Closed and Open State Title this year. Likewise Becker could make no impression on Marcon and so on through the field. And so the first 5 to cross the line were Hayek, Marcon, Becker, Ormerod and Schofield. Marcon received a penalty after the race for an indiscretion and therefore the official placings were.
1st Hayek
2nd Becker
3rd Ormerod
4th Marcon
5th Schofield
Above: 2013 NSW Junior Clubman Pro Series Champion Nick Becker leading eventual race winner Harry Hayek
pic - QuickPixels photography
With that result, the ultra consistent Nick Becker became the well deserved winner of the 2013 NSW Junior Clubman Pro series.
The drivers put on an exceptional display throughout the year and as has been the case at almost every round, the majority of the field posted lap times that would have seen them faster than the winner in Clubman Light. Tough, fun, hard and fair is how one competitor described the NSW JC Pro Series.
A special mention needs to go to Dennis Sandrone who has rejuvenated Junior Clubman racing in NSW. Thanks to his efforts, 21 drivers had a taste of JC racing this year.
2013 NSW Junior Clubman Pro Series final point score:
1. Nick Becker 304 points
2. Damon Schofield 297 points
3. Harry Hayek 297 points
4. Chris Sandrone 281 points
5, Glen Ormerod 249 pts
Thanks to the Sponsors:
Gold Sponsors:
Scuderia PCR Australia.
Yamaha Australia.
Laing & Simmons Potts Point + Pyrmont.
Remo Racing MG Tyres (Thanks to Tommy Gallo for arranging this)
Silver Sponsors:
Karting World.
Kart 1.
Stones Kartsport.
To the Clubs that supported us: Combined Districts, Wollongong, Newcastle and Orange thank you for your hospitality and the donations of free entries as prizes.
