Whyalla Kart Club Series, Round 1


by Jeremy Head 5 March 2014
 
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With round one of the Whyalla Kart Club championship being rescheduled due to heat, the club kicked off with round 2 on the 3rd of March.

The numbers were a little down due to being held on Clipsal weekend however the 20 drivers that attended and competed in the racing were more than happy. With 2 drivers visiting from out of town and 2 new drivers taking to the track it was a day of firsts.

Before racing commenced all drivers participated in an 8 minute qualifying session.  This has not been held at the club before and proved to be interesting with some classes being separated by no more than a couple of hundredths of a second between pole and 2nd place on the grid.

The Rookies and Cadets were first on the track for the day.  With local driver Corey Datson fresh off his “P” plates and ready to go.  The other driver in this class was Harrison PFitzner. Harrison is a semi regular visitor to Whyalla and had just recently moved up to Rookies.


Above: Cadets and Rnd rookies forming up ready to race

The racing between these boys was close and tight however Corey proved how the home track can be an advantage and stormed away with an overall win for the day.

The Cadets whilst on the track at the same time as the cadets ran their own race.  This class was a couple of drivers down due to the Adelaide regulars not attending the race meeting.  This however proved to be an advantage for new driver Cadence Florentinus and regulars Lily Reid, Brayden Stewart and Cooper Jones. These young drivers continue to show what can be done on the track with Brayden Stewart putting in a personal best lap over the weekend.

Cooper Jones again proved to the driver to beat with strong finishes in each race however the racing behind him was great with Lily Reid gaining confidence and speed as the day went on and Cadence Florentinus having a couple of spins that I am sure made her mum and grandmothers heart sink but continued on like a pro and finished strong for the day. 

Final positions for the day 1st Cooper Jones, 2nd Brayden Stewart, 3rd Lily Reid, 4th Cadence Florentinus.  These kids really put on a great show so come watch them at our April meeting.

The combined classes of 125/Clubman Heavy and Light were next out on the track. These guys continue to be fast and close with 3rd place in the light class being separated by a count back.

Neil Schmidt returned to the track after missing a good part of 2013 due to work commitments.  Neil showed he has not lost anything from the break.  Neil took up from where he left off and fought hard with Chris Reid for first place for the day with Chris finishing a close second.  Adelaide driver Steven Campbell came to do his flag marshaling but was encouraged to bring his kart and do some racing also.  Steven exchanged places regularly with Julian Blackwell to get through the pack of 125/Clubman heavy drivers to then catch their own class and fight for position.  Due to a sparkplug fouling in the final Julian Blackwell pulled his kart into the pit area before the end of the race.  This meant 3rd place for the day was set for a count back with Steven Campbell getting the nod for 3rd.

The 125/Clubman Heavy class was low on numbers however this did not affect the racing at this level.  Brian Sampson again showed why he is the one to beat in this class.  Brian drove his own race and set the pace for the others to catch.  The return to racing of Allan Watt was enough to push Brian that little bit extra however Allan could not catch him.  New to karting James Marsland demonstrated that he has potential once he is off his “P” plates and will be up there racing for a position at the front with a solid 3rd for the day.  Final placing 1st Brian Sampson, 2nd Allan Watt, 3rd James Marsland.

Junior National class was next on the track for the day with the 2 girls from 2013 back at it.  Bethany Simpson under her new team of Princess Racing and Isabella Cumerlato showing that she had learnt a couple of things over the off season.  The girls again love to race each other and always put on a show.  Bethany again lead most of the day however this was not by the large margins that she was used to in the past with Isabella close on her heals. Final placing 1st Bethany Simpson 2nd Isabella Cumerlato

Last class for the day was the Sportsman SA Class. The numbers here were down a little again due to Clipsal and work commitments with only 4 drivers taking to the track. This however did not change the level of racing. 

Kade Lawson proved to be the man to beat qualifying pole and then starting there all day long.  Jeremy Head was not far behind but by the last 2 races his tyres had gone off and he had no grip.  This allowed new driver Scott Harper to get in behind him.  This fight for second and third was some of the closest racing for the day with Scott managing to get a podium finish in his first race in karting.  Unfortunately Chris Reid had sparkplug issues and although was quick was not able to capitalize on his speed. Final results for the day 1st Kade Lawson 2nd Jeremy Head 3rd Scott Harper.

Next Race Meeting will be held on the 5th of April at the Whyalla Kart Club.

 

 

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