2014 Australian Speedway Kart Titles
| from Victor Maastricht | 22 September 2014 |
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Central Coast Speedway Kart Club hosted the “ 2014 KA Australian Speedway Kart Titles” last weekend September 13-14, to a huge crowd and with great fields of drivers entered in all classes. Davistown RSL was our major sponsor for the event.
Due to the inclement weather in the lead-up and restrictions on track access, it wasn’t until 8.30pm on the Friday night, before a great team of dedicated volunteers could spring into action and get preparations underway, both on and off the track.
Above: Michael Saller was a double winner and successfully defended the Clubman Heavy title
pic - Pam Mathews
The track was still in desperate need of a full grade and roll, and thanks to Huckel Excavations, this was completed first thing Saturday morning, enabling us to start racing a little late, but still with plenty of time on our side and a fresh racing surface.
The racing format for Saturday was a separate Carby/Practice session, then 3 random drawn Heats. Sunday was then a last chance Heat, with lowest Heat point scores off the front, followed by the Finals after lunch, with gridding based on highest total Heat points to the front.
Saturday was a cooler day, and we had all drivers anticipating some great results. Many of the reigning champions were also vying to uphold their 2013 Titles. Unfortunately some motors didn’t make it past the Carby sessions, increasing the workload for some to make it back out for their first Heat.
Sunday the track was regraded early, and with a much warmer day, the racing action also got hotter, which helped produce some great close racing in all classes, ending with 3 new lap records set, and 8 new Australian Speedway Champions.
Clubman Heavy was first up, and the reigning title holder, Michael Saller, was back to defend his crown. However, the other competitors weren’t just going to roll over for him... Grant Lahiff took the first heat win, then Wayne Baines was victorious in the second. Michael finally grabbed a win in the third heat, but in the last chance Heat Peter Styles nabbed a hard fought win. Starting order for the Final was then Michael, Wayne and Grant, and after 20 laps, Michael was able to defend his title ... with a hard charging Wayne Baines very close behind, also setting a new lap record on the last lap of the chase of 15.218 seconds.
1st – Michael Saller, 2nd – Wayne Baines, 3rd – Grant Lahiff
Next up was Junior National Lights and reigning Champion Marcus Dumesny was back, however with stiff competition from 12 other drivers this year wasn’t to be. Jake Donaldson grabbed the first Heat win, and then Brittany Hickey won Heat two. Andrew Sayre was victorious in the third Heat, and Taylor Coghlan was the last chance Heat winner. The Final starting grid lineup was then Jake Donaldson, Andrew Sayre and Liam Camilleri who was finally dialling the kart in. A great race ensued with the three drivers nose to tail for much of the race. However Jake never made a mistake and drove to victory this year.
1st – Jake Donaldson, 2nd – Andrew Sayre, 3rd – Liam Camilleri
Above: 1st in Junior National Light, Jake Donaldson
pic - Pam Mathews
KT Modified Light was another big class, with many experienced drivers entered. However, Daniel Sayre (who is in great form this year) managed to win both the first and last chance Heats. Tim Beattie took out Heat two, and Matthew Ferguson bagged Heat three. Starting order for the Final was then Daniel Sayre, Matthew Ferguson and Michael Saller (with some good placings). Some tough racing ensued, with Donald Stevens steadily making his way forward, but no one was going to catch Daniel who also set a new lap record nearing the end of the race at 14.925 sec.
1st – Daniel Sayre, 2nd – Matthew Ferguson, 3rd – Donald Stevens.
The Rookies class was dominated by Zak Blanch with two Heat wins, Luke Geering (reigning champion) with one win, and Liam Walker with one as well, each followed closely by Connor Moreau and Sean Morley in most heats. The starting order for the final was then Zak, Connor and Luke, however Zak took the lead from the Green light and never looked troubled, to become the new Rookie Champion, followed by Luke. Connor ended up third after a great dice with Sean for the last podium position.
1st – Zak Blanch, 2nd – Luke Geering, 3rd – Connor Moreau
KT Modified Heavy was another class with some big names, and Donald Stevens was also back to defend his crown, however, with an in-form Michael Saller in the mix, it wasn’t going to be easy as he took the wins in Heats one & three. Daniel Sayre grabbed the Heat two win and never placed outside the top four. Donald did manage to grab the Heat four win to start nearer the front of the grid for the Final, which had Michael out of P1, Daniel P2 and Jason Bisset out of P3 after some consistent finishes. In the final Daniel led most of the race, however a yellow flag restart near the end of the race saw Michael re-take the lead to become this years Champion.
1st – Michael Saller, 2nd – Daniel Sayre, 3rd – Donald Stevens
Above: Daniel Sayre leads the way in KT Modified Light
pic - Pam Mathews
Junior Heavy was a smaller class, but still with some close racing. Luke Sayre won the first Heat, Jake Donaldson Heats two and four, and Mathew Geering Heat three. This set the stage for the Final with Mathew out of P1, Jake P2 and Luke P3. At the chequered flag, Mathew was victorious, with Luke and Jake trading positions after a failed passing maneuver. Mathew also set a new lap record in Heat four of 16.433 sec.
1st – Mathew Geering, 2nd – Luke Sayre, 3rd – Jake Donaldson
Clubman Over 40 class was only just formed, but still provided some great racing by all the drivers. Peter Archer won Heats one & four, whilst Phillip Farrow won Heats two & three. Starting order for the Final was Peter, Phillip and Alan Llewellyn. Peter drove a great race to take victory, followed by Gary Morris and Kevin Brown who both had troubles in earlier heats.
1st – Peter Archer, 2nd – Gary Morris, 3rd – Kevin Brown
Clubman Light had another large field of competitive drivers, but with Daniel Sayre in the mix, he was going to be tough to beat. However, Jake Baines won the first Heat, Daniel won the next two, then Alana Onley stepped on the gas and won Heat four. Starting order for the Final was Daniel Sayre, Jake Baines then Michael Saller. Three top racers and a gruelling 20 laps later Daniel still led, with Jake just behind, but unable to make any ground, however Jason Woodward with some consistent heat results was able to get by Michael and claim the third podium position.
1st – Daniel Sayre, 2nd – Jake Baines, 3rd- Jason Woodward
Sportsman 125/F100 Combined – this was a mixed field of 125s and Formula 100s and produced some entertaining racing over the weekend. These karts are quick, with both types coming within 0.2sec of their respective lap records. In the Heats Tim Beattie won the first, Donald Stevens the next two, with Tim Baker taking out Heat 4 after previous issues. This set the scene for a great Final with Donald Stevens off P1, Tim Beattie P2, and Greg Ryan off P3 after some consistent finishes. Unfortunately in the Final both Donald and Tim had a DNF, leaving it wide open for the others, and Ayden Elliott grabbed his chance to take the win, followed by Tim Baker and Jason Bisset.
1st – Ayden Elliott, 2nd – Tim Baker, 3rd – Jason Bisset
Throughout the weekend, we also had a BBQ each day at the completion of racing, and a great DJ on Saturday evening pumping out the music. The Pollock family also held a cake/fund-raising stall for Bowel Cancer Australia, raising over $400. The 50/50 raffle was also fully subscribed, raising much need funds for club equipment as well.
Above: Thanks to all the officials - without them no-one goes racing!
pic - Redline Media
Congratulations again to all the podium winners, and to Daniel Sayer and Michael Saller both taking out two titles apiece, and a big thanks to everyone who helped in the setup and running of the meeting. It was a big weekend !
Our next event, Club Championship Round 3 (previously washed out), is now on Sunday September 28 at Gosford Showground. All details can be found at www.ccskc.com.au
The Central Coast Speedway Kart Club would like to acknowledge and thank their 2014 club sponsors - Huckel Excavations, Precision Motorsport, C&A Mobile, MFM Omega Racing Karts, Bleeding Edge Computers, Express Lube, Davistown RSL.
