by Simon Kendrick
Round 5 of the North Shore club championships was held under grey skies once again. The track was wet enough, but just on the edge of drying up which caused all sorts of conundrums for the racers readying for Qualifying. Was it worth running a new set of wets for just 8 laps or would it dry up enough to make slicks faster?
In the end, those with Wet tyres that took the gamble paid off, and the unfortunate runners on slicks slipped and slid around to fill the rear of the grid. By the start of Heat 1 the track had dried out enough for us all to run slicks the remainder of the meeting, albeit with a few wet patches of water in the odd corner or two.
- Images courtesy of www.pamspix.net. Extra images from this event are available HERE
KA4 Junior Heavy – Buhagiar qualified on pole and raced wheel to wheel with Debono throughout the heats but as the track dried by the last heat Dylan Debono sharpened the setup oh his Compkart (Velocity Karts) to take victory in KA4 Jnr Heavy over Lewis Buhagiar (Tuff e Nuff Racing) in 2nd. James Makris showed a “never give up” attitude after not finishing any of the heats during the day, came home for 3rd place in the final. Chloe Cosis had been on the pace vying for a podium all day but unfortunately did not finish the final.

Cadet 9 – Jake Rutkowski and Macka Hazard exchanged wins throughout the heats but by the final Rutkowski showed the way home followed by Robert McTighe in 2nd and Kamal Mrad in 3rd. Luke Powell finished 4th with Macka Hazard rounding out the podium in 5th.

KA3 Junior – Jackson Souslin- Harlow (Arbor Bizz/ Lush Model) lead the field all day, from Pole on Qualifying to the final. George Mawad (Renovation Excellence) Blake Motbey (Flat out racing) followed by Jordan Giannopolous in 4th and Jayden Aitken in 5th.

Cadet 12 – Bailey Hazard (Topgun Racing Team) was a cut above in the wet changing conditions, winning every heat and the final. 2nd place went to Alex Ninovic (AN Racing) with 3rd to going to Kartschool’s Leon Cordato. Luke Ferguson took home 4th place and Jordan Shalala (Shalala Smash Repairs) in 5th.

Junior Max – Unfortunately this very competitive class fielded just two drivers possibly due to Pro Tour Coffs Harbour being run the week after which might have kept a few drivers at home. Russell Mayo and Reece Cohen battled it out all day. The boys mixed in with the KA3 Juniors to make the field with Reece Cohen in the JC Kart (Topgun Racing) taking 5 out of 5 races during the day.

TaG Restricted Light – Joseph Licciardello (Kartschool Australia) showed skill in the wet to qualify on pole followed by Simon Davison and James Swarbrick. As the track dried out Cris Mayas and Salvatore Scarpignato began to move forward in the heats. After starting on slicks in qualifying Scarpignato who qualified in 13th, drove well in the heats to make his way up the grid to start 4th for the final. There was a tough battle in the final race with Scarpignato taking the victory followed by Cris Mayas and a fast finishing Cameron Kendall in 3rd.

TaG Restricted Medium – Greg Holden (#12 TLE Electrical) showed skill in the wet qualifying session to post the fastest time followed by Gene King and Simon Kendrick (Troy Farley Race Engines). Holden and Kendrick battled throughout the heats exchanging wins but by final time Kendrick showed he had the setup in the dry track to post the win over Greg Holden in 2nd and Jake Heyneman in 3rd.

KA4 Junior Light – These boys put on another thrilling race day as Pronesti, McTighe, Walls, Thomas and Garagounis shared the top 3 spots during the heats. Jackson Walls and Beau Pronesti took the wins in the heats but in the final, Thomas McTighe came through in the final to take the win by 0.132 over Beau Pronesti.

TaG 125 Light – Alexander Rinaldi qualified on pole for TaG light. Racing was tough throughout the heats as Rinaldi, Chebaia and Kozlinski swapped places for the top spot, but in the final Alex Rinaldi (#98 Advanced Buildings) came through for the win followed by Ashley Chebaia (#52) and Dimitri Kozlinski in 3rd .

TaG 125 Medium – TAG 125 Medium only fielded 3 drivers this month with Robert Cribbin (#81 RT Performance) showing form of the field with 3 heat wins and the final win. Wagner Cardoso finished in 2nd and Peter Price in 3rd.

TaG 125 Restricted Masters Light – Nathan Harwood made the trek from Goulburn Kart club to mix it with the local Masters and he took home the chocolates with a win in the final over brothers Dean VAN ES in 2nd and Simon VAN ES in 3rd

TaG 125 Restricted Masters Medium – Niven Riches qualified fastest for Masters Medium and went on to take the chequered flag first in each race throughout the day. In the final, Patrick Honer took the 2nd place and Phillip Trott came home in 3rd.

Round 6 of the NSKC Club championships is on 16th July. We have booked the sunshine so get yourself out for another great race meeting
Results:
Cadet 9
1. Jake RUTKOWSKI, 2. Robert MCTIGHE 3. Kamal MRAD
Cadet 12
1. Bailey HAZARD, 2. Alex NINOVIC, 3. Leon CORDATO
Jnr KA3
1. Jackson SOUSLIN-HARLOW, 2. George MAWAD, 3. Blake MOTBEY
Jnr Max
1. Reece COHEN, 2. Russell MAYO,
Jnr KA4 Light
1. Thomas MCTIGHE, 2. Beau PRONESTI 3. Luke THOMAS
Jnr KA4 Heavy
1. Dylan DEBONO 2. Lewis BUHAGIAR, 3. James MAKRIS
TaG 125 Restricted Light
1. Salvatore SCARPIGNATO, 2. Cristopher MAYAS-ADROVER, 3. Cameron KENDALL
TaG 125 Restricted Medium
1. Simon KENDRICK, 2. Greg HOLDEN, 3. Jake HEYNEMAN
TaG 125 Restricted Masters Light
1. Nathan HARWOOD 2. Dean VAN ES, 3. Simon VAN ES
TaG 125 Restricted Masters Heavy
1. Niven RICHES 2. Patrick HONER, 3. Phillip TROTT
TaG 125 Light
1. Alexander RINALDI, 2. Ashley CHEBAIA, 3. Dimitri KOZLINSKI
TaG 125 Medium
1. Robert CRIBBIN, 2. Wagner CARDOSO, 3. Peter PRICE
Focus On Future Stars
by Simon Kendrick
At age 12, Dylan Debono has been competing in many of the major races since his junior debut and in 2017 he is contesting the KA4 Junior Heavy class. Dylan has showed stellar speed over the current season since his switch to CompKart supported by Velocity Karts Shop. This has rewarded him with wins at tracks across the state including breaking the lap record at both Lithgow and Tamworth tracks.
Shane Burcher Race engines have been supporting Dylan with race engines as he contests the NSW State Championships in 2017, culminating in a 3rd place at Round 1 in Orange earlier this year. Dylan has shown his commitment to his racing this year by joining the Super6 highPerformance training program with Carl Jennings, training twice a week to improve his fitness and agility in karting.
Dylan enjoys generous support from his parents, and grandparents Nonna and Nonno, ALL About Tools, Velocity Kart Shop and Shane Burcher Race Engines.
Dylan will race at the 2nd round of the NSW state championships on July 7-9 and we wish him all the best as he chases his dream to be a karting star of the future






