from Jordan Ford
All the winners of Round 2 of the Victorian Superkart Club Championship proved that consistency is key, as lap records tumbled at the Superkarting comeback after the long COVID break.
The new track surface in Central Victoria’s Broadford Raceway brought out some of the quickest racing seen in years. The weather forecast was dire but all drivers were pleasantly surprised to have dry and quick conditions after qualifying, breaking records by up to 2 seconds in the 125cc Open Gearbox Class.
Kiwi Bradley Tremain showed class in 125 Open, setting the pace all day in his TM powered Woodgate Evo chassis taking wins in races 1-3 in front of Nick Schembri on his tail. Jack Wynack was fighting hard to keep in touch with the lead duo, exemplifying his skill and experience in the Tony Kart Sprint Chassis.
The Final race of the day was heated, with multiple lead changes between Tremain and Schembri, the two swapping lap records lap after lap. Wynack kept the leaders on their toes until the final laps, where a mechanical drama took Tremain out of the race and watching his clean sweep hopes fade away. Schembri kept his head down in the DEA powered Anderson kart, unbeknown to the pressure relieved from behind, taking a comfortable win from Wynack to take the Round honours.
Tremain remained on the podium with his stash of points from earlier in the day, while Brad Stebbing proved his potential in the new Anderson Kart, snatching a deserved top 3 from Colin McIntyre who was eager to jump on the podium with consistent 4th place finishes.
The New Lap record for 125cc Open Gearbox now stands at 57.653 by Bradley Tremain.
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Non Gearbox Light had the young guns under the older drivers skin, with Kobi Williams and Hayden Veld showing off up front after keeping their skills sharp on racing simulators over the break. Front runner Sanuja Perera was an early casualty for the day, unable to add to the close battles up front. Kobi’s consistency gave him top honours for the round, although Veld kept his cool under pressure in the final, narrowly winning and putting a dent in Kobi’s clean sweep.
Darren Ridd and Jai Azzopardi shared a couple of 3rd place finishes between them, while it was exciting to see Sprint Kart and Motorsport Veteran Nick Parker have a crack in Superkarts, looking like he has pace and experience to burn if we see him on track again soon. Martin Anderson and Sean Cotterill spent most of the Day learning and mastering the tricky Broadford Circuit for the first, at times proving it’s challenging nature, undulation and runoff areas, gaining valuable experience before the next rounds at Broadford and Phillip Island.
Kobi Williams’ new Lap Record stands at 1.02.231, eclipsing the old record by 0.8 of a second.
With only two entries in Stock Honda, the drivers treated the day as a test session and spent laps together attempting to better their race craft and speed. Rod Clarke shared his wealth of experience with Tom Roe, which made for an interesting and entertaining Final race together, each sharing the lead from one another at times and proving strengths of each driver. The camaraderie and fun was evident albeit the small number of entries, but data and experience invaluable for the upcoming National Festival of Speed in August.
Brendan Kloot took his first round win in Non Gearbox Heavy after a surprising win in the final race. After crossing the line 2nd from Weekend Pace Setter Jeremy Crust, a post race penalty handed the consistent Kloot his maiden win. A Round win and lap record becoming an elusive theme for Crust, heat wins and dominant pace in 2020 is looking promising heading into his National Title campaign in August. Rob Strah joined the podium as he continues to gain experience and is becoming even more competitive, creeping closer to the leaders each race meeting.
The Dunlop Kartsport Junior Max Drivers put on the show of the day. Ayrton Fillipi dominated the mornings qualifying and races, while fellow pocket rockets Lucas Quattrocchi, Finn White and James Strah kept the racing close. By the time the final came around, Quattrocchi found his pace again and challenged Fillipi all race long. Lapped traffic mixed the front runners up on the last laps, both drivers taking unconventional and determinedly desperate race lines in a thriller race. It all came down to the final straight as the two slipstreamed down to the finish line, Quattrocchi taking the win. It wasn’t enough to take the outright win from Fillipi but was a race for both drivers to savour. The fight for the 3rd step of the podium was almost as intriguing, as White and Strah fought to their strengths, one with straight line speed and the other with in-field pace. The constant and clean position swapping had anyone guessing who’d come out on top, in the end Strah getting the better of White and taking home the silverware. Anthony Nariman rounded out the top 5 in his first weekend around Broadford showing consistency and improvement all day.
Ayrton Fillipi’s impressive pace not only earned him #1 for the round, but a Lap record to his name with a 1.04.509, just shy of 3 Seconds under the previous record!
The new surface of Broadford Raceway improved some of the class records astonishingly and has narrowed the gap between the fields, adding more eagerness of drivers to get on track again in July before the National Festival of Superkarts on August 1-2.
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- full results are on Natsoft
