Round 6 of the AKRA Wollongong Kart Raceway Championship was run last Sunday. The class-by-class race report is below; lots of extra photos can be viewed HERE.
National – The Girl stole the Show
Only 16, but she can drive. Young Alexis Spiteri was the class act in the National Class getting a win for the Ole Trusty Yamaha J Engine. The track was wet in the morning and drying throughout the day but never 100% dry. There still were some damp patches that required skill to maneuver around without loss of speed and Spiteri did it the best in the heats and took wins in both heats 1&2. Jeff Emr (Torini 2nd) was giving Alexis a hard time in heat 1 and Jaxen Smith (Yamaha J 2nd) doing the same in heat 2. The 15 lap Pre-final had Alexis and Emr on the front row with Smith and Paul Reynolds row 2. Emr got the jump at the start of the Pre-Final and covered Alexis for the whole distance. Smith followed behind in 3rd just a few karts back. Reynolds scored a DNF which put him on the back row for the all important 20 lap Final.
The Final proved to be a cracker with Spiteri making sure she got the jump on Emr this time. Spiteri held her cool and never let Emr have a sniff of an opening and realled off the 20 laps to greet the Chequered Flag first with Emr right behind. Smith again had 3rd place covered who is now a regular podium finisher. 4th belonged to Justin Merchant (using one of Wollongong Karts Arrive & Drive Karts) who in only his 2nd race meeting put in a stella drive on the drying track to work his way up front near last to nearly catch Smith in 3rd. A few more laps it would have been a battle for 3rd at the end. Reynolds too had to do quite a bit of passing after Pre-Final DNF to get back into 5th place.
A Special Appearance by Fastlane Karting’s owner Dean Choma. Choma had been badgered by some of his customers (who also race at Wollongong Kart Raceway) that Choma never gets in the seat so a wager (bet) was put up between them. It is believed the loser has to cut the grass at home for the winner for the next 3 months. How the results were calculated wasn’t quite sure, was it track results, beverages consumed at Presentation or how many party pies eaten. Still TBC………….. Anyway’s Choma completed the racing part of the challenge in 6th ahead of Braiden Gray, Joshua Reynolds, first time karter Wynter Smith and Brian Quill.
Juniors – Morse Returns and back to winning ways
Kyle Morse has been doing some travelling in recent months and has missed a few rounds at Wollongong Kart Raceway but his return meeting before the AKRA State Titles on November 1st was just fitting. The heats on wet tyres had Lauchlan Mineeff and Jacob Henderson take the wins in great style, sliding their way to the chequered flag 1st. Henderon and Angus Mackay had the front row for the 15 lap Pre-Final but it wasn’t enough to hold out Mineeff from grid 4 and Morse from grid 8 taking the top 2 Pre-Final spots, giving these two the front row for the Final. Mineeff and Morse duked it out from the outset of the Final until Morse took the upper hand and stretched the lead into a lead he would never lose. These two had the measure on the field in the damp-ish conditions and it was the winner of the last two rounds Jack Wallace who took the last podium spot 3rd. Wallace had 3rd covered for most of the day with a 3rd in a heat, the Pre-Final and topping it off with the Final as well. Henderson followed Wallace to the chequered flag in 4th with Nicholas Ricci 5th after having an eventful day in the heats and pre-final. Ricci practised his parallel parking in the turn 1 gravel trap in both heats recording a DNF in both while in the Pre-Final he tried it again but this time managed to steer himself out of trouble and get back on the Island(bitumen). Angus Mackay crossed in 6th place in his outgrown Rookie Kart.. Young Mackay is clearly too tall now for his kart that either Mackay’s Birthday or Xmas needs to be moved forward to accommodate a new acquisition. Next followed Connor Bellamy, Presley Rosenburg and Ryan Morton.
TaG Light – And they all caught a Cold
The early morning wet weather was just too much for these thinly cladded drivers. The Kart Shop at Track was out of Warm Jumpers and the St Johns Ambulance in attendance only had 1 packet of Panadol so they played it safe and went home to Mummy.
TaG Heavy – Brock Brock Brock Brock
Now that’s a name the Motoring Fraternity knows too well. Just like his name-sake Brock – Brock Shafer just annihilated the opposition. Shafer took a clean sweep clearly in front of the rest of the field leaving them in his wake. Shafer won convincingly that after the Chequered Flag he would make it back to the ingrid, get his kart weighed, check his tyre pressure and spark plug before 2nd place made it to the ingrid. Chris Jackson followed home in 2nd all day and said he was just in protection mode. Protecting Brock from any interference from other competitors. Now 3rd place was where the action was at. Matthew Hallard and Chris Spiteri shared the 3rd place spot in the heats with Jake Greentree 3rd in the Pre-Final. But the final was a fight between Spiteri and Greentree with the forma getting the chocolates for the last podium spot. 5th was Nathan Hallard followed by John Glassington and Matthew Hallard.
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Clubman Light – Wristy & Knobhead Fight It Out
The Fripp Brothers are a unique pair. Having experienced karting from years ago as Juniors in the Yamaha ‘J’ Days didn’t like the idea of having to fork out $6,000 for new engines to compete with the new KA Rules. They have been watching the AKRA series grow in recent times and liked the rules and the opportunity to acquire some affordable Yamaha Clubman karts. A budget of $1500 per kart was the goal and after a few nights in the garage fixing their new toys the brothers Rohan “Wristy” Fripp & Jacob “Knobhead” Fripp were ready to fire. Rohan had the measure in the wet heats and the Pre-final but Jacob finally pulled his finger out and got it sorted for the Final to take the Chequered Flag 1st in Clubman Light Rohan 2nd with first time karter Jai Morton taking the final podium spot.
Clubman Heavy – The Married Couple were back
The Bride & Bridesmaid show of Greg Mackay and Chris Green haven’t been on display for well over 12 mths. We all thought the love affair was over but as it proved it surely was hot and still strong. These two are never far apart. There are times apart on the grid but these two love birds always seem to find themselves together on track, you would swear they must have met on Married At First Sight. But both the heats it was Dean “Hemsworth” Dyason who won well in the wet greasy track conditions. Dyason had the pole for the Pre-Final with Green alongside and the track was drying. Green got the better of Dyason this time and Mackay also managed his way past Dyason for 2nd to set up the Bride & Bridesmaid duel for the 20 lap Final.
With Green on the pole and Mackay alongside it was all set for a ding dong Final. Green got the jump at the start, the track still had a few greasy spots and Green to his nature had to be tight. So tight that there were times when Green had it sideways in the slippery conditions and Mackay had the opportunity to poke through the opening holes. Green’s defence was just too strong and showed his masculine side to hold out Mackay for a great win. Dyason was holding 3rd until Tony “Tornado” Smith blew past for the final podium spot. Dyason held onto 4th ahead of Alan “Formula Ford” Price with Andrew Morton parking it at half time.
PS: The Bride & Bridesmaid have been spotted at Real Estate agents in the Highlands and Blue Mountains looking for a new abode
Clubman Super Heavy – Big Macs All Round
Phil Trott was on fire and was the man. Mixing it with the Heavies some 15 kilo’s lighter. At times maybe even 20 kilo’s was the difference depending if the race was before or after lunch or morning tea. That said Trott took a clean sweep in the heats, pre-final and final with comeback karter Starr Kopa enjoying his return to karting.
Trott has to go into the AKRA NSW State Titles on November 1 as clear favourite but it is believed a few drivers have been dusting off their karts in anticipation for the AKRA State Title. It was also noted that Dyason had a collection of McDoinald vouchers in his car console for dietary requirements for his move up to Clubman Super Heavy.
Next meeting is the AKRA NSW State Titles on Sunday Nov 1.
Usual classes of Clubman Light, Heavy, Super Heavy, TAG Light and Heavy, Senior National, and Juniors will have 2 classes – Junior Performance KA100 @ 145kg, plus Junior National. See you trackside, cheers, take care and stay safe to all.
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