by Bailey Dixon, The Karticle Media
THEY say the grass is always greener on the other side, and in the case of the Albury-Wodonga Kart Club’s February Club Day, this much was both figuratively and literally true.
The grass was greener over on the old track layout used for the new “Time Attack” session trialed on Sunday, and racers who had long wondered about past track layouts were given the opportunity to test them out. Coupled with reverse track direction for the regular racing of qualifying, two heats and a final, it made the day a new and exciting experience for many of the AWKC club members.
The Juniors were first out for the day, with Tahnee Blair using her experience and higher-powered kart to pull away in first after her biggest challenger, Piper Muller, suffered terminal damage in qualifying.
This left Anthony Alessi, Blake Tracey, and Eddy Cooper to battle over second overall, and first in KA4 Junior Light. The three mates resumed their epic battles of old from their Cadet 12 days, throwing down an intense scrap. In fact, when the “Time Attack” came around, all three of them were separated by only a single tenth! Behind this battle pack came Jesse Cannell and James Brett, who found themselves on the same stretch of track in the final, enjoying their own battle for fourth position behind the frontrunners.
Hayden Macauley, meanwhile, in KA4 Junior Heavy, ran a lonely club day with no other competitors in his class to give him a good fight.
KA3 Junior Races:
- Tahnee Blair
KA3 Junior Time Attack:
- Tahnee Blair
KA4 Junior Light Races:
- Anthony Alessi
- Blake Tracey
- Eddy Cooper
KA4 Junior Light Time Attack:
- Blake Tracey
KA4 Junior Heavy Races:
- Hayden Macauley
KA4 Junior Heavy Time Attack:
- Hayden Macauley
The Cadet 12s were the second class of the day, following up the exciting battles of the Junior class with some close racing of their own.
Reverse track direction made for some chaotic starts, pole-sitter Noah Dixon getting swamped into turn one in the first heat, relegating him to fifth. Eli Patten took the lead, with Ryan Taborsky hot on his tail, while Noah was forced to fight his way past Dylan Wyllie and Jaxson McKinna to battle the leaders once again. Eli and Ryan were close for the first few laps, but soon Eli began to pull away, leaving Ryan to fend for himself when Noah came hunting. Overtaking Ryan through turn nine on lap eight, Noah started the difficult task of bridging the gap to Eli in first. Time ran out, and Eli maintained his first position, beginning a dominant day for the eager youngster in which he would take out his first club day victory.
It was not all smooth sailing for Eli however, as he had to defend with all his might to keep Noah back in the second heat, holding his line with a laser-focus. The third heat was much easier for Eli, as was the “Time Attack”, Noah suffering mechanical issues that robbed spectators of what was shaping up to be a colossal clash for the top step of the podium.
Cadet 12 Races:
- Eli Patten
- Noah Dixon
- Ryan Taborsky
Cadet 12 Time Attack:
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- Eli Patten
The largest class of the day, the combined senior’s category of Vic Combined Light and Vic Combined Medium proved entertaining in its lead battles. Following a chaotic start and a hectic opening few corners in heat one, the adults settled down into defined battle packs.
Myall Hoffman and Jade Macreadie fought hard over first place for half the race, before Myall pulled away, while Gerard Hudson and Flynn Twyford fought over third place. Most impressively, Toby Robins starred in the first heat, making his way from seventh on the grid and fighting up to finish third, with genuinely rapid pace giving him this chance. Stephen Robins followed Toby through the field, winding up in fifth after applying immense pressure to Flynn in fourth, the pair battling hard.
The rest of the heats were more settled, with Myall winning all the regular races, but Toby garnering the most points in the “Time Attack” for Vic Combined Light. Flynn and Jade kept the action going, a regular clash for third occurring throughout the day.
Vic Combined Medium Races:
- Gerard Hudson
- Stephen Robins
- Jason Goudie
Vic Combined Medium Time Attack:
- Gerard Hudson
Vic Combined Light Races:
- Myall Hoffman
- Jade Macreadie
- Toby Robins
Vic Combined Light Time Attack:
- Toby Robins
Cadet 9s were the last class for the day, putting in some good laps over the course of the three races and “Time Attack”. Taylor Taborsky took out the day by finishing first in everything, often with quite a significant margin over her competitors. The three behind Taylor were close throughout the day, with very little separating them. Merik Nesbitt claimed second in the first heat, while Ashleigh Brett took second in both heat two and the final, and Koa Patten achieved the second-fastest time in the “Time Attack” on the altered layout.
Podium places awarded on the day in Cadet 9 categories were Taylor in first, Koa on the second step and Ashleigh in third.
However, upon review of the points after club day, it was discovered that points had not been allocated for the final and the subsequent outcome was that Taylor stayed in first, but Ashleigh took second and Merik had third place.
Sheree Muller, President of Albury-Wodonga Kart Club, sends her sincerest apologies to all competitors in this class. The trophies for these places will be redistributed at the March Club Day.
Cadet 9 Races:
- Taylor Taborsky
- Ashleigh Brett
- Merik Nesbitt
Cadet 9 Time Attack:
- Taylor Taborsky
With an innovative approach to racing, there was lots of positive feedback for the “Time Attack” session that freshened the day, so it appears likely to continue in the future. There are also plenty of different layouts and sessions to be trialed this year, to keep the racers on their toes and the spectators on the edges of their seats.
However, next club day will see AWKC running track layout B, the original track without the hairpin extension, for the entirety of the club day. We will have to wait a while before we can see the “Time Attack” in action again.
In the meantime, before we all meet again at the March Club Day, there is the Goulburn Valley round of the Golden Power Series to look forward to, on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of March.
See you then!
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