Ashton Cattach made his first appearance on the karting scene in six months at the Eastern Lions Kart Club over the weekend. With a big gap between races and a stellar field of eighteen KA3 Senior Light Drivers, Cattach was excited but had a hard weekend of racing ahead of him.
The Tony kart pilot looked to Sunday morning qualifying to get his weekend off to a strong start. Qualifying was held under cold and slippery conditions so tyre temperature and track position was crucial. In a hotly contested session Ashton ran inside the top ten for most of the time and was looking to push on the edge of the top five. In unfortunate circumstances as Cattach was on his final flying lap he was badly held up and had to settle for position nine on the grid, on the inside of the fifth row.
Heat one came around and the Tony Kart pilot was looking to get a clean get away. Cattach immediately jumped up a spot into position eight and by the end of lap two was up into position seven chasing down the top five. Ashton continued to drive the wheels of his Tony Kart and made his way into position six on the penultimate lap where he crossed the finish line. The team were wrapped with the finish and looked to heat two.
Heat two was a tough start for Ashton. Looking to keep a clean kart, Cattach was pushed wide at the second corner and back into position fourteen with plenty of work to do. The Tony Kart driver dug deep and by mid race was back on the edge of the top ten. With some smooth, fast and optimistic driving, Ashton made his way back inside the top ten, coming home in position seven overall.
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Cattach started further up the grid and due to a lap one incident was running inside the top five in the early stages. Ashton was in a four-kart battle and was racing furiously to grab another strong result. The Tony Kart driver came home in position six to finish the heats, only four tenths off fourth position in another close finish with excitement now high heading into the final.
The final was unfortunately a race of incidents and things didn’t go Ashton’s way. With kart contact and racing incidents hurting the Tony Kart drivers chances, he dropped down to the edge of the top ten. Due to incidents throughout the race Cattach came home in position eleven in the final but eight overall for the weekend.
Ashton’s mother Cin spoke post-race meeting and noted the improvement throughout the weekend. “Ashton had a great weekend this weekend. Qualifying wasn’t perfect but he drove three really strong heats showing he is pushing along the back of some of the countries best. The final didn’t go our way but we look forward to the next meeting of racing”.
Ashton will continue to seek improvement in his first season in the senior ranks.
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