Jackson Brasher has started his 2022 season with a bang! The young Cadet 9 ace has been dominating the Karting Victoria ranks and made a national statement taking out the opening round of the Australian Kart Championship in February.
Brasher, running out of the Kartclass team with his A1 Engines Motorsport power, was looking to take out consecutive round victories over the weekend. With a field of nearly twenty-five drivers looking for Australian Kart Championship glory, Jackson was in for a tough and rough weekend of racing. The A1 Engines Motorsport powered driver hit the track for Friday afternoon qualifying and the nerves were high for the young driver.
Jackson was straight into the top five and in the battle for pole position with arch rival Cruz Kelly, Sebastian Tander and Oscar Haddon just to name a few. Brasher was inside the top three as they head into the back end of the session when the young driver was able to go to the top of the times! In an exciting and epic qualifying session, Jackson was able to put his Parolin on pole position for the opening three heat races!
Brasher was looking to get a clean get away in heat one and that was exactly what the young charger was able to do! Jackson was able to open up a margin in the early stages but had Kelly and Blake Haigh hunting him down. The Kartclass backed entry swapped the lead spots many times with Kelly and led coming into the final lap. In a hectic last lap battle, Brasher was able to come across the line in second position. A post-race infringement unfortunately dropped the young star down to fourth spot.
Jackson was now determined to bounce back in heat two and grab more valuable points for his championship assault. Brasher launched away in heat two and settled into second spot behind Tander. The A1 Engines Motorpsort sponsored and powered entry was able to make a move back into the lead on lap three. Jackson once again had pressure behind from Cruz Kelly but was able to hold the lead in the tough battle. Brasher was able to cross the line in first position but in another heart break, a post-race infringement dropped the young driver down to third spot in the order. Brasher was once again happy with his points haul but was chasing the victory.
Heat three was another close affair with Jackson dropping into third position off the start, behind Kelly and Tander. The Kartclass backed entry was able to make the move up into position two and chase after Cruz Kelly out in the race lead. The two rivals and front runners in the championship put on another great show, both having chances of leading the race and taking victory. Brasher was able to come away with another strong result in second position rounding out his Saturday racing.
Grand final Sunday was upon Brasher and the team and the young charger was looking to continue his great weekend. The A1 Engines Motorsport backed entry got a great start in heat four settling in the top three. Jackson moved up to second position and quickly once again joined the battle for the race lead. Kelly and Brasher swapped the lead on the final few laps with Blake Haigh joining in on the battle. In a hectic finish Jackson was classified in third spot and now had full focus and concentration on the final!
Intense was the only word to describe Jackson’s final! Brasher settled into second spot off the start but Haigh had been able to build up a margin on the field. The Kartclass backed driver along with Kelly had to drive the wheels of his Parolin entry to try and close in on the race leader. Kelly was able to make the move on Brasher for second with both drivers still closing in on Haigh. Jackson was able to make the move into second spot to start the final lap. In a grand stand finish Jackson was able to come home in a sensational second position overall, his second consecutive podium in the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship!
Jackson’s father Damien spoke post-race of the nerves, excitement and how proud he was of his young son. “Super proud of Jackson once again. To come away with pole position and another podium at the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship is a great result and congratulations to Cruz on the victory”.
Brasher will be back on circuit this weekend to try and win his maiden state championship at the Eastern Lions Kart Club.