Jay Coul headed north last weekend for the fourth round of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship. Coul heading into the penultimate round of the championship was leading the points in the prestigious KZ2 category. Coul had been the most consistent driver across the opening three rounds of the championship and was looking for a strong weekend to keep him in the box seat for the title!
Coul hit the track on Saturday morning for qualifying and was looking to rocket his way up the grid. The Shamick Racing backed entry had a tough day Friday, with some technical issues with his kart setting him back. Jay was looking to put in some blistering laps but got caught up in traffic at a crucial point of the session costing him time. Coul wasn’t able to get the most out of his package in qualifying and settled down in position fifteen.
Heat one was the opening race of the weekend for Jay and he was looking to make his way forward from position fifteen. The Snap On Tools backed entry got a clean get away and was pushing hard in the earlier laps. Coul did a brilliant job to make his way into the top ten when disaster struck. A mechanical issue on the final lap of the race brought his Parolin kart to a stop, resulting in a DNF result with no championship points.
Heat two was the starting point of getting Coul’s weekend back on track and looking to move through the field. The Midfield Group backed entry got another clean get away and had his head down. Jay was able to make up positions across the race and was right on the verge of the top ten drivers. Coul was able to come home in position eleven moving up four positions across the second race of Saturday.
Coul was out of position fifteen for the third heat and once again, was on a mission to missile up the grid. The Parolin Australia karter moved up to position thirteen on the opening lap and had pace and kart he was happy with. Jay quickly made his way into the top ten and was pushing his way to his best result of the weekend. Coul was able to make his way up to the edge of the top five and come home in a brilliant sixth position to finish Saturday’s racing.
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Coul started Sunday out of twelfth position on the grid and had his eyes forward once more. The Shamick Racing backed entry moved into the top ten on the opening lap of the race. Jay wasn’t quite able to make the progress he had in heat three and stayed on the edge of the top ten for majority of the race. Position ten was the finishing point in heat four for Coul and this had him out of tenth position for the final.
The final was a championship defining race for Coul who knew he had to make his way up the grid. The Snap on Tools sponsored entry nailed his start and made his way to position seven by the end of the opening lap. Jay made his way into sixth position and then continued his march making his way into the top three by mid race. Coul put in a remarkable comeback in the final coming home on the podium in third position!
Coul spoke post weekend on his up and down few days and the finale at Newcastle. “Overall, it was an up and down weekend but we come out of it satisfied with a trophy. We’ll take all the positives with us and come back stronger for the final round in Newcastle”.
Coul will be one of the main contenders for the KZ2 national title going into the final round of the championship!
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