Sunny Sunday at VCS Wimmera

by Andrew Hayes (AHR MEDIA)

The DPE Kart Superstore Victorian Country Series has been run and won on the newly refurbished Wimmera Kart Racing Club circuit in Horsham.

176 Entries reaped the rewards of the club’s labour, taking in the new layout and also the super smooth track surface. It was obvious to all that an enormous body of work had been undertaken.

Hunter Salvatore leads Ben Holliday and eventual winner Leo Iannella, KA3 Junior (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

Conditions were tough on Saturday, with plenty of rain in the district, making it challenging for drivers and crews both on and off track.

The notorious Horsham fog looked to threaten the early proceedings on Sunday, however cleared to a beautiful day, and set up some sensational racing.

Foggy start to the day at Horsham (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

full results are on speedhive HERE
scroll to the bottom for photo gallery
LOTS more photos from both days on the Darren’s Sportography Facebook HERE

Here’s the low down:

KA3 JUNIOR (14 Entries)

SA Driver Ben Holliday continued his recent rich vein of form to snare pole position (33.381) in the premier junior class.

Holliday greeted the chequers in the opening heat before Hunter Salvatore took the spoils in the second encounter.

Salvatore led the field away in the final, and held sway until a challenge from Leo Iannella on lap 13, which also allowed Lachlan Cutting in the battle for the lead. Cutting eventually making his way to the lead on the penultimate lap, before Iannella struck back to take the win. Salvatore managed to sneak into second, ahead of a gallant Cutting. Thomas Patching and Portland winner Jacob Chandler rounded out the top five.

Leo Iannella (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Leo Iannella (MGKC)
2^nd Hunter Salvatore (OAK)
3^rd Lachlan Cutting (OAK)

KA3 SENIOR LIGHT (15 Entries)

Young Gun Angus Hall stopped the clock at 34.063 to take a big pole position in KA3 Senior Light.

The heat races were the start of the Corey Herbertson master class, as the Portland pedaller sealed both the preliminaries in convincing fashion.

Herbertson got the launch at sat at the head of the queue in the final. Whilst Joel Macpherson and eventually Angus Hall chased hard, there was no stopping Herbertson, who won the main event by 1.2 seconds. Hall recovered from fifth at the start to overtake Macpherson and take the second step on the podium, with multiple round winner Macpherson settling for third. Jenson Teleskivi was home in fourth, ahead of Riley George, who notched up his first VCS top five.

Corey Herbertson (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Corey Herbertson (PORT)
2^nd Angus Hall (OAK)
3^rd Joel Macpherson (OAK)

VIC COMBINED MASTERS (16 Entries)

Anthony Pethebridge made it two poles in succession as he went quick time (35.086) in Masters qualifying.

Both heat races however went the way of local star, Ash Mitchell, as he won comfortably in both events.

Mitchell paced the early laps of the final, but the pace of the Pethebridge kart was undeniable as he eventually made his way to the lead on lap four. From there he recorded a very impressive victory, winning by just under 2 seconds. Mitchell added to his trophy cabinet with second, with Portland’s Daniel Rethus ironically in third after the two ended up stuck together fighting for a podium at the previous round in Portland. Cameron McQueen was a mover in the final, coming from as far back as eleventh to finish fourth ahead of Ron Taylor in fifth.

Anthony Pethebridge (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Anthony Pethebridge (ELKC)
2^nd Ash Mitchell (WIMM)
3^rd Daniel Rethus (PORT)

TAG RESTRICTED HEAVY (7 Entries)

P-Plater Bailey Petch shovelled on the coals to take an underdog pole (35.705) in Restricted Heavy.

SA’s Kyle Booth and Mick Angwin went toe to toe in the heats, and ended up splitting the wins between them.

The final was set to be a shootout between Angwin and Booth, and they raced hard and fast for many laps, until blue flags for the Masters karts took a bit of sting out of the battle. Angwin gained the ascendancy, and went on to win his fourth consecutive round. Adrian Matherson nailed his best result to finish second, whilst Booth was a welcome addition, crossing the line second, but classified third after a penalty. Kevin Hitchcock was out of sorts, but managed to salvage fourth ahead of the pole sitter Petch.

Michael Angwin (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Mick Angwin (BALL)
2^nd Adrian Matherson (BALL)
3^rd Kyle Booth (GKCSA)

TAG LIGHT (15 Entries)

Qualifying in TaG Light was intense as three drivers timed within a tenth of a second. The fastest though, was Mitch Arrow (33.730), taking a breakthrough pole position.

After a horror qualifying session where he qualified stone cold last, Jake Krasna proved miracle man as he amazingly won both heats.

Krasna was again the man to beat in the final as he lead lap after lap in pursuit of the win. In the closing laps Max Fahey caught up and made a pass only to be repassed by Krasna. On the second last lap some argy bargy on the back straight saw Krasna out of the race and Fahey continuing on in the lead. Fahey wasn’t headed from there and completed his third round win of the season. Austin Worrell and Jordi Belton timed their runs to perfection, as instead of fighting for a trophy, they both got one, home in second and third! Daniel Pegg was solid all weekend in fourth, ahead of Brayden Parkinson, who endured a tougher weekend.

Maximus Fahey (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Max Fahey (SWEST)
2^nd Austin Worrell (SGKC)
3^rd Jordi Belton (SWAH)

KA4 JUNIOR LIGHT (15 Entries)

Warrnambool round winner James Snaith confirmed he was in the mix once again by claiming a very narrow pole position (34.935) in Junior Light.

Mathew Basso moved forward from third in the opener to take a comfortable win, and doubled up with a nail biting win over Snaith in the second.

Basso delivered on his 2022 potential to take a classy lights to flag win from pole position. Snaith chased hard, and after overcoming Max Marriner, closed on the leader but ran out of time and settled for second. Marriner was a surprise packet at Cobden, and nailed down his first VCS podium, signalling himself as one to watch. Darcy Heyne was on the move to be up nine spots for fourth ahead of Cooper Frith in fifth.

Mathew Basso (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Mathew Basso (OAK)
2^nd James Snaith (OAK)
3^rd Max Marriner (BALL)

CADET 9 (9 Entries)

Archie Bristow has been the driver to beat in the 2022 VCS and proved exactly that again in qualifying, to take a convincing pole position (37.255).

Bristow continued his winning ways to claim back to back heat wins to line up a pole start in the final.

Completing the clean sweep with a five second lights to flag victory, it was Bristow once again in the final, in a supreme performance. Xavier Mifsud continued his good form to be home in a convincing fashion ahead of SA’s Athrun Smith in third. Kurtis Polkinghorne was fast but had to settle for fourth ahead of another charger in Beau Chambers in fifth.

Archie Bristow (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Archie Bristow (BALL)
2^nd Xavier Mifsud (BALL)
3^rd Athrun Smith (SGKC)

TAG HEAVY (9 Entries)

Scott King was hunting his first round win of 2022, and started perfectly with a pole position (33.918) in Tag Heavy.

Two convincing heat wins in succession for King saw him line up on the coveted pole position for the final.

King led the field to the start line and got through the first few corners neatly and looked to settle in, however not long after he overshot the 180 at the end of the back straight and dropped to position four. Warrnambool round winner Ryan Cook took the opportunity when it presented and grabbed the lead. It was a lead that he never gave up, greeting the chequers for the second time in 2022. King fought back and set the fastest lap on his way to second, ahead of Aidan Solomon, who had qualified on the front row, in third. Aaron Jackson made a welcome return in fourth, ahead of Liam Pollard in fifth.

1^st Ryan Cook (WBOOL)
2^nd Scott King (PORT)
3^rd Aidan Solomon (WIMM)

TAG RESTRICTED MEDIUM (15 Entries)

Terry Rankin made an immediate impact on return to Restricted Medium with an empathic pole position (34.955) in qualifying.

Warrnambool winner Jack Ryan and Portland’s Daniel Storer have fought hard at each round of the series so far, and they split the heat wins between them.

Storer got the better of the start in the final and led the early stages before a squirmy moment coming onto the straight opened the door for Ryan to pounce. Ryan took the lead for a few laps before Cobden winner Beau Humphrey charged through into the lead on lap eight. Humphrey asserted himself to break away for a comfortable 2 second victory, with Ryan and Storer left to fill the podium. Max Lumsden showed great form to finish fourth ahead of the polesitter, Rankin.

Beau Humphrey (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Beau Humphrey (ELKC)
2^nd Jack Ryan (MGKC)
3^rd Daniel Storer (PORT)

X30 LIGHT (12 Entries)

Former junior VCS Champ Matthew Domaschenz put down the marker in X30, taking pole (33.395) in a strong opening display.

Jacob Dowson has been the driver to beat this season in X30, and he didn’t disappoint with dual wins in the heats.

Dowson continued his domination of the class to record his third win of the 2022 series, in a lights to flag display. The action behind was intense, as several drivers cycled through the top five. Jaxon Johnstone and Christian Cowie started the final lap in podium positions, however it all went pear shaped at the exit of the first hairpin as they locked together, allowing Domaschenz and former KA3 National Champion Jack Bell to snatch the second and third placed trophies. Johnstone managed to salvage fourth, ahead of Parker Scott in fifth.

Jacob Dowson (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Jacob Dowson (GKCSA)
2^nd Matthew Domaschenz (PORT)
3^rd Jack Bell (OAK)

TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT (11 Entries)

Lower numbers than have been seen for many years took to the track in Restricted Light, but there was no denying the force of Spiros Anagnostopoulos as he claimed another pole position (33.994).

Andrew Rae and Shane Moreland through everything at Spiros in the heats, but there was no stopping the flying 56, greeting the chequer on both occasions.

The final would see another Spiros domination, as he recorded a fourth consecutive round win in a show of skill and execution. Moreland ran the full distance in second place, whilst Rae looked on for a podium until Masters speedster Anthony Pethebridge snuck by on the penultimate lap to claim third. Rae was home in fourth, whilst Jacob Dowlin salvaged fifth place from a tough weekend.

Spiros Anagnostopoulos (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Spiros Anagnostopoulos (ELKC)
2^nd Shane Moreland (MGKC)
3^rd Anthony Pethebridge (ELKC)

KA4 JUNIOR HEAVY (8 Entries)

Mildura driver Hugo Garraway made the trip south worthwhile when he posted the fastest time (35.610) in Junior Heavy qualifying.

Taylem Mackinlay switched up the order to win both heats, despite the best efforts of Garraway.

Mackinlay led the early stages of the final, with Garraway right in his back pocket. The order changed on lap 13, and from that point Garraway was never headed on his way to his first VCS win. Mackinlay was a gallant second, with Lachlan Sharpe home in third. Cobden winner Fletcher Shaw finished in fourth ahead of Laura Fahey in fifth.

Hugo Garraway (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Hugo Garraway (MILD)
2^nd Taylem Mackinlay (ELKC)
3^rd Lachlan Sharpe (OAK)

KA3 SENIOR MEDIUM (16 Entries)

The Mayor of Horsham, ‘The Master’ Remo Luciani used all the tricks in his bag to grab a last gasp pole position (34.390) in a hotly contested KA3 Senior Medium qualifying session.

Ben Mouritz converted a second row start into two very polished heat race wins, seeing off all challengers.

Mouritz rightfully led the field away, and maintained the lead well past half distance. Ethan Briggs looked most likely to challenge for the lead, but the undeniable Remo Luciani made his way past Briggs and into a battle with Mouritz. On lap 14, both Luciani and Briggs snuck past Mouritz, and would wage a battle of their own until the finish line. Luciani the winner, followed by Briggs, who is in the midst of a breakout season. Mouritz home in third after a fine run all weekend. A couple more young guns in Seth Burton and Zach Findlay filled the top five.

Remo Luciani (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

1^st Remo Luciani (WIMM)
2^nd Ethan Briggs (ROCH)
3^rd Ben Mouritz (OAK)

CADET 12 (13 Entries)

Riley Harrison returned to VCS competition after his recent national level campaign, resuming his spot at the top of the order immediately, taking pole position (36.306).

Portland’s Ewan Anderson bounced back after qualifying sixth to win both heats in fine style.

Anderson started well and held sway in the opening stanza of the final, but Harrison was looming as he charged through the field after a DNF in the heats. A lapped kart slowed Anderson, allowing Harrison to pounce for the lead. From there the two raced hard and fast to the end. Anderson made several attempts to pass, but each time was countered by Harrison. The definitive move came on the last lap, as Anderson used some beautiful race craft to set up a crisscross on Harrison to take the lead and go on to win. Harrison was a spirited second ahead of a pacey Lucas Costanzo in third. Blake Purvis and and Anashe Manyau were in the the thick of the action, and finished fourth and fifth.