Kristian Janev took to the state of New South Wales for the final round of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship. Janev, hot off his recent City of Melbourne Title win, was looking to continue his hot form into the weekend.
Kristian hadn’t seen the Newcastle Kart Club circuit since he was a Cadet and knew he and his Pro Karting team had their work cut out for them in the competitive X30 field.
Janev hit the track for qualifying against a strong field of 30 drivers and was looking to get up the grid order. The Janev Building sponsored entry was into the top 20 but was pushing hard and knowing he could be further up the field. Kristian was doing everything he could to put in fast lap times and made his way into the top 15 drivers. At the conclusion of qualifying, Janev landed himself in 14th position and his team were now looking to move forward.
Kristian was looking forward to his opening heat but unfortunately got a poor get away, dropping to the edge of the top 20. The Regency Windows backed entry got his head down and started to work his way back forward. Janev made his way back into the top 15 showing excellent pace and strong determination. Kristian crossed the line in position 14 but was moved to 12th position due to post race drop down penalties.
Heat 2 was where Kristian was looking to turn his weekend around but he was once again hit off the start and this time dropping to the edge of the top 25. The Pro Karting driver had steam coming out of his ears and made his way back into the top 20 by lap 7. Kristian didn’t give up there, continuing to make moves and make up crucial positions in the back half of the race. Janev was classified in position 16 at the finish making up 8 positions from lap 1!
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Position 12 was the starting point for heat 3 and Kristian was hoping to finally get a clean get away. The Janev Building supported entry got away cleanly and moved straight into the top 10 on the opening lap. Janev was showing excellent pace as he was able to move up 3 positions across the next 10 laps and was pushing hard on the top 5. Kristian came home with his best finish of the weekend in position 7 to round out Saturday.
Janev had moved his way to the top 10 to start the 4th and final heat and was keen to go racing on Sunday. Kristian had another excellent start moving up to position 8 on the opening lap and looking for more positions. The Regency Windows sponsored driver was shuffled back outside the top 10 on lap 3 but Janev was able to rebound and make up spots hand over fist. Kristian was able to finish his heats with another 7th spot, putting him inside the top 10 for the final.
Position 7 was the all important starting position for the final. Janev got another excellent start and raced his way into the top 5 in the opening half of the race. The Pro Karting backed entry was in a hotly contested battle on the edge of the top 5 as the final got into the 2nd half of the race. Kristian unfortunately dropped back positions and crossed the line in position 9 to round out his championship.
Kristian’s father David spoke post weekend on his young driver’s tough start but good recovery across the weekend. “We haven’t been here since Cadets and Kristian had some bad luck in the opening few heats. Kristian was able to get through the field well in the final 2 heats and to come away with a top 10 in the final was a great result”.
Janev will continue his racing in season 2022 and will be a driver to watch in his karting career.
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