Archie Bristow had his final meeting of the 2022 season over the weekend at the Go Kart Club of Victoria Gold Cup. Bristow was having his 2nd meeting in the Cadet 12 ranks and had a bumper field of over 20 drivers.
Archie was focused and determined going into qualifying to try and put himself forward in the field! Bristow hit the track on Sunday morning and immediately went to work trying to set fast lap times. The Bridgeswade Pools and Spas backed entry was quickly into the top 10 and then into the front group fighting for pole position. Archie was able to put himself to the top of times but had 20 competitive drivers trying to knock him off. Bristow was able to grab his 1st pole position in the Cadet 12 ranks, which had him off the inside down to turn 1.
Archie was able to get a clean get away in heat 1 and led the early few laps of the race. The MJ Pressure and Property Works sponsored entry was leading but had pressure from behind in Australian Kart Championship round winner Jackson Brasher. Brasher was able to take the lead on lap 7 of 8 but Bristow wasn’t throwing the towel in for the win. In a close finish, Archie came home in 2nd position and was now hell bent on grabbing victory in heat 2.
Bristow was able to get another clean get away in heat 2 and led towards the opening corner. Archie’s Parolin was working well and the young driver was able to open up margin on the field. The GB Fasteners backed entry led every lap of heat 2 and was able to take his 1st heat win of the weekend by over 2 seconds!
Pole position was the starting point for heat 3 and Archie was once again able to nail the start. The Bridgeswade Pools and Spas sponsored entry took the lead and while karters argued behind, he was able to slowly open up margin. Bristow’s package was once again on rails and he was able to take his 2nd heat win out of 3 races. Archie was off pole position going into the final.
advertisement
Bristow was excited and ready to try and take home his 1st round win in the Cadet 12 ranks. Archie was able to get a clean start but had heat 1 winner Jackson Brasher right behind him in 2nd. The MJ Pressure and Property Works sponsored entry led majority of the race but was being pressured going into the final laps. Brasher and Bristow both had their turn in the lead with Archie coming home in 2nd position, only 6 hundredths of a second off the win!
Archie’s father Matthew spoke post weekend on his young driver’s intense weekend of racing. “Archie once again blew me away with his determination to succeed. He pushed hard right from the start of the day setting the fastest lap time of the day and putting it on pole in qualifying. He went on to start every heat and final starting from pole and lead 33 out of the 37 laps raced over the weekend.
“We knew we would find it hard to keep Jackson behind us for the 13-lap final but he had a good shot at it. When Jackson made the pass, they just clipped wheels that put Archie off his stride and allowed Jackson to pull away. I thought its done now but Archie pushed hard and made up so much ground on the last lap. They were almost side by side when the crossed the finish line and was so exciting to watch.
“I’m so proud that he kept pushing right to the end. Being only his second Cadet 12 race I’m extremely happy with the result and has proved we made the right decision to move him up. Congratulations to Jackson and Aiden for joining Archie on the podium finish and everyone else who competed over the weekend. Thanks to everyone at Go Kart Club of Victoria that put on an awesome event”.
advertisement