Fresh off the back of a near-perfect weekend at Golden Power Series round 3, Mathew Basso ventured eight hours to the top of the state competing for the illustrious North-West Titles, contested in Mildura. Mathew Basso was on double duties this weekend in an effort to continue growing his race-craft, once again returning to the KA3 Junior Light Class whilst maintaining his entry in the ever-competitive KA3 Junior Heavy. Despite having never set sight on the Mildura-based circuit prior to the weekend, Basso displayed a determined approach coming to terms with the technical layout.
Mat got to work quickly, exhibiting yet again flashes of his supreme speed as he charged to pole position in KA3 Junior Heavy over local favourite, Hugo Garraway. The heats that ensued were nothing short of the typical brilliance from Basso, sweeping the field with nothing lower than first in all his heat races.
In the Light category, however, Mat was continuing to come to terms with his kart and weight disadvantage, qualifying in 7th. Despite the setbacks from his usual qualifying results, Mat carved his way through the Light category improving to finish P6, P5 and P4 in the first three heats before disaster struck; another racer opting to drive into the #18 kart from behind resulting in a DNF.
Despite the gut punch as a result of the final heat to what had been so far an excellent weekend, the team focused their sights on the finals in the hope of claiming the North-West Title glory in their respective classes. Due to the DNF in the heats, Mat started towards the carnage-riddled mid-pack for his final in KA3 Junior Light. The team acknowledged how imperative it was to get a clean start at the meandering Mildura circuit. Mat did exactly that, holding P6 at the start of the race. As the laps counted down, Basso continued to find his groove in pursuit of the top five, moving into P4 early on. This proved to be where Mathew would finish too, running out of laps to catch the top three.
advertisement
KA3 Junior Heavy was a different set of affairs. Basso had been a bullet through the heats, being rewarded with pole position in the final alongside rival and local hotshot, Hugo Garraway. Basso got the jump at the starting, holding the fort in first place before Garraway lunged for the top spot on lap 4. It became a three-way tussle for the win, with Chelsea Humphrey’s joining the action whilst vying for first place. Final lap and Basso had slipped to P3 before some audacious quality driving in the penultimate corners saw him duelling with Garraway for the win. Unfortunately, he fell just short, coming home P2 by 0.092 – less than a kart length!
Whilst not taking the win, Mathew and the team were proud of their efforts in the two classes at a foreign circuit. Mathew went on to mention “We had such a good time this weekend and everyone from the Mildura Kart Club really made us feel welcome. The event was well run and I’m looking forward to returning to this event next year. We had a bit of bad luck in the light class, missing out on a podium finish whilst falling short of taking the win in the heavy class was a little disappointing – but that’s just the way racing goes”.
Mathew and the team would like to thank their sponsors: Melbourne Kart Centre, Castrol Racing, UNIT Clothing, NGK Spark Plugs, MEARTH Electric Scooters, Atlas Neck Braces, Oakley Australia, Platinum Potions, Mayhem Tools, Ethika, PREPD Hydration, Albek Luggage, SAKA Water, 808 Dude, BODIE’Z Protein Water, Raceline Motorsports Racewear, New Balance and MotiV8 Training.
advertisement