by Andrew Hayes, AHR Media
Australia’s most prestigious standalone meeting, The Four ’N’ Twenty Pies 37th Annual City of Melbourne Titles has been hosted by the Go Kart Club of Victoria over the weekend.
This blockbuster event saw record numbers, as 438 local and interstate entrants signed up to make it the biggest ever running of the marquee event. Conditions were favourable for the racing section of the event, but only after wind caused chaos during practice on Friday.
- full results on speedhive HERE
- more photos by Tim Francis HERE
- more photos by Pace Images HERE
- on-demand video of the heats and finals on mysportlive HERE (requires subscription)
Spiros Anagnostopoulos was the first to be crowned in Tag Restricted Light, claiming back to back City of Melbourne titles in a dominant clean sweep of the event. Ryan Dealy and Jarrod Bottomley were amongst the action all weekend and fought hard to claim the final spots on the podium.
Just like Anagnostopoulos, Amos Orr was perfect in KA3 Junior Heavy, pacing the field all weekend to claim a classy victory. Dominic Penman challenged in the final, but had to settle for second, ahead of a rebounding Mathew Basso, who failed to record a time in qualifying.
NSW’s Jackson Souslin-Harlow took over the front running in KA3 Senior Medium for heat 3, and held sway in the final to take the victory. Ben Mouritz showed that he had found his speed to claim second in the final, ahead of an impressive Josh Elliston.
Victorian Combined Masters saw Glenn Riddell under pressure across the weekend, but he was supreme when it counted in the final, cruising to the win. Heath Jelbart put in a solid display to take a fine second, ahead of the consistant Simon Gwilliam.
Queenslander Ky Burke built his momentum through the weekend before executing perfectly in the final, taking the KA2 title. National Champion elect Max Walton chased hard for second, ahead of local Brad Majman in third.
Former and current National Champs Brad Jenner and Jace Matthews, squared up on the front row of the X30 Final, and whilst Jenner would prevail at the flag, a starting infringement would see the pair swap positions, crowning Matthews as the winner. Jenner now second ahead of Harrison Mitchell, who saved his best for the final.
advertisement
A Blistering start for Henry Johnstone set the tone for an emphatic victory in KZ2, as he pressed on to take victory. Jake Klarich was amongst the frontrunners all weekend to claim second, ahead of the speedy Luca Nici, who made his presence felt in the final.
Queensland’s Carter Grother was the winner of the Cadet 9 class, holding the lead when the race was red flagged and eventually declared following a roll over for Brock Nolan. Grother claiming a fine win, ahead of AKC leader Jay Kostecki, and Lukas Loeskow in one of the races of the day.
Tag Heavy had been dominated for the majority of the weekend by Jake Spencer, but come final time Jackson Souslin-Harlow would return to contention after losing his qualifying time. Souslin-Harlow would make the winning move at dunny corner on lap 18 of 19 to take his second win of the day. Spencer had to settle for second after an impressive display all weekend, ahead of his FA Kart teammate Daniel Rochford in third.
A huge field of 65 Cadet 12’s ran the alphabet in search of the City of Melbourne victory, which saw some intense heat racing. Archie Bristow was the pacesetter in the early stages of the race before Joseph Bianchini made his move to claim a big win. Riley Harrison recovered from an early race skirmish to pip Bristow at the end for the final two spots on the podium.
KA3 Senior Light had a stop start weekend, as roll overs caused two red lights, one in the heats and one in the finals. Hunter Salvatore showed he had a thirst for victory as he led a classy field to the chequered flag to claim a deserved win. Declan Matthews and Keegan Fraser filled the podium after coming from third and eighteenth respectively.
There was no shortage of drivers capable of claiming KA3 Junior Light, as several drivers staked their claim. But when it counted it was Pip Casabene who come on strong to leave his competitors in his wake, claiming a memorable win. Sam March finished off with a second place after being in the mix all weekend, ahead of the fast finishing Jack Szewczuk in third place.
Brad Jenner made sure he went home as a City of Melbourne Champion, by dominating the final of Tag Light. Jenner was the class of the field all weekend, and deservedly took home the big trophy. Harrison Hoey spent the weekend in the top 3, and claimed second place, ahead of another of the consistant contenders, Toby Spinks.
The Go Kart Club of Victoria now readies itself for the fifth and final round of the Australian Kart Championships on August 25-27.
advertisement