Four Australians contested the one-make Tillotson T4 Nations Cup in Spain last weekend, all qualifying for their finals but unlucky not to be able to bring home a top ten.
Lochlan Shearsmith contested Junior, Wesley Bowden raced Senior while Daniel Bowden and Zachary Walvin both lined up in Senior 165.
South Australian Wesley Bowden was the strongest of the four in qualifying, clocking 6th fastest time in the largest field at the event, T4 Senior. He ran competitively in the preliminary races, but was in trouble for the final.
“As soon as we started the motor, Wesley could feel that something wasn’t right” Daniel posted on Facebook. “Wesley just kept falling back through the pack with a lack of horsepower. Anyone who watched the coverage would see that he wasn’t very happy about it.”
Daniel was lucky to avoid two big accidents, one of which red flagged the final due to a driver injury.
“I have never been in a race where it felt like I was going to crash about five times in one lap” he said. “Was crazy, these guys play for keeps.”
On the re-start, Daniel tucked in behind a tall driver. “His slipstream was keeping me in touch with him and keeping the others off my back. It was a case of survive to the end, finishing in 12th.”
Daniel also experienced some issues during the event. “I strongly believe that Wesley was on for a podium placing and that I would have been fighting in the top 10” he added.
Queensland’s Shearsmith qualified in the top half of the Junior field and had some strong heat results, but fell off the pace in the Super Heat.
“I started having some major engine problems and was lacking a lot of power” the 15-year-old explained. “When I came into the pits I realised the carby had failed and we had to buy a new one.”
With a new carb, Shearsmith was looking forward to the final, but he was quickly pushed to the back and half a lap behind after an opening lap incident.
“I was really happy with the kart, every thing was perfect. I had amazing pace managing to catch some of the drivers at the back and overtake them.”
Aussie Wrap
Lochlan Shearsmith (T4 Junior)
Q: 19 (of 42). Heats: 8, 13, 6. Ranking: 17. Super Heat: 18 (penalty). Ranking: 21. Final: 31st (penalty).
Wesley Bowden (T4 Senior)
Q: 6 (of 56). Heats: 4, 4, 4. Ranking: 8. Super Heat: 6. Ranking: 7. Final: 15th.
Zachary Walvin (T4 Senior 165)
Q: 19 (of 35). Heats: 14, 23, 13. Ranking: 16. Super Heat: 13. Ranking: 15. Final: 22nd.
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Daniel Bowden (T4 Senior 165)
Q: 20. Heats: 21, 33, 17. Ranking: 22. Super Heat: 21. Ranking: 23. Final: 12th.
- full results are HERE
- scroll down for the live stream video from both days
Lochlan Shearsmith’s Event Wrap
After a few days of tough racing, the T4 nations cup has come to a conclusion, I definitely had my fair share of ups and downs through the weekend but it was still a good weekend of racing.
In practice I found out very quickly that all the other drivers were driving much more aggressively then in the local competition in Australia.
In qualifying everything went fairly well, I would have liked to place higher but I was still placed 19th. After playing with the setup a bit more I was able to find a bit more of the needed pace.
In the heats I kept getting caught up in midfield shenanigans or making small mistakes myself, this lead to the leaders of the race slowly driving away bit by bit.
In the super heats I started strong, but I started having some major engine problems and was lacking a lot of power. Sadly this made me drop towards the back of the field. When I came into the pits I realised the carby had failed and we had to buy a new one.
For the final I was starting out of 21st, not the best position. But I was confident I would be able to move up, I was making good progress on the start but after a heartbreaking incident on turn 4 on the FIRST lap I would then be pushed to the back of the field half a lap behind. I was really happy with the kart every thing was perfect, I had amazing pace managing to catch some of the drivers at the back and overtake them.
I wish I preformed as well in the heat races as I did in the final, I believe we would have achieved a a very different out come but, that’s racing.
Massive thank you to Mum and Dad for all the support along the way. Shout out to all the sponsors (Protective Waterproofing, Joe’s Diner, WLM Motorsports) and people back home for the support and encouragement, and a special mention to Chris your help with the setup and driving was greatly appreciated and helped me heaps. Thank you everyone!
Lochlan’s Lead-Up
Lochlan heard about the T4 Nations Cup last year and has been following it ever since. He watched the live stream of the 2022 event and set himself a goal to compete in 2023. An Australian had never competed at that event and he set his sights on being the first.
Auskart Racing is one of the few clubs that allow Tillotson engines to be run at their events. This gave Lochlan an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in both racing the T4 kart and engine and in learning the necessary skills to adapt his kart set up across a variety of tracks.
“In Australia we could register to enter and race under a national licence. In Europe there are competitions that can be entered to win an entry” his mum Sharon informed KartSportNews.
Lochlan joined Karting Australia at the start of this year and underwent the process to have the appropriate licence category to gain starting permission approval.
“At this stage, KA don’t allow Tillotson engines at their meets, but Lochlan loved the extra track time in his other kart and appreciated their support to approve his racing in the T4 Nations Cup.”
Lochlan had only been racing the Tillotson for 12 months as it was a birthday gift from last year.
“Due to his demonstrated driving ability, Auskart gave him an exemption to compete within Senior categories. This has allowed him to race the Tillotson in Auskart performance classes and he also races a Torini Clubmax in the Senior Light class. He races both sprints and endurance races at Auskart, which has given him great experience and lots of seat time in the T4.”
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